During various conversations for the most influential and classic thrash metal acts, the name Destruction will always be mentioned. Product of the thrash attack that started in early 80s and gave us until the end of this decade so many monuments in this sound, they couldn’t be left out of the elite. Together with Kreator, Sodom and Tankard they are the Big Four of the German thrash and as for my taste, slightly the favorite of the other three.
Founded in 1982 as Knight Of Demon, they soon changed their name before releasing anything. With Marcel “Schmier” Schirmer on bass guitar (at first, soon after also in vocals) and Michael Sifringer on guitar, they didn’t lose time and after a historic demo and EP they released a series of excellent records. “Infernal Overkill”, the masterpiece “Eternal Devastation” and “Release From Agony” are simply iconic moments in the thrash metal genre.
The departure of Schmier in 1989 (soon after he founded Headhunter) will leave Mike the only original member who released the very good and underrated “Cracked Brain”. But the next decade will find them in worse moments, as the EPs “Destruction”, “Them Not Me” and the album “The Least Successful Human Cannonball” have so bad reputation that most fans even avoid to listen. It’s worth noticing that the band disowned all of them. They don’t consider them as part of their discography and they refer to this period as Neo-Destruction.
Luckily, the big return didn’t take long to happen. In 1999, Schmier reunites with Mike. “All Hell Breaks Loose” shows exactly what the title says, a band that unleashes hell on earth playing excellent thrash metal. From then until now, Schmier and Mike with some changes behind the drum-kit continue to deliver what their fans want. “The Antichrist”, “Inventor Of Evil” and “Day Of Reckoning” for example can easily prove that. And they are one of the few bands who released re-recordings of their early days (“Thrash Anthems”, “Thrash Anthems II”) and weren’t garbage but actually really good.
From their three fellow travelers from Germany, the Mad Butchers are the ones who visit us more rarely, so their upcoming shows in Thessaloniki and Athens is a perfect opportunity for all the thrashers to see a great band giving lessons on stage. The raw riffs of Mike and the characteristic voice of Schmier know the way. Thrash Till Death!
George Terzakis
