Destruction

Thrash Anthems

Written by: MY on 07/03/2007 22:44:18

Funny isn't it? How the mere mention of a band's name can evoke a particular moment in spotty, adolescent history. We've all been there. I was probably around thirteen years of age, hanging out at my mate Petes house. I was always jealous of Pete. He had rich parents, which meant he could get any cool record or rarity he so desired with his seemingly never-ending influx of pocket money. It was one day amongst this pile of cool picture discs and suchlike I remember finding "Infernal Overkill" and “The Mad Butcher”, both by classic German noiseniks and thrashers Destruction. I was immediately struck by the raw naivety of these records, much for the same reasons many now give props to Hellhammer and Bathory for being such 'visionaries'. This stuff changed people’s lives in a time when music actually could do that...

Which, of course, brings us to the present day. Destruction are still very much a going concern, having elected to 'do a Testament' and re-record the best of their back catalogue. Does it work? Well, as is not always the case with these types of record, it does. All the classics are well represented: “Mad Butcher”, “Bestial Invasion”, “Tormentor”...et al. Remarkably, despite being given a 21st century facelift, none of these re-recordings have lost the vibe and sloppy coolness of the originals so many thrashers hold dear. Helped by a decent Jacob Hansen mix, this record still maintains that raw, testosterone fuelled charge that was there when the original lineup were still knee-high to a Grasshopper.

The two new tracks (“Profanity” and “Depostion (Your Heads Will Roll)”) could have spilled off of the same vinyl as the established numbers. A first time listener would be hard pressed to distinguish these from the older classics that make up the rest of the album. Not that this is a negative criticism, it merely shows that Destruction have always worked to a 'if it ain't broke don't fix it' maxim. However, the one drawback of this is that they are firmly steeped in the past, and are not doing anything new and innovative. Therefore I cannot see this garnering a huge new fanbase for the band, but certainly pleasing the longtime fans and thrash die-hards. Hey, a classic’s still a classic, right?

7

Download: Bestial Invasion, Invincible Force, Mad butcher
For the fans of: Sodom, Kreator
Listen:Destruction@MySpace

Release date 19.01.2007
AFM Records
Provided by Target ApS

(Written by Dan Turner)

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