Destruction
Spiritual Genocide

In life, it’s nice to have certainties, knowing you can rely on something or someone is a great feeling: you feel somewhat protected and reassured. This reasoning obviously involves more or less important aspects in a man's life, among which we can easily include the musical field, a sector that, in its own small way, brings joys and sorrows to the many enthusiasts who follow and love it. Personally, I consider myself a person with fairly broad tastes; in fact, I smoothly span from Jazz to Classical, even indulging in some good Rock and nice Blues works, but my primal passion always remains Heavy Metal, a genre that has accompanied me for many years now and without which I would feel incomplete.

Recently, however, I must admit, with a certain barely concealed regret, that heavy metal is slightly struggling. Indeed, the desire to hit harder and harder (in some instances bordering on pure frenzy!) while simultaneously winking at current trends, think about the various -cores out there, has led to releases impeccable from a technical point of view but terribly empty in the human and passionate aspect: intricate riffs alternating more for show of skill than anything else, drum patterns so fast they scream "drum machine!" with every bass drum hit, all seasoned with screamed, ultra-filtered, and effected voices tossed in just to create chaos and nothing more. Fortunately, not all bands opt for such choices; some stubbornly (and they can never be thanked enough for this!) release works of enormous quality into the market, blending modernity with a taste for composition that directly harkens back to that glorious past where atmosphere and violence served one another, creating a mix so pleasantly unhealthy that it continues to attract more and more followers worldwide.

After this long preamble, it will surely be easy for you to understand the reason for my enthusiasm towards the latest effort by the Germans Destruction, a band that has always been a proponent of violent Thrash Metal, direct and no-nonsense, capable of hitting you in the face with a sequence of punches so precise it would make a martial arts master envious! Albums like "Eternal Devastation" and "The Antichrist" have contributed to exploding and growing the fame of a band often too undervalued, overshadowed by more renowned peers like Kreator and Sodom, and completely bypassed when American Thrash comes into play (do the Big Four ring a bell?). Despite the difficulties, both personal with Schmier's departure in the '90s and related to the music market, overturned by Grunge (again in the nineties) and then monopolized by more recent nu and core trends, they managed to rise from their ashes in 2000 with "All Hell Break Loose," subsequently stringing together a series of truly unexpected and unforeseen successes, thus gifting the various thrashers around the globe with modern, fresh and damn consistent works.

This positive trend continues today, supported by another excellent piece: "Spiritual Genocide," released by Nuclear Blast. The album in question is truly a lesson on how to make an incredibly acidic and powerful record without necessarily resorting to triggers, computers, and various studio magic, using only heart, passion, and lots of muscle. Listen to the final "Under Violent Sledge," a real bomb from another time, with Vaaver really on top form, capable of delivering simply devastating drumming, characterized by a non-triggered double bass played with such fervor and anger rarely heard in most current releases, and a precision fit for a true drumstick surgeon; after hearing this track you find yourself thinking: "And they are only three, imagine if there was another guitar they could bring out!" As just mentioned, the trio doesn’t skimp on blows, but it must be pointed out that everything moves on a well-solid and coherent framework, cemented with killer and valuable riffing (work of the good Mike), branded by years of experience and passion, which accompanies singing that to call Vitriolic would really be an understatement; in fact, Schmier's voice is simply unique in its genre: abrasive like acid and recognizable among a thousand, an indispensable means to spread Destruction's wicked and polemical verb. What else could I add? Oh, I almost forgot! With the album in question, the three Germans celebrate thirty years of career, a very respectable milestone for a group that has always stood out since the beginning for a precise and coherent vision of their music, so I can only extend my heartfelt congratulations to Destruction, accompanying them with the listening of the splendid "Spiritual Genocide."

P.S. I recommend purchasing the limited edition digibook, which includes a nice commemorative patch and a truly well-done cover of Saxon's "Princess Of The Night."