German thrash metal veterans DESTRUCTION will embark on the North American "30th Year Anniversary Tour" in May with support from WARBRINGER, VITAL REMAINS (who will be alternating each night) and PATHOLOGY.

States DESTRUCTION bassist/vocalist Schmier: "A killer package for old-school thrash and death metal freaks!

"This may be the best setlist we've ever had — the essence of thrash metal history united with our new anthems. We'll have more classics than ever in the set, more from the first records for sure.

"Can't wait to hit the road again!!! Some North American cities have a great audience for this old-school sound again, and it wasn't always like that.

"The main intention for this second North American tour within a year is that we could not play all markets that we wanted to book last time. Now we'll play some new places and return to those cities that gave us a great welcome last year like New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago and Montreal.

"WARBRINGER are a perfect match to a DESTRUCTION bill. They are one of the best new thrash bands and keep our '80s spirit alive. It will be great to have them with us! We've played with VITAL REMAINS before; awesome guys and a brutal band. They bring a good variety into the billing. Thrash/death metal is always the best mix, that's why PATHOLOGY complete the show!"

Confirmed dates and cities thus far for DESTRUCTION's "30th Year Anniversary Tour":

May 04 - Brick By Brick - San Diego, CA
May 08 - Casselman's - Denver, CO
May 10 - Reggie's - Chicago, IL
May 12 - Blackened Moon Concert Hall - Lansing, MI
May 16 - B.B. King Blues Club & Grill - New York, NY
May 17 - The Met - Pawtucket, RI
May 18 - Maverick's - Ottawa, ON
May 19 - Rockpile - Toronto, ON
May 22 - Kim's Pixie Inn - Pueblo, CO
May 24 - The Coach House - San Juan Capistrano, CA
May 26 - The Metro - Oakland, CA
May 30 - Studio Seven - Seattle, WA

More dates will be announced soon.

DESTRUCTION has commenced work on its 30th-anniversary album. The CD is due later in the year.

Inspired by IRON MAIDEN, MERCYFUL FATE, MOTÖRHEAD and VENOM, DESTRUCTION was formed as KNIGHT OF DEMON in 1982. The band's original lineup included vocalist and bassist Marcel "Schmier" Schirmer, drummer Tommy Sandmann, and guitarist Mike Sifringer. They soon changed their name to DESTRUCTION and released a demo titled "Bestial Invasion Of Hell" in 1984.

"Day Of Reckoning", the latest album from DESTRUCTION, sold around 800 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at position No. 58 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the Top 100 of The Billboard 200.

"Day Of Reckoning" entered the German Media Control chart at position No. 95. The CD was released in Europe on February 18, 2011 via Nuclear Blast Records. The first limited edition of the album did not feature the band's logo on the booklet while the vinyl version and second pressing of the CD showed a red DESTRUCTION logo on it.

"Day Of Reckoning" was the first album to feature DESTRUCTION's new drummer Vaaver (INDUKTI, ex-UNSUN).

We'll have more classics than ever in the set, more from the first records for sure.

Sheesh, how about some decent, or even halfway heard-of support and openers?

Sheesh, how about some decent, or even halfway heard-of support and openers?
And why hasn't Grave Digger or Running Wild ever played more than a few gigs in North America?????
No offense to Destruction, but they aint no GD or RW.

Do VR ever play any early stuff live? The demos are so great.

I love Destruction (and have since Infernal Overkill was released) and also really like Pathology. Seriously considering this show, though I saw Destruction with Krisiun last year (IIRC). Is Warbringer worth seeing? Also, anyone think Pathology will get more than a 20-30 minute set? Trying to decide if I want to make this show.

Like them or not, it's hard to deny that Warbringer put on a hell of a show. I'm not missing this gig. Fucking love both Destruction and Warbringer. I remember reading that Pathology will be alternating with Warbringer every night. In that case, whichever one of the two is direct support is probably going to play 40-45 minutes and the other will play a half-hour set.

I've always wanted to see Destruction live. One of my fav European thrash bands. Are they still exciting live?