Destruction

D.E.V.O.L.U.T.I.O.N.
Candlelight Records

Wow, some great German thrash metal from a veteran band who has been in the trenches since the eighties! Destruction, along with bands such as Kreator and Sodom epitomized the tuetonic thrash metal scene. My main exposure to thrash back in the day were bands such as Testament, Exodus, Megadeth, Metallica and Anthrax. These were the titans of the bay area and east coast thrash metal scene. I didn't sink my teeth into any of the European groups until many years later. That said, Destruction have a great brutal sound that heralds the early days but still manage to keep it from sounding dated. Not to mention, this trio sounds heavier than some bands with twice the members. The only non-original member is the drummer, which also shows stability for a band who has been going for over twenty years!
The title track "Devolution" starts with a somber acoustic part, then moves into a overdriven frenzy that had me sold right away. Marcel Shirmer (bass and vocals) has a gritty but truly powerful set of pipes. A nice departure from the new school of screamo/death/yelling etc...type of vocals that saturates so much of today's metal scene. Guitarist Mike Sifringer lays down a thick barrage of riffs and some great shredding lead work as well. The newest addition Marc Reign, is one bad-ass drummer! He assaults his kit with a double bass attack and solid skin pounding with machine-like precision. "Elevator to Hell" continues with some ominusly sick riffing and monstrous grooves, while "Offenders of the Throne" had a sludgy, crawling, doom-laden feel to it. "The Violation Of Morality" and "The Last Desperate Scream" were two more of my personal favorites, but there is not a bad track on this album. To add to all this glorious mayhem, guitarist Gary Hold (of Exodus), Jeff Waters (Annihilator) and Vinnie Moore (currently with UFO) lay down some fretwork brilliance to take this album even one step further. This album made my blood boil, got my head banging and made remember why I got into metal to begin with!

- Craig Harvey