01/07/2017 11:20

Masterstroke

Masterstroke bow out; a posthumous EP coming in 2017

Finnish heavy metal band Masterstroke have called it quits. Here is a message from them:

"So. Here we are. This “Final Journey” we didn't think it would be, once we were on it. Business as usual, we set out to make the best music we could. And, I believe, we did just that. But at the same time, the landscape has changed. Not just the whole music industry and all that, but our own inner one as well.

But change is inevitable; it is only our own perceptions, preconceptions and expectations that say to us if the outcome is positive or negative. However, in all change is the possibility for something better. Perhaps not so obvious in the short run, but in the long, it might prove to be. So be it. Let the change come and expect nothing, except something new.

Masterstroke has had a long run, more enduring than most bands. Over a decade of doing something we love and trying to get it flying, we had to face the truth that we've run out of gas. So what happened?

Life.
In short.

During the intervening years, we've had more than our fair share of fun, joy, sorrow, hardship, love and falling out of love, health issues, births and rebirths; all the ingredients that make up life.

And it was wonderful.

And yet... Sometimes it is just not enough to want something. You can do all the right things, at the right time, for all the right reasons and in the right way - and still fail. That's life. But it wasn't a failure, not as such and not by far. How many musicians and bands can say they've done all the things they dreamt of when they were just starting out? Playing gigs, releasing albums, going on tours? We did all that. The next step would just have been more of the same, only more so.

We were a Band. A group of people seemingly come together at random, but we had a connection that is rare. We pushed and pulled, yes, but somehow always wanted and managed to go in the same direction. Our core was solid. We cared for each other, as a band of brothers. Those who have had the luxury of being in such a position, know what I'm talking about. Sometimes things just “click”. We did.

Looking back at our songs and the topics we dealt with, it might seem that our view of the world is bleak and hopeless. Perhaps at points it has been dark, yet the humour has also been there. Black as the armpit of the Devil, to be sure, but there's always that spark of hope, that something better will come. And it will. The lyrics reflect a quest for truth, about the world and especially our inner selves. Why do we do what we do?

No surprises that whatever was going on at our time of lives, it was put in the music and words. This, our last collection of songs, is no different. So, listen at a suitable volume for the occasion, raise your fist, bang your head - and enjoy life!

Masterstroke is dead - long live Masterstroke! ... maybe.
JK - 10/2016"

Masterstroke will release the farewell EP 'Edge of no Return' on February 24th, 2017.

1. Edge of No Return
2. Fool's Dance (A New Chapter)
3. World of Shadows
4. Final Sacrifice
5. One by One (bonus track from 'Broken' album sessions)
6. Turn away (Chaingun Liberator Dance Mix)

Here is the opening track from the album:

(source: Masterstroke)