Destruction - lyrics

Together with their countrymen Kreator and Sodom, Germany's Destruction constituted the dominating triumvirate of Teutonic thrash metal during the 1980's. Although they ultimately failed to match these peers' in terms of commercial success and longevity, at least two of their albums still qualify among the creme de la creme of the decade's speed metal.br /br /Heavy Metal underwent a worldwide revolution in the early 80's, when the lingering lessons from 70's giants like Black Sabbath and Judas Priest crashed head-on with the do-it-yourself-ethos of punk rock and the sheer velocity of Motorhead to spawn the much ballyhooed New Wave of British Heavy Metal. This in turn sparked a far more powerful and lasting bastard offspring: thrash metal. Of all the nations contaminated by this musical virus as it proliferated unchecked, Germany was second only to the U.S. in terms of widespread infection. Among its earliest contenders, there was Hamburg's Helloween, Essen's Kreator and, from the town of Weil am Rhein in the Fatherland's Southwestern tip, Destruction. Formed in 1983 from the remnants of an earlier band named Knight of Demon, Destruction brought together towering vocalist/ba**ist Marcel Schirmer (a.k.a. Schmier), diminutive guitarist Mike Sifringer and drummer Tommy Sandmann. Looking to take advantage of the bustling worldwide tape trading network responsible for breaking most of the 80's biggest heavy metal bands, the trio immediately set about recording and circling their Bestial Invasion" demo to critics and fans alike. Sure enough, it wasn't long before Germany's own Steamhammer label came calling with a record deal, and Destruction's Sentence of d**h E.P. was released in 1984, soon to be followed by 1985's Infernal Overk** L.P. Both of these were surprisingly proficient affairs fueled by raw aggression and youthful energy, and Destruction were soon touring Germany with Slayer. Later that year, they also took part in the legendary WWIII Festival in Montreal, Canada alongside Celtic Frost, VoiVod and other rising stars of thrash. Once they returned home, the band got to work on their second album, 1986's well received Eternal Devastation, but lost founding drummer Sandmann shortly before heading out on the road again, this time with fellow Teutonic thrashers Rage. Thankfully, Sodom's Chris Witchhunter" Dudeck was able to step in until they could find a permanent replacement in Oliver Kaiser. Additional guitarist Harry Wilkens was also brought on board at this time, and, after testing this new line-up on 1987's Mad Butcher E.P., Destruction delivered what many consider their finest album, 1988's Release From Agony. Not all fans were in agreement, however, as the new-fangled quartet's far more technical, almost progressive-leaning direction also rubbed hardcore constituents the wrong way. Being chosen as the opening band for Celtic Frost's disastrous Cold Lake tour was another unexpected setback, and, confirming that things were not right within the Destruction camp, popular frontman Schmier was unceremoniously sacked shortly after the release of 1989's Live without Sense to make way for more capable' replacements in vocalist Andre Grieder (ex-Poltergeist) and ba**ist Christian Englerfor. Feeling betrayed, upset fans made their feelings known by staying away in droves from 1990's Cracked Brain album, as well as subsequent offerings like 1994's Destruction, 1995's Them not Me (both E.P.s introducing new vocalist Thomas Rosenmerkel and guitarist Michael Piranio), and particularly 1998's career low The Least Successful Human Cannonball. Schmier, in the meantime, had formed a new band called Headhunter and busied himself with the operation of his own restaurant; but he couldn't resist the opportunity to finally reunite with former partner in crime Sifringer, as well as drummer Sven Vormann, and re-launch Destruction at the dawn of the new millennium. As expected, both 2000's All Hell breaks Loose and 2001's The Antichrist were released by Nuclear Blast, and saw something of a return to the straightforward simplicity of old, but Destruction's audience was very much diminished and selective by now. Still, the band's renewed commitment to their origins was driven home yet again by 2003's curiously named Metal Discharge, featuring drummer Marc Reign. ~ Ed Rivadavia, All Music Guide show less