Messticator – Total Mastery

Germany’s death/thrash trio Messticator is a relatively new act formed with former and ex- members of Embers of Flesh and Devarium. Total Mastery is the title of their sophomore album consisting of eleven tracks featuring a trademark death/thrash sound. The band from Hamborg is comprised of; Thomas Thede (vocals), Marvin Brühl (guitars & bass) and Maik Weinhardt (drums).

Total Mastery features sinister tales, paired with fast, hard and uncompromising tracks, skilfully balancing on the edge of death and thrash metal. It features the raw energy of the unholy trio from Northern Germany, while simultaneously increasing a melodic death metal influences. Production has also improved compared to their debut, Forthcoming Revelation. A blend of raw death metal and intense thrash, with notable melodic elements, have been produced by Timo Hocke. The soundscapes and the dense atmosphere they’re creating highlights new frontman Thomas Thede’s growling/barking/rough vocals, one of the biggest assets of this opus. Drumming of Weinhardt is like high-energy engine, driving with an extreme speed, technical precision and sonic brutality. The bass acts as the sonic foundation here, anchoring the high-speed rhythm of the drums while providing necessary low-end weight to make the guitars sound ‘heavy’. Speaking of the guitar – apart from being heavy, it combines the fast and downpicked attitude of thrash with the lower, brutal and chaotic technicality of death metal.

My preferred tunes from Total Mastery include “…The Pitslayer”, an angry composition which serves as a fast-paced, high-intensity continuation after the album’s opening track, then “One-Shot-Kill”, as one of the faster and more ‘thrashy’ songs on the album, and “High Ground”, a thrash anthem with a metallic frenzy stunning flow. The album closes with the final track, “Cougar Claws (Return of the Leathermilf)” featuring a divisive/discordant, yet lighter feel.

53 minute runtime is slightly long, but nevertheless it’s still catchy, dense and varied enough to make you headbanging to this raw and energetic second album from Messticator. Thus, Total Mastery is not a perfect album, but that doesn’t mean it’s not good.

Summation; with Total Mastery, Messticator confirms their remarkable strength regarding the writing of catchy, deadly tunes, but also demonstrate their ability to learn and grow spectacularly fast. It is definitely a faster, harder and even less willing to compromise than its 2022 predecessor Forthcoming Revelation, which I just discovered recently! Messticator in general, and Total Mastery in particular, is recommended for worshippers of teutonic thrash and death metal and acts like Vader, Dew Scented, In Flames, Hypocrisy, The Haunted, At the Gates etc.

For further information on this special release, visit their bandcamp or listen to the full album below.