{"id":8913,"date":"2012-11-23T00:00:07","date_gmt":"2012-11-23T00:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=8913"},"modified":"2016-11-07T00:37:39","modified_gmt":"2016-11-07T00:37:39","slug":"album-review-destruction-spiritual-genocide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-destruction-spiritual-genocide\/","title":{"rendered":"DESTRUCTION – Spiritual Genocide (2012) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

DESTRUCTION
Spiritual Genocide<\/strong><\/span>
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\nNuclear Blast (2012)<\/span>
Rating: 9\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Destruction<\/a> have always occupied the so-called second tier of thrash metal, a league that existed in the shadow of the \u201cbig four\u201d \u2013 Anthrax, Megadeth<\/a>, Slayer<\/a> and Metallica. But the reality is, Destruction are major league thrash. Alongside other European metal maniacs such as Kreator, Coroner and Sodom, the German band have progressed from those primitive beginnings without once letting down their guard.<\/p>\n

The career of Destruction, and the aforementioned European acts, could be considered far greater than the \u201cBig Four\u201d, because even when metal was in the doldrums these guys stuck to their guns, never once letting up in their quest for thrash Armageddon.<\/p>\n

Metallica became the heavy metal U2, Slayer tried too many times \u2013 and failed \u2013 to replicate Reign In Blood<\/em> (1986), Anthrax got serious, while Megadeth floundered in the mid-90s. But for me, Destruction has occupied the same foetid pit since their inception.<\/p>\n

Fronted by the sneering Marcel \u201cSchmier\u201d Schirmer (who also plays bass), Destruction has always been a tenacious trio, and Spiritual Genocide<\/em>, the bands 12th all-new studio opus (and that\u2019s without those live albums and EPs) \u2013 yes, 12th! \u2013 is another of those eye-gouging, skin-shredding, and bone-crunching thrash experiences that proves once again that the old guard are still red hot and on top when it comes to vomiting out hellish fury.<\/p>\n

As of 2010, the drum machine behind Destruction\u2019s blast beats has been Wawrzyniec \u201cVaaver\u201d Dramowicz, a furious individual who treats his skins with no pity. Alongside him is master Destruction shredder Mike Sifringer, who has become an indelible stain on Destruction\u2019s back catalogue alongside Schirmer.<\/p>\n

As a teenager growing up in the 80s, bands like Destruction always appeal with their bullet belts, spiked wristbands and hyper sound. However, for many kids into thrash metal, such a band were also perceived as rather lethal; the sort of band you wouldn\u2019t want your parents to stumble across. It\u2019s great that, to mark their 30th anniversary, Destruction are still scaring the neighbours with their brute force pure thrash attack. Forget all the new kids on the block, there\u2019s nothing like the originals.<\/p>\n

Spiritual Genocide<\/em> kicks off with the whispering, marching \u2018Exordium\u2019; probably the closest Destruction have ever got to Slayer. The mood is dark, the marching drums ominous and the militant whir of the guitar evokes images of stormy skies. But then it\u2019s a full frontal assault as the terrifying trio spring from the darkest corner with a frantic work out which goes by the name \u2018Cyanide\u2019. Schirmer\u2019s vicious rasp brings to mind the war-torn screams of Tom Araya (Slayer) and that distinctive Euro thrash feel which made the 80s such a blessed period. Dramowicz gives the performance of his life, rattling the sticks, the guitars flail, and the band rarely dropping into mid-tempo. Instead they are intent to smash the face with their mallet of hate.<\/p>\n

The title cut also exists to batter the skull. A tumbling drum roll and twisted guitar riff and we\u2019re back at full throttle. Sifringer\u2019s fingers must have been grated to the stumps after this. Destruction care not for melody; this could easily have been recorded back in the foggy 80s, such is the primal rage of this 11-track mini-masterpiece.<\/p>\n

The aim of the band here is clearly to keep things short and sweet, as there\u2019s not a track over five minutes. \u2018Renegades\u2019 is a punishing tour de force of a track; Schirmer\u2019s vocals become a throaty yelp on that chanted chorus, the band offer a slightly slower approach but this doesn\u2019t last, as again the listener is pulled into the grinder for another battering.<\/p>\n

\u2018City Of Doom\u2019 is the first of four cuts that stretch more than four-minutes and this section is the real backbone of the album. There is a catchy riff on \u2018City Of Doom\u2019 that hooks into your flesh, while \u2018No Signs Of Repentance\u2019 gallops at a staggering pace. Although \u2018To Dust You Will Decay\u2019 is probably the most ominous cut on the album, featuring its chanted, punchy chorus and devilish chugging.<\/p>\n

Those of you, like me, still stuck in the 80s thrash time warp will no doubt be pleased to hear that the band have enlisted the help of Tom Angelripper of Sodom and Gerre from Tankard for vocal contributions on the snarling \u2018Legacy Of The Past\u2019. This track is a classic thrash anthem to say the least, name-dropping several thrash classics such as \u2018Hell Awaits\u2019 (Slayer) and \u2018Into The Crypts Of Rays\u2019 (Hellhammer) as Schirmer wails: \u201cThe legend will last!\u201d<\/em>.<\/p>\n

And if all this isn\u2019t enough for you thrash-heads, then get a load of \u2018Carnivore\u2019 \u2013 probably the albums most melodic track (although I\u2019m not sure about the video guys?!) \u2013 followed by the fury of deadly duo \u2018Riot Squad\u2019 and \u2018Under Violent Sledge\u2019; the former featuring killer guitar solos and ominous chug.<\/p>\n

While these type of bands will always struggle to better their early works, this trio have no need to attempt such an impossible task. Destruction stand for thrash metal, and while they may have spent their existence in the shadow of false labels, 12 albums down the line are prime examples of what sincere thrash is all about. There\u2019s nothing fancy here, just barbaric, ballsy, face clattering metal that consistently blows the roof of anything and everything else this year. Spiritual Genocide<\/em> is a scathing opus that reeks of a pissed-off attitude… what more could you want from a thrash record? And just to think that Destruction\u2019s earlier works are even more vicious!<\/p>\n

Neil Arnold<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

DESTRUCTIONSpiritual Genocide Nuclear Blast (2012)Rating: 9\/10 Destruction have always occupied the so-called second tier of thrash metal, a league that existed in the shadow of the \u201cbig four\u201d \u2013 Anthrax, Megadeth, Slayer and Metallica. But the reality is, Destruction are major league thrash. Alongside other European metal maniacs such as Kreator, Coroner and Sodom, the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[58],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8913","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-destruction"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8913","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8913"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8913\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49508,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8913\/revisions\/49508"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8913"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8913"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8913"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}