Destruction

Day of Reckoning

Written by: EW on 05/03/2011 23:35:00

Having just gotten through a review of the new Onslaught LP I now find myself resisting the urge to simply copy & paste much of what I said there to be used again for this, the review of the legendary Destruction's newest record, "Day of Reckoning". If Onslaught were a good 80's thrash band, Destruction were incredible. Essentially doing their reformation thing at the tail-end of the 90s they can at least claim to have preceded the modern wave of reformation but all along there has never been any hope of topping the essential early Destruction releases.

As expected "Day of Reckoning" is full of the catchy, technically-tinged thrash we've long come to expect, aided by the under-recognised talents of guitarist Mike Sifringer who, as lone guitarist, gets centre stage more than most of his comrades in the world of thrash. As has become the norm in recent albums, however, the songs of Schmier and co tend to now pass in one ear and out the other with few deviations in tempo or structure noted across the eleven tracks on offer here. There are moments in the title track, "Hate Is My Fuel" and "Devil's Advocate" which stand out from the pack but is has become hard to escape the feeling each new Destruction release is a mere reawakening of the production line, with the band aware more than anyone the timeless riffs of "Mad Butcher", "Bestial Invasion" et al are never to be found again. I'd be interested to know the band's honest opinion on this matter, but to me, it doesn't even sound as if "Day of Reckoning" has been attempted to expand or deviate upon recent efforts, instead happily relying on the same formulas well plied in the past.

New addition Vaaver is a commendably solid acquisition behind the kit following the departure of Marc Reign while Schmier sounds like…Schmier. The man's never been known for lyrical poetry, a feat unchanged here, but it is hard to argue with the consistent quality of his thrash howl to this day.

Ultimately the end of "Day of Reckoning" comes before it is expected given how easily it flows by while never asking any demanding questions of the listener. All well and good, there’s little to cause any harm to seasoned thrashers here, but a greater degree of variation is what we really need to shake off the nagging suspicion Destruction remain a top drawer act more on the basis of their glorious past rather than another fast and furious modern thrash assault like this.

Download: Sorcerer of Black Magic, Hate Is My Fuel
For The Fans Of: Sodom, Onslaught, Kreator
Listen: Myspace

Release date: 18.02.2011
Nuclear Blast Records

Related Items | How we score?
Comments
comments powered by Disqus

Legal

© Copyright MMXXIV Rockfreaks.net.