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{{Infobox album
| name       = Šlágry
| type       = studio
| artist     = [[Master's Hammer]]
| cover      = Slagry.jpg
| alt        =
| released   = 1995
| recorded   =
| venue      =
| studio     =
| genre      = [[Experimental music]], [[electronica]], [[schlager music]], ''[[musique concrète]]'', [[black metal]], [[avant-garde metal]]
| length     = 40:04
| label      = Kron-H
| producer   = [[František Štorm|Franta Štorm]], Vlasta Voral
| prev_title = [[Jilemnický okultista]]
| prev_year  = 1992
| next_title = [[Mantras (Master's Hammer album)|Mantras]]
| next_year  = 2009
}}
'''''Šlágry''''' ([[English language|English]] title: ''[[Schlager music|Schlager]]'') is the third studio album by Czech [[black metal]] band [[Master's Hammer]], released in 1995 by a now-defunct subsidiary of [[Osmose Productions]], Kron-H, specialized in more experimental outputs than Osmose itself. Greatly contrasting with the sonority of the band's previous releases, ''Šlágry'' sees them "virtually abandon[ing] the operatic black metal of previous releases in favor of modernist electronic music", and "shar[ing] publishing credits with [[Carl Czerny]], [[The Good Soldier Švejk#Selected characters|Otto Katz]] and [[Giuseppe Verdi]], mixing bits of metal, folk and ''[[musique concrète]]'' into a style based on the classical avant-garde", as they put it in the album's liner notes. In fact, "Hlava modernistova" is the only black metal-oriented track of the entire album.
Other Master's Hammer members Necrocock, Monster, Mirek Valenta and Silenthell are noticeably absent from the album; only vocalist [[František Štorm|Franta Štorm]] and keyboardist Vlasta Voral took part in its recording.
On the album's liner notes the band also stated that they planned a follow-up to ''Šlágry'', entitled ''Šlágry II'', that would "rely more on professional opera singers and orchestra players";<ref name=cmjmay1996>[https://books.google.com/books?id=OS0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=RA1-PT24 ''Riffs'']. In: ''CMJ New Music Monthly'', May 1996, p. 48.</ref> however, the band broke up a couple of months after the album came out, and only returned to active in 2009 with the release of ''[[Mantras (Master's Hammer album)|Mantras]]''. It is currently unknown if the band still plans to work on ''Šlágry II''.
==Lyrical and musical inspirations==
The only tracks of the album written by the band itself are "Indiánská píseň hrůzy" (whose lyrics were inspired by a Czech folksong, according to Franta Štorm on the album's liner notes) and "Hlava modernistova"; all the remaining are covers of old-fashioned pieces.
; "Šavlový tanec"
A cover of [[Aram Khachaturian]]'s famous suite "[[Sabre Dance]]", originally present in his ballet ''[[Gayane (ballet)|Gayane]]''.
; "Ach, synku, synku" and "Půjdem spolu do Betléma"
Covers of [[Czech folklore|Czech folk songs]].
; "Carl Czerny, Op. 849"
As the title says, a short cover of [[Carl Czerny]]'s [[List of compositions by Carl Czerny|Op. 849]].
; "Rock and Roll Music"
A cover of [[Chuck Berry]]'s "[[Rock and Roll Music (song)|Rock and Roll Music]]". Master's Hammer took Berry's vocals from the original version and greatly slowed their pitch, superimposing them over a new instrumental made by them.
; "Vzpomínám na zlaté časy"
A poem of authorship unknown, popularized by [[Jaroslav Hašek]]'s unfinished novel ''[[The Good Soldier Švejk]]''.
; "Nabucco"
An instrumental iteration of the "[[Va, pensiero|Va, pensiero, sull'ali dorate]]" chorus from [[Giuseppe Verdi]]'s 1841 opera ''[[Nabucco]]''.
==Track listing==
{{tracklist
| extra_column   = English title
| title1         = [[Sabre Dance|Šavlový tanec]]
| music1         = [[Aram Khachaturian]]
| lyrics1        = Instrumental
| extra1         = [[Sabre Dance]]
| length1        = 3:29
| title2         = Ach, synku, synku
| music2         = [[Arrangement|Arr.]] by [[František Štorm|Franta Štorm]], Vlasta Voral
| lyrics2        = Traditional
| extra2         = Ah, Son, Son
| length2        = 7:55
| title3         = Půjdem spolu do Betléma
| music3         = Arr. by Franta Štorm, Vlasta Voral
| lyrics3        = Traditional
| extra3         = Let's Go to [[Bethlehem]]
| length3        = 3:41
| title4         = Indiánská píseň hrůzy
| music4         = Franta Štorm, Vlasta Voral
| lyrics4        = Franta Štorm
| extra4         = [[India]]n Song of Horrors
| length4        = 5:17
| title5         = Carl Czerny, Op. 849
| music5         = [[Carl Czerny]]
| lyrics5        = Instrumental
| length5        = 0:25
| title6         = [[Rock and Roll Music (song)|Rock and Roll Music]]
| note6          = [[Chuck Berry]] cover
| music6         = Chuck Berry
| lyrics6        = [[Chuck Berry]]
| length6        = 5:09
| title7         = Vzpomínám na zlaté časy
| music7         = Arr. by Franta Štorm, Vlasta Voral
| lyrics7        = Anonymous
| extra7         = I Remember the Good Old Days
| length7        = 3:36
| title8         = [[Nabucco]]
| music8         = [[Giuseppe Verdi]]
| lyrics8        = Instrumental
| length8        = 4:14
| title9         = Hlava modernistova
| music9         = Franta Štorm, Vlasta Voral
| lyrics9        = Franta Štorm
| extra9         = Modernist Head
| length9        = 6:20
}}
===Covers===
Ukrainian black metal band [[Drudkh]] covered "Indiánská píseň hrůzy" on their 2010 [[Extended play|EP]] ''[[Slavonic Chronicles]]''.
==Personnel==
* [[František Štorm|František "Franta" Štorm]] – vocals, guitars, drums, production
* Vlastimil "Vlasta" Voral – keyboards
==Reception==
[[Ian Christe]] wrote that "Master's Hammer […] have become witty ''musique moderne'' composers with ''Šlágry'', trading in distortion for traditional orchestral instrumentation while keeping oddball arrangements that make metal appealing".<ref>[[Ian Christe]]: [https://books.google.com/books?id=DS0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA27 ''history gets its hands dirty: the future of metal'']. In: ''CMJ New Music Monthly'', February 1997, p. 27.</ref> According to him, "the mixed-up metal influences were part of an exit strategy".<ref>Ian Christe: [https://books.google.com/books?id=vIkwAQAAIAAJ&q=%22metal+influences+were+part+of+an+exit+strategy%22 ''Sound of the Beast: The Complete Headbanging History of Heavy Metal'']. Allison & Busty 2004.</ref> Writing for Toilet ov Hell, Ben Serna-Grey stated that "''Šlágry'' is like a nightmare vision of what someone would imagine when they hear about people who are into both classical and metal music, yet seem to fundamentally misunderstand exactly what metal sounds like", comparing the album's sonority favorably to the works of [[John Cage]] and [[Harry Partch]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://toiletovhell.com/revisiting-masters-hammer-slagry/|title=REVISITING A TRULY UNIQUE ALBUM: MASTER'S HAMMER – SLAGRY|date=8 January 2018|author=Ben Serna-Grey|publisher=Toilet ov Hell|accessdate=9 December 2023}}</ref>
==References==
<references/>
{{Master's Hammer}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Slagry}}
[[Category:1995 albums]]
[[Category:Master's Hammer albums]]