"Talk of the Devil" was the third album of the "official" pioneers of Soviet thrash metal. "Official", because in the Soviet Union they often performed in large venues, were shown on TV sometimes, their albums were released by the state-owned major record company (Melodiya) – well, this is not underground at all. So, "Talk of the Devil" is classic thrash metal of Teutonic influence, very dynamic, played mostly with down picking. In their turn the high-pitched chaotic solos are reminiscent of Slayer, although without the very mindbending wildness from "Reign in Blood". This similarity is manifested most of all in the sixth song "Tsar". These solos demonstrate, in particular, that Master have significantly developed their technique for "Talk of the Devil", their thrash metal has become more "true", in other words, more Western, not Soviet-style.
Outstanding features of this recording are a harsh guitar sound, which makes the album more angry, and dry riffs, which almost nullifies any emotionality and makes the atmosphere gloomy. Definitely, the previous album "With a Noose around the Neck" sounded more cheerful, there was something unnatural for thrash metal in it. What else should be noted concerning the sound, is that the mixing dragged the bass almost to the same level as guitars, which is not surprising, because bass player Alik Granovsky, one of the founders of the band, was perfect in his instrument playing. The album contains traditional for Master track with a bass solo – the eighth "Romance". This time it's an exquisite melody in the spirit of Baroque music.
Vocalist Mikhail Seryshev acts without philosophizing here, he completely duplicates his artistic devices from the previous albums. But then the lyrics were in Russian, and now in English. Most likely, the lack of experience with English texts affected, because Seryshev is a good vocalist by himself, but his parts are not smooth here, almost everything sounds somehow clumsy. Best of all, he sings in the seventh song "Heroes", by the way, the most tuneful song on the album. As befits thrashers of those times, Master actively use choral cries, most of which appear in the fifth song "Live to Die", also in "Heroes".
Master have heavy metal roots (the band was formed by musicians who left Aria), and this point affects the music sometimes: the chorus in the third song "Danger" is performed in some kind of heavy metal manner. In this song, heavy metal even penetrated into the solo. And, of course, the tenth song – it's a thrash metal version of "Paranoid" by Black Sabbath. This song on one riff is brightened up by two pretty clever solos. But to explain near-punkish notes in "Tsar" by reference to the origin of the band, will fail. Well, the "Tsar" lyrics are some kind of anarchist, so punk in this composition is very appropriate.
A couple of notes about other songs. The title song, the second one, oddly enough, is notable for the only short tremolo riff, very melodic at the very least. The most melodic song is, as already mentioned, "Heroes" – however, the main riff lacks piercing. But its solo is the most sophisticated and beautiful – right, this is not Slayer at all. The fourth composition "Fallen Angel", the most interesting in structure, begins with a recording (not a sample) of the church choir and contains a very melodic riff. The fifth "Live to Die" is notable for its unexpected drum fill almost on the edge of grindcore.
The ninth song "I Hate Your Sex" stands apart from the rest of the songs. Perhaps, musically, it is sustained in the spirit of the album, but the stupid lyrics negate all its advantages. The wretchedness of this song is increased by the fact that the music for it was partially copied by Master from their own song, "God Save Our Fury" from "With a Noose around the Neck". Self-plagiarism is a strange incident, it is not such a terrible "crime", as ordinary plagiarism. Most listeners do not even pay attention to this. But there is only two years difference between albums – two, not twenty! And in this case, it's really disappointing that the music from the excellent song "God Save Our Fury", overstretched by malicious social criticism on the verge of misanthropy, migrated into some kind of absurdity – the "revelation" of a former whoremonger who suddenly got his mind right. What a disgrace.
Sample: https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
