### Destruction: D.E.V.O.L.U.T.I.O.N.

#### 21/07/08 || Euthanatos

All Hail Destruction, masters of thrash, keepers of the metal truth. “Infernal Overkill” and “Eternal Devastation” are two of the most badass thrash metal albums ever, topped only by Slayer albums, probably. Schmier’s vocals are incredibly suitable and immediately recognizable and Mike’s riffs are amazing. After the great hiatus Destruction went through, they came back with a really good album, “All Hell Breaks Loose”, and followed up with a fan-fuckin-tastic piece of work, “The Antichrist”, which featured one of the only worthwhile re-recordings ever for “Curse the Gods”. Then they kinda went AWOL again. I mean, they didn’t disappear, quit the band or anything, but “Metal Discharge” and “Inventor of Evil” just didn’t have much interesting material to keep us interested. Well, at least not me. I’m not going to mention “Thrash Anthems”, as it was pretty much a re-recording/covers/rehash/whatever album.

Okay, so finally we get to the new album, “D.E.V.O.L.U.T.I.O.N.”. Other than being fucking annoying to type all these periods, is it worth a damn? About half of it is. The first two songs are your default Destruction tracks; the title-track and “Elevator to Hell” are fast, furious, but only the first one really stands out. Come the third track, there’s a little innovation; it starts with some chants, and the double-bass insanity, fast riffs follow suit, but it’s not as fast and a bit more aggressive as usual. This is a little more like it. Good, solid song.

“Offenders of the Throne” is a slower song, and I can’t say I really like it when Destruction takes this path. They’ve done this in the past and things never really went well. I guess it’s valid in the sense that it makes the album a bit more heterogeneous, but I’m particularly not entertained. “Last Desperate Scream” is a lot like the tracks I mentioned in the beginning, default, nothing special. “Urge( The greed of gain)” is a lot better, frantic, awesome eighties guitar work going on, and proof of how Marc Reign’s drumming abilities have improved throughout the years and recordings. “The violation of morality” has a great name and its tempo is awkward in an interesting way. I like this kind of experimentation a lot more than slower paced material. Nothing mind boggling, but cool enough. “Inner Indulgence”. Nothing special. “Odyssey of Frustration” reminds me of a thrashier Headhunter, probably because of the vocals. It’s a good song, indubitably a Destruction track, but not a repetition of stuff from the past at all. “No One Shall Survive” finishes things off as your typical “we need one more song, let’s stick this one in here”. Pretty average.

So here’s the deal. Destruction really peaked, after their comeback, with “The Antichrist”. Nothing that came after was remotely close to what they achieved there, and I’m guessing nothing ever will, although you can never know, as we’ve seen in the past. While there are some killer tracks that will force you to bang your head, there are also some uninspired moments, and I can’t help but think Destruction could do so much better. Maybe next time.

Oh, and once again, thank you for the butt-fuckingly annoying voice-overs, record label. Fuck you.

The cover: Death and destruction. Always a pleasant sight. In case you didn’t notice, the track names’ first letter form the album title. Neat, eh?

6 mad butchers out of 10.

- Information
- Released: 2008
- Label: Candlelight Records
- Website: www.destruction.de
- Band
- Marcel Schirmer: vocals, bass
- Mike Sifringer: guitars
- Marc Reign: drums

- Tracklist
- 01. D.E.V.O.L.U.T.I.O.N.
- 02. E.levator to Hell
- 03. V.icious Circle/The Seven Deadly Sins
- 04. O.ffenders of the Throne
- 05. L.ast Desperate Scream
- 06. U.rge/The Greed of Gain
- 07. T.he Violation of Morality
- 08. I.nner Indulgence
- 09. O.dyssey of Frustration
- 10. N.o One Shall Survive