A lot of legendary thrash bands are past the point of having their current output deemed as “mandatory.” Frankly, no one is going to prefer what said band is doing now, as opposed to what they were doing then. And by “then,” we mean the 80’s, which were rather nice to thrash (in case you didn’t know). Therefore, new albums are more of a self-fulfilling prophecy than anything else; these bands have to get their creative rocks off somehow and help pepper their setlists with new songs so the old songs don’t seem so old after all. After all, there’s nothing worse in thrash than being called “old.”
Destruction are definitely old and they’re certainly classic, yet their recent albums are the furthest thing from mandatory. Yeah, there’s plenty of vitriol and zippy riffs to be found on 2011’s Day of Reckoning, but it’s not like anyone is beating down the doors to hear those jams over cuts like “Release from Agony” or “Mad Butcher.” The same applies for Spiritual Genocide, which was released in late 2012, and is seeing domestic release this February by way of Nuclear Blast.
For a band on its 13th album, Destruction doesn’t seem to be clawing for ideas. In fact, some of these numbers rumble like it was 1988, most notably the title track, which unfurls one of guitarist Mike Sifringer’s patented labyrinthine riff patterns. The mid-tempo lurch of “City of Doom” should get some nods in the neck-snapping area; same for “No Signs of Repentence,” a song that pushes the band’s technical threshold to the max. And naturally, vocalist/bassist Schimer is all over this thing, pushing his hate-on-hate agenda, while sounding as Schimer-like as ever. (Those who have waded through the band’s previous output can surely understand the meaning of that last comment.)
Circa 2013, Destruction doesn’t have much of a shot of matching Kreator’s firepower and momentum. Spiritual Genocide won’t change that, even if the band has hopped aboard the same label as Mille and crew. They should take solace in being second in the Tuetonic thrash race…and being at the forefront of old, but cool thrash.
[Visit the band's website]Find more articles with 2013, David E. Gehlke, Destruction, Nuclear Blast Records, Review
Comments
Leave a Reply
Review pretty much sums up my feelings on Destruction…though I’ll always put Sodom before them in the Tuetonic hierarchy anyday…
on Mar 1st, 2013 at 11:38Not to be a dick but the guy’s name is Schmier not Schimer.
on Mar 3rd, 2013 at 11:45Totally know where you’re coming from (commenters included), but for some reason I’ve enjoyed this one a hell of a lot more than most folks for whatever reason.
on Mar 4th, 2013 at 07:06