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Destruction > Metal Discharge > Reviews > CHRISTI_NS_ANITY8
Destruction - Metal Discharge

All my respect for them... - 87%

CHRISTI_NS_ANITY8, December 23rd, 2008

Metal Discharge was a bit of a letdown for those who were expecting the same blowing production of the previous albums by Destruction. The production in the recent past was just massive and maybe a bit too much for them, so with this new album Schmier & Co. decided to return a bit to the classic rawness of the thrash. However, this rawness is not the one we could find twenty years ago because the volumes are very good and the instruments have always that unmatched heaviness but everything is just more human and the guitars are far less loud. The drums are metallic and the newcomer Marc Reign is even more various than the recently discharged Sven Vormann.

Back to this album, we can notice the always great Destruction trademarks at the schizophrenic riffage and the mad vocals. Schmier is always strong and in shape while Mike is just relentless in putting out everything that could sound extreme and catchy at the same time. The opener is for the best track on this album “The Ravenous Beast”. The style is immediately “in your face” like a train and we can immediately notice the new production. The new drummer’s skills are well-displayed and his way of playing the instrument is really old school for the vicious beats. Here the band is truly brutal and everything, from the verses to the refrain, is catchy and incredibly fast. The title track follows the same direction with more riffs and fast drums passages.

The band seems restless and really passionate for what they are doing. Even the more mid-paced sections are always dynamic and full of fast restarts. “Rippin' the Flesh Apart” should have been far less long because the first two minutes are not good, being full of slow, derivative parts. They show fewer ideas than the ones on furious bass drums restarts. “Fear of the Moment” has an unbelievable drums intro to clearly show the newcomer’s skills while the rest in just furious and always catchy. The importance for the form of the songs is essential, as well as for the catchiness. A demonstration of this is the brutal but recognizable refrain.

“Mortal Remains” is a bit more mid-paced at the beginning but the riffs are just great. Once again the refrain is catchy and the tempo changes are very well-played. Mike here does a superb work in switching some many parts without losing a note. “Desecrators of the New Age” has its violence on the fast bass drums beats while some parts are a bit too melodic, especially for the vocals. These parts sound strange to my ears and not that Destruction style. However, the riffs are always quite intricate and the refrain in once again here to stay, along with the main riff. “Historical Force Feed” has its strongest point on the catchiness of the refrain because the riffs are not great and the song is a bit too monotonous.

“Savage Symphony of Terror” is faster, the bass drums parts are great and that is good before the more mid-paced but dark “Made to be Broken”. Here the stop and go parts by the guitar are more present even if they are not annoying thanks to the metallic and sharp production. By the way, more canonical parts can be found near the refrain, where the riffs are thrasher in style and more compact. “Vendetta” is a quite slow song and it ends the album. The speed restarts are always present but the refrain is more focused on the mid-paced tempo and the low vocals. The dark atmosphere is the most remarkable point for this song.

All things considered, Destruction are still going strong in playing thrash metal. Yes, the energy is not that savage one of the old days anymore, but who cares. They still thrash and this is important, especially during this period in which nothing is sure…