Hailing from Boston in the United States, ONE MASTER is an occult black metal band that have been embracing dark corners of the underground since 2002. Their release "Lycanthropic burrowing" comes in the raw form of cassette or vinyl. The first track, "The Claws of Dionysus" begins with a chaotic, repeated riff, reinforced with blast beats and grim vocals. Valder's voice does not sound like the typical harsh vocals of Black Metal, but is more like harshly spoken dialogue. I find this vocal style adds to the dank atmosphere and tells a dark story. This song drew me in right away to its layers of tremolo distortion and blast-beating. It sounds like there is a lot going on, particularly from the distorted effects on the guitars. Personally, I would like to hear the drum levels turned up a bit (but maybe I'm biased as a drummer!).

From the start, "The Black Bat" dives straight into the thick guitars and blast beats that paint a dark background for the story telling voice. I love the snare hits half way through, that follow the repetition of the guitars. This slowed down transition contrasts with the return of marching riffs and commanding vocals. "Death resurrection" begins with disjointed tunes on the guitars. Grim reverberation takes over once again, while a guitar screeches some high notes, that sound out of place. The instruments sound like they are loosely hang together, held in place with the drums, and rhythmically repeated vocals.

The final track "Lycanthropic Burrowing" is introduced with echoed voices and cold, pinched guitars, harboring a disorientating tune. As sustained sounds build up, it's as though one is left alone in a dark chamber room, awaiting a beast to enter. As the full band breaks through, the sustained feeling still continues, followed by speedy beats and deep dictations of the voice. To sum up ONE MASTER's "Lyconthropic Burrowing", I would call it dark, cryptic, and cold. The vocals sound almost like speech, but are still hoarse (like harsh vocals). An edginess is created from catchy sounds that seem like they shouldn't go together, but somehow do. Such borderline mystery helps paint the dark bleakness that comes with this release, bringing the world to greyscale.