Mastery hails from Canada and is an instrumental four-piece that aims to combine aggressive thrash metal with technical progressive influences. According to the biography the band is receiving very nice criticism in North America, and with the release of Lethal Legacy they’re checking out their possibilities overseas.

I like thrash metal, especially when a band manages to give a sort of touch of their own to the sound. Mastery has chosen to be a little more progressive in their sound, yet keeping it brutal isn’t something that is forgotten in this process. There’s enough Slayer on Lethal Legacy for any thrash head. Only just a bit more complicated.

 

The fact that there are no vocals whatsoever on any of the tracks makes this album an excellent listen, although you tend to lose your attention every now and then. I have mixed feelings about this factor, on one hand I miss a brutal motherfucker raping his vocal chords, but on the other I really don’t miss a ball-squeezing Joey Belladonna imitation at all. I guess it’s personal whether you will like it or not. The production of the instruments is very clear and brutal, making it very pleasant to follow the song structures. This is a good thing, because with no vocals you have less points of recognition in the songs.

 

So Mastery provides us with some technical, aggressive, instrumental thrash metal with some nice solos for those that can’t get enough of people jerking their guitars of. A refreshing band for anyone into the genre, with no risk of stumbling upon crappy vocals. Curious to what these guys are gonna achieve with this instruMETAL band.