Destruction - Metal Discharge
September 2003 | Released: 2003, Nuclear Blast | Rating: 5.0/5 | Reviewer: Luxi Lahtinen
First off, Destruction´s 7th full-length studio album, METAL DISCHARGE, introduces us the band´s new drummer Marc Reign who replaced Sven Vormann in 2001. Secondly, since the original members of these very popular German Thrash metal ´veterans´ Schmier and Mike reformed the REAL Destruction in 1999 due to a huge demand from their fans, the band has been going really strong since then and made 3 more studio albums within 3-or-so-years. These city boys´ newest album to date definitely scores a bull´s eye by introducing the Destruction threesome in its best, finest and most pleasant form. Destruction simply proves with this new, absolutely delicious 10-track offering that their comeback has been one of the most successful and most welcomed in the whole history of Heavy Metal and, overall, how the German Thrash Metal scene is flourishing in a big way again. With other German bands like Kreator, Sodom, Assassin, Dew-Scented and the likes, Germany is gaining its well-earned status as the whole world´s mecca for a real quality country of Thrash Metal. And they earn that title hands down now, folks, as there´s not any potential competition in sight for those lucky German bastards.
As for METAL DISCHARGE, the album starts off with “The Ravenous Beast” where the song basically grows out from a distant horizon into a real thunderous Thrash Metal tornado, pretty much reminding me of Slayer´s “Darkness of Christ” off GOD HATES US ALL – followed soon by the tile track of the album “Metal Discharge” that happens to be one of my personal favorite numbers on METAL DISCHARGE. The band´s 6-string grinder Mike has done a tasteful job in the album´s riff department; the song is like the true epitome of a striking German Thrash fuckin´ Metal from start to finish. I wouldn´t change one damn single note of this song. Obviously we have one of the coolest songs here Destruction have written.
The thrashing madness continues in “Ripping the Flesh Apart,” which has a gloomy, mid-tempo beginning, but eventually reaches some new levels by totally brilliant riff and tempo changes the more the song progresses to the end. I could probably say rightfully that “Ripping the Flesh Apart” is the album´s most stand-out tune. Up next, “Fear of the Moment,” which sounds amazingly experimental for being a Destruction song. There´s a surprising moment in the latter half of the song that is a pure Voi Vod rip-off (in the positive sense of that word). As for more thrashingly rock-ish Destruction songs, look to “Mortal Remains." The main riff in the song isn´t particularly heavy, but as a song “Mortal Remains” is still damn catchy in an almost "traditional" Destruction vein. Without a bloody doubt, a great song for them to play live.
“Desecrators of the New Age” is kind of ´a so-so song´ as compared to the 1st 5 new Destruction cuts on the album, but I don´t mean to say it´s any type of a filler song or anything like that. There´re a couple of "interesting" (a relatively lame word, I know...) moments going on in this particular song, but like I already stated, the song gets buried under a big shadow of the five first tunes by being ´not as good´ or ´that hitting´, y´know what I´m saying? In “Historical Force Feed” we get Destruction back thrashing somewhat heavily again even if there´s not much happening in the song. “Savage Symphony of Terror”, on the other hand, is a more familiar and typical Destruction song with some ´let´s-attack-against-the-barricades´ type of sharp riffing and Schmier´s relatively safe sounding, spitting vocal outbursts. One of my favorites off of METAL DISCHARGE, for sure.
“Made to be Broken” is classic Destruction stuff in many ways. It just rolls painlessly forward, nicely thrashing and sticking in your mind like a sticky gum in your jeans whereas the last song on METAL DISCHARGE titled “Vendetta” will definitely keep your neck muscles and fingers busy against the surface of a table for awhile. Guaranteed...
I have said it before and I will say it again. Destruction have successfully proved to us with their latest three albums that their comeback – or more like Schmier´s ´comeback´ --has been worth waiting for, and maybe more so than we at first hoped. It might be even an overrated cliché, but I will say that METAL DISHARGE may be an instant classic Thrash Metal album in my respected and adored books of metal. I could even bet that it will have the same kind of status for many of you worshippers of a well-executed and thought-out Thrash Metal album. Destruction is, indeed, "destructive Thrash" in a very positive way...
September 2003 | Released: 2003, Nuclear Blast | Rating: 5.0/5 | Reviewer: Luxi Lahtinen
First off, Destruction´s 7th full-length studio album, METAL DISCHARGE, introduces us the band´s new drummer Marc Reign who replaced Sven Vormann in 2001. Secondly, since the original members of these very popular German Thrash metal ´veterans´ Schmier and Mike reformed the REAL Destruction in 1999 due to a huge demand from their fans, the band has been going really strong since then and made 3 more studio albums within 3-or-so-years. These city boys´ newest album to date definitely scores a bull´s eye by introducing the Destruction threesome in its best, finest and most pleasant form. Destruction simply proves with this new, absolutely delicious 10-track offering that their comeback has been one of the most successful and most welcomed in the whole history of Heavy Metal and, overall, how the German Thrash Metal scene is flourishing in a big way again. With other German bands like Kreator, Sodom, Assassin, Dew-Scented and the likes, Germany is gaining its well-earned status as the whole world´s mecca for a real quality country of Thrash Metal. And they earn that title hands down now, folks, as there´s not any potential competition in sight for those lucky German bastards.
As for METAL DISCHARGE, the album starts off with “The Ravenous Beast” where the song basically grows out from a distant horizon into a real thunderous Thrash Metal tornado, pretty much reminding me of Slayer´s “Darkness of Christ” off GOD HATES US ALL – followed soon by the tile track of the album “Metal Discharge” that happens to be one of my personal favorite numbers on METAL DISCHARGE. The band´s 6-string grinder Mike has done a tasteful job in the album´s riff department; the song is like the true epitome of a striking German Thrash fuckin´ Metal from start to finish. I wouldn´t change one damn single note of this song. Obviously we have one of the coolest songs here Destruction have written.
The thrashing madness continues in “Ripping the Flesh Apart,” which has a gloomy, mid-tempo beginning, but eventually reaches some new levels by totally brilliant riff and tempo changes the more the song progresses to the end. I could probably say rightfully that “Ripping the Flesh Apart” is the album´s most stand-out tune. Up next, “Fear of the Moment,” which sounds amazingly experimental for being a Destruction song. There´s a surprising moment in the latter half of the song that is a pure Voi Vod rip-off (in the positive sense of that word). As for more thrashingly rock-ish Destruction songs, look to “Mortal Remains." The main riff in the song isn´t particularly heavy, but as a song “Mortal Remains” is still damn catchy in an almost "traditional" Destruction vein. Without a bloody doubt, a great song for them to play live.
“Desecrators of the New Age” is kind of ´a so-so song´ as compared to the 1st 5 new Destruction cuts on the album, but I don´t mean to say it´s any type of a filler song or anything like that. There´re a couple of "interesting" (a relatively lame word, I know...) moments going on in this particular song, but like I already stated, the song gets buried under a big shadow of the five first tunes by being ´not as good´ or ´that hitting´, y´know what I´m saying? In “Historical Force Feed” we get Destruction back thrashing somewhat heavily again even if there´s not much happening in the song. “Savage Symphony of Terror”, on the other hand, is a more familiar and typical Destruction song with some ´let´s-attack-against-the-barricades´ type of sharp riffing and Schmier´s relatively safe sounding, spitting vocal outbursts. One of my favorites off of METAL DISCHARGE, for sure.
“Made to be Broken” is classic Destruction stuff in many ways. It just rolls painlessly forward, nicely thrashing and sticking in your mind like a sticky gum in your jeans whereas the last song on METAL DISCHARGE titled “Vendetta” will definitely keep your neck muscles and fingers busy against the surface of a table for awhile. Guaranteed...
I have said it before and I will say it again. Destruction have successfully proved to us with their latest three albums that their comeback – or more like Schmier´s ´comeback´ --has been worth waiting for, and maybe more so than we at first hoped. It might be even an overrated cliché, but I will say that METAL DISHARGE may be an instant classic Thrash Metal album in my respected and adored books of metal. I could even bet that it will have the same kind of status for many of you worshippers of a well-executed and thought-out Thrash Metal album. Destruction is, indeed, "destructive Thrash" in a very positive way...
