Masters of Reality is an American rock band formed in 1981 by frontman Chris Goss and guitarist Tim Harrington in

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States. With a population of 148,620 and a Syracuse metropolitan area, metropolitan area of 662,057, it is the fifth-most populated city and 13 ...

, United States. They took the name for the band from a misprinted label of the third Black Sabbath album, ''

Master of Reality ''Master of Reality'' is the third studio album by English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, released in United Kingdom on 6 August 1971 by Vertigo Records. It is regarded by some critics as the foundation of doom metal, stoner rock, and slud ...

''. Goss has remained the only constant band member. Since the release of their self-titled debut album in 1989, Masters of Reality has released six studio albums so far. The band's music has touched on many styles, ranging from

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

, from

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

Beatlesque "Beatlesque" () or "Beatles-esque" describes a musical resemblance to the English rock band the Beatles. The term is loosely defined and has been applied inconsistently to a wide variety of disparate artists. Definitions To better explain what ...

pop music. The band is sometimes associated with the "

Palm Desert Scene The Palm Desert Scene is a group of related bands and musicians from Palm Desert, California. Their hard rock sound – sometimes described as desert rock – contains elements of heavy metal, psychedelia, blues, punk, alternative, grunge, an ...

", which includes bands like Kyuss,

Queens of the Stone Age Queens of the Stone Age (commonly abbreviated as QOTSA or QotSA) is an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1996. The band was founded by vocalist and guitarist Josh Homme shortly before he returned to his native Palm Desert, California. ...

and many other

stoner rock Stoner rock, also known as stoner metal or stoner doom, is a rock music fusion genre that combines elements of doom metal with psychedelic rock and acid rock. The genre emerged during the early 1990s and was pioneered foremost by Kyuss and Sl ...

and "desert rock" bands.

History

Frontman Chris Goss started out with a band covering heavy 1970s rock acts (New York Dolls, Aerosmith, David Bowie, Blue Öyster Cult, Alice Cooper, Led Zeppelin) and writing his own songs since circa 1975. After getting into punk rock for a while (performing at

CBGB CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in the East Village, Manhattan, East Village in Manhattan, New York City. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for ''Cou ...

in 1978), he didn't play guitar for a few years, instead preferring electronic music like

Kraftwerk Kraftwerk (, ) is a Germany, German Electronic music, electronic band formed in Düsseldorf in 1970 by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. Widely considered innovators and pioneers of electronic music, Kraftwerk was among the first successful a ...

and becoming a club DJ. In 1981 Goss and Tim Harrington started to make experimental home recordings with lo-fi, cheap and/or borrowed equipment that included a Sanyo boombox Rhythm Ace drum machine, a Korg, synthesizers and a Fender Vibroverb amp. The rhythm tracks of synths and a beat recorded on cassette would be played back to "overdub" vocals, guitar, more synthesizers, et cetera. They considered Manson Family as a name for their act, but never actually used it for their performances. They played regularly at

with a sound reminiscent of

Suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

or somewhat like how Nine Inch Nails or Marilyn Manson would sound in the 1990s. Early original songs included "Building the Kingdom", "Voodoo Doll", "Metal Entity", "Cash", "Anchor", "Stones in Every Field" and "Doraldina's Prophecies". Masters of Reality grew into a four-piece with the addition of Googe (bass) and Vinnie Ludovico (drums) and developed a sound with less electronics and more heavy blues rock with influences like Black Sabbath, Cream, Led Zeppelin and King Crimson. A demo tape reached producer

Rick Rubin Frederick Jay Rubin (, ; born March 10, 1963) is an American record producer. He is a co-founder of Def Jam Recordings, founder of American Recordings, and former co-president of Columbia Records. Rubin helped popularize hip hop by produci ...

who went to see a live show in late 1986 and then signed the band to

Def Jam Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. The ...

. Rubin brought out the blues rock character of the band Rubin quit Def Jam but took the band with him to his new

Def American American Recordings (formerly Def American Recordings, Inc.) is an American record label headed by producer Rick Rubin. The label has featured artists such as Slayer, the Black Crowes, ZZ Top, Danzig (band), Danzig, Trouble (band), Trouble, T ...

label, before their self-titled debut album was eventually released in 1989. The band appears briefly in the 1990 film '' Marked for Death'' (starring Steven Seagal). Goss got frustrated with the band while touring the debut album. He quit the tour after

Matt Dike Matthew William Dike (December 2, 1961 – January 16, 2018) was an American music executive, record producer, and DJ. He co-founded the hip-hop record label Delicious Vinyl in 1987. In the 1980s, Dike was artist Jean-Michel Basquiat's studio as ...

invited him to come to Los Angeles and to get signed to his Delicious Vinyl label. They bought the rights from Rubin and released a newly sequenced version of the album with ''Doraldina's Prophecies'' as an extra track. In 1992 Goss and Googe resurfaced, now with

Ginger Baker Peter Edward "Ginger" Baker (19 August 1939 – 6 October 2019) was an English drummer. His work in the 1960s and 1970s earned him the reputation of "rock's first superstar drummer", for a style that melded jazz and Music of Africa, Africa ...

(formerly of

Cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this proces ...

) on drums. The new album '' Sunrise on the Sufferbus'' spawned a Top 10 rock chart hit with the single "She Got Me (When She Got Her Dress On)". An album cut sometimes used by American radio shows when they have a British guest is "T.U.S.A.", a rap by Baker describing the inability of Americans to make a proper cup of tea. Baker left the band after a few years and was replaced by Victor Indrizzo (of Circus of Power and

Samiam Samiam (pronounced "sam-I-am") is an American punk rock band from Berkeley, California, active since 1988. History Samiam was formed in late 1988 after the breakup of the 924 Gilman Street, Gilman club mainstay Isocracy (band), Isocracy. Their ...

). Masters of Reality recorded the song "Climb Inside My World" for a 1994 '' Ren & Stimpy'' episode entitled "Jerry the Bellybutton Elf". The song was written by Steve Mellor who also wrote the episode in which it appeared. Masters of Reality recorded a full studio album entitled ''The Ballad of Jody Frosty'' for Epic that was scheduled to be released in 1995, but it was shelved. One song appeared on the live album ''

How High the Moon "How High the Moon" is a jazz standard with lyrics by Nancy Hamilton and music by Morgan Lewis. It was first featured in the 1940 Broadway revue '' Two for the Show'', where it was sung by Alfred Drake and Frances Comstock. In ''Two for th ...

'' (1997) and some of the studio recordings were released on '' Give Us Barabbas'' (2004). The full album was eventually leaked online in 2004. Masters of Reality were quiet for several years as Goss was occupied producing music for other bands. However, the band did appear at

Johnny Depp John Christopher Depp II (born June 9, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Johnny Depp, multiple accolades, including a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for ...

's Viper Room night club in 1997 for a two-night stand, and a resultant live album, ''

'' featured

Stone Temple Pilots Stone Temple Pilots, commonly abbreviated as STP, is an American Rock music, rock band formed in San Diego, California, in 1989. Originally consisting of lead vocalist Scott Weiland, guitarist Dean DeLeo, bassist Robert DeLeo, and drummer :Songs ...

vocalist Scott Weiland on "Jindalee Jindalie". In 1999 the band released '' Welcome to the Western Lodge''. Goss' connection to

resulted in the collaborative album '' Deep in the Hole'' in 2001, and two years later, in the release of the subsequent live album '' Flak 'n' Flight''. In 2003, the band covered the song " Devil's Radio" for the album ''Songs from the Material World: A Tribute to George Harrison''. The band released its fifth album, '' Give Us Barabbas'', in 2004, a collection of lost tracks opening with the "Ballad of Jody Frosty". On August 24, 2009, the band released '' Pine/Cross Dover''. Masters of Reality's seventh album, and its first in 16 years, ''The Archer'', is due for release on April 11, 2025.

Members

"Masters Of Reality will always be a project with alternating lineups. (...) I can't afford paying people to tell they're in the band." – Chris Goss in 2002 May 2024 European Tour: * Chris Goss (vocals, guitar) * Alain Johannes (guitar) * John Leamy (drums) * Paul Powell (bass guitar) Spring 2015 European Tour: * Chris Goss (vocals, guitar) * John Leamy (drums) * Paul Powell (bass guitar) * Josh Urist (guitar, keyboards) Summer 2013 European Tour: * Chris Goss (vocals, guitar, keyboard) * John Leamy (drums) * Mathias Schneeberger (keyboards) * Paul Powell (bass guitar) * Dave Catching (guitar) late 2010 US/UK Pine/Cross Dover tour: * Chris Goss (vocals, guitar, keyboard) * John Leamy (drums) * Mathias Schneeberger (keyboards) * Abby Travis (bass guitar) * Dave Catching (guitar) Previous lineups included: * Tim Harrington (duo and first band lineup) * Googe (first band lineup) (appears on '' Masters of Reality'', '' Sunrise on the Sufferbus'', ''

'', '' Give Us Barabbas'' bass, keyboards and cannoli * Vinnie Ludovico (first band lineup) (appears on '' Masters of Reality'' * Mr. Owl l Dunn(additional keyboards on '' Masters of Reality'') *

(appears on '' Sunrise on the Sufferbus'') * John Leamy (appears on '' Welcome to the Western Lodge'', '' Deep in the Hole'', '' Flak 'n' Flight'', '' Pine/Cross Dover'') * Josh Homme (appears on '' Deep in the Hole'', '' Flak 'n' Flight'') * Nick Oliveri (appears on '' Deep in the Hole'', '' Flak 'n' Flight'') *

Mark Lanegan Mark William Lanegan (November 25, 1964 – February 22, 2022) was an American singer and songwriter. First becoming prominent as the lead singer for the early grunge band Screaming Trees, he was also known as a member of Queens of the Stone Age ...

(appears on '' Deep in the Hole'', '' Flak 'n' Flight'') * Brendon McNichol * Liam O'Malley (bass guitar) * Paul Powell

Discography

Studio albums

* 1989 – '' Masters of Reality'' * 1992 – '' Sunrise on the Sufferbus'' * 1999 – '' Welcome to the Western Lodge'' * 2001 – '' Deep in the Hole'' * 2004 – '' Give Us Barabbas'' * 2009 – '' Pine/Cross Dover'' * 2025 – ''The Archer''

Live albums

* 1997 – '' How High the Moon: Live at the Viper Room'' * 2003 – '' Flak 'n' Flight''

Charted singles

References

External links

Official website

German website with English translation
{{Authority control 1981 establishments in New York (state) American stoner rock musical groups Musical groups established in 1981 Musical groups from Syracuse, New York Rock music groups from New York (state)