Destroyer, or About How to Philosophize with the Hammer

Destroyer is a strange album. The production, sonic quality, and even lineup vary wildly. In most other albums, it wouldn't work. On Destroyer, these elements seem to enhance the atmosphere, instead of detracting from it. The use of samples has been criticized by many for cluttering up the sound, but this is a cluttered album. The additional guitar work of Tormentor doesn't really do anything technical or all that mind-blowing at all (most leads are quite simple, and Tormentor spends a sizable amount of time just feeding back into the mic) but this also adds to the fundamental characteristic of Destroyer:

This is chaos. The atmosphere on Destroyer is the first time I feel that Gorgoroth actually produced an album appropriate to the name. There are two instances pf the name occurring in Tolkien's literature. The first is a valley that was bound by massive cliffs on one side and cursed woods on the other, and was filled with grotesque oversized spiders and other dire pests; the second is the plateau in Mordor that most of the events concerning Mordor went down, being the location of Sauron's Barad Dur tower and Orodruin (Mount Doom.) Destroyer's atmosphere here is appropriate for both. The guitars sound just as harsh as the guitars on Under the Sign of Hell, but far more spacious and monumental, like icy, poisonous winds cascading from cursed plains.

Indeed, a tidy mix like that found on Antichrist or even the garage like production of Under the Sign of Hell would've detracted from the jarring, disorganized genius here. The one constant, however, is the stark minimalism coupled with a seemingly cluttered atmosphere. This contradiction is most present in the song Blodoffer, which is a song that I'll admit took me a few listens to wrap my head around. It begins with one chord that's repeated for the most part with little variation, with the crashing and cacophonous samples attacking the listener, until the song resolves into a more traditional riff and pattern. While the rest of the songs are not quite as inaccessible as Blodoffer, that's the general feel of the album: spacious yet cluttered, minimalist yet overpowering.

The ever-shifting lineup gives each song it's own atmosphere, and while the whole album has a definite atmosphere, it is one that is both droning and jarring. The vocals of Infernus, while oft-criticized, are perfect for the job: disgusting, vile, and caustic. Pest handles vocals in most songs, though, and handles them quite well. Tormentor, their one-time second guitarist, is present in most songs, and while the difference is subtle, it's there, and Tormentor adds his own atmosphere to the songs. The songs themselves range from the faster (Destroyer, The Devil, The Sinner, and His Journey) to the slower (Open the Gates, the Virginborn). Tormentor's leads are most apparent in the song Om kristen og Jødisk Tru, where the lead guitar pretty much carries the crux of the song. Still, nothing technical is being done here; the atmosphere is the prime goal and that's what propels Destroyer to greatness.

Destroyer is not what I would often be playing in my car stereo, unlike a lot of other Gorgoroth albums; This is more for listening at home, maybe even on headphones. It's not Gorgoroth's best effort, but while Destroyer seems to be the less-understood album in Gorgoroth's discography, the atmosphere is killer, and this album does contain some real gems, and this should definitely not be overlooked!

Before I get into the review... No, this review has nothing to do with Christianity, Judaism, or even faith for that matter. For those more interested fans of any black metal band with non-English titles, they have most likely taken the effort to translate – as best as one can, anyways – the titles and lyrics of their favorite bands to see what it means. In this case, “Om Kristen og Jødisk Tru” translates – roughly, at least – as About Christian and Jewish Faith. Now that we've gotten that out of the way, let's continue.

In general, I'd describe this album as filthy, blasphemous, wretched, vile black metal. More than that, though, it's noisy as hell, and while it is refined, sort of like Satyricon's Nemesis Divina, though perhaps a bit less ambitious, it is still a cold, harsh and fuzzy output by Gorgoroth. And no, I don't mean any of this in a bad way, otherwise I wouldn't have rated it so highly. In fact, it's what makes this album so great. I really like the guitars and vocals of this album. The former has multiple instances of feedback, making for a very real and live sound, while the latter is straight to the point.

To elaborate a little bit, the drumming is pretty standard, but very good. Nothing really stands out about the drumming, but without it, it'd just be a bunch of noisy, fuzzed-out guitars and some crazy guy screaming nonsense about Satan and his distaste for Christianity. The drum work on Destroyer punctuates everything quite well, and it is neither distracting or lost in the mix. It gives the guitars a nice rhythmic canvas to work within. The only thing I would've liked to see were maybe a few fills that stood out, ones that you anticipated their arrival. I like that the drums don't sound triggered or programmed, and come off sounding very real, like they were mic'd up and recorded in a studio room.

The guitars, on the other hand, belch out mid-range filth and fuzzed-out high end like an angry Tasmanian devil after some fast food. During the cover of the Darkthrone song “Slottet I det Fjerne” – which roughly translates as The Castle in the Distance – sees one guitar feedback throughout almost the entire song. Being a fan of 90's grunge, in particular Nirvana, and being a guitarist as I mentioned above, I rather enjoy the excessive feedback, not just in this song, but throughout the entire album. That said, I doubt everyone else enjoyed it as much as I do and possibly even hated the album for this very reason. I think the guitar work on this album is great, though I have not yet decided if it is my favorite yet as I love the guitar playing on the follow-up, Incipit Satan, quite a bit as well.

As usual with black metal, the bass is pretty much non-existent and makes me wonder if black metal bands would be missing out on anything if they did away with bass players entirely. I can occasionally hear something that approximates a bass, but it's generally buried in the mix and sticks to the root notes of whatever the guitars are playing, which doesn't help it any. That said, during the feedback-laden outro to The Virginborn, you definitely can hear the bass while it plays a nice simple melody and shows potential. It makes one wonder what a bass player could do if they weren't buried amidst the screams, blast beats, double kick, and noisy guitars on this album and in black metal in general.

The vocals... huh. I can barely follow who is on what track, but for the most part, the vocals do what they are supposed to. According to the Metal-Archives page for this album, Gaahl did the first song, Infernus did songs 6 and 8, T-Reaper did the 3rd track, and Pest did the rest. Kind of a mess, but at least the end result is nice. I'm not entirely sure why they did it, but it is what it is.

The random “Axl's Guns” style of recording this album doesn't just apply to the vocals, but rather the entire album as a whole. It's rather interesting that, by listening to the album without looking it up, you wouldn't be able to tell, but wow, what a mess. Infernus played every instrument at least once somewhere on the album, whether it be drums, vocals, guitars, bass, or effects, and makes one wonder why he didn't just do the entire album himself, perhaps with Tormentor helping to lighten the load a bit.

The production is nice and doesn't make things muddy or difficult to hear, maintaining all of the aggression of the guitar tones, which are grainy, filthy and perfect for black metal. Nothing sounds too out front or buried, with the obvious exception of the bass. The vocals are nice, retaining all of their blasphemous, vile nature, while the drums sound nice and live, like a real drum kit should sound.

Considering the mess that in the line up for this album, it could have turned out just as messy. All in all, I think this is a great slab of filth from Gorgoroth.

Stand out tracks:
Open the Gates
Om Kristen og Jødisk Tru
The Virginborn

Destroyer is the fourth full-length album from Gorgoroth, and it is appropriately titled. Rather than being a normal studio effort, this is a collection of songs that were recorded between 1994 and 1998, with each track featuring a different line-up. Infernus must have been incredibly burnt-out following Under the Sign of Hell, as this was a horrible idea and only served to demonstrate that the band's creativity was running on low. This makes even less sense, considering that this was their first effort for a larger label, Nuclear Blast. As brilliant as the early Gorgoroth output is, this 1998 release did nothing to add to their legacy.

Musically, this record shows a lot of inconsistency. There are only a few songs that are even worth hearing, and those pale in comparison to those that came before. The freezing cold tremolo melodies of "Open the Gates" are memorable enough, and this track is probably the best one on here. This sounds the closest to the material on the previous album, which is natural since it includes three of the four members that were present on Under the Sign of Hell. A similar feel is found on "Om kristen og jødisk tru" and "The Virginborn", which are both performed by the same line-up. The former is somewhat reminiscent of "Funeral Procession, while the latter is much slower and possesses more of an epic atmosphere. These three songs are the only ones that would really appeal to fans of older Gorgoroth. The rest is better left unheard.

The negative aspects of this album are many. Much of it is experimental trash that has no business being passed off under the Gorgoroth name. "The Devil, the Sinner and His Journey" is a brief track that would be boring enough on its own, but the pitiful synth makes it seem like more of a joke. The keyboards have a spacey effect, as if Infernus wanted to mix Black Metal with his love of Star Wars. The title track is beyond lame and sounds like a throwaway track from Darkthrone's Total Death. Gaahl's vocals are exceptionally terrible, which would be a running theme during his entire tenure with the band. This is rather odd, as his work on the first Trelldom album was not bad, at all. "Blodoffer" is another laughable song that demonstrates exactly why Infernus never bothered to take over vocal duties for the band. His voice is drowning in effects, which only makes him sound ten times worse than he would have, already. There are also a lot of sound effects that distract from the riffs, generic though they might be. Compared to all of these, "På Slagmark Langt Mot Nord" does not sound all that bad, though it falls short is matching the level of the other tracks that feature Pest on vocals. Still, it might be worth hearing, just to decide.

One of the most disappointing songs on this album has to be the cover of Darkthrone's "Slottet I Det Fjerne". Based on Gorgoroth's previous style, as well as the fact that this is a brilliant song to begin with, one would expect it to be impossible for this to come out poorly. Unfortunately, that is exactly what happened. Not only was the pace of the song sped up, but the emphasis was taken off of the great guitar melodies and the focus was shifted to the effects-laden vocals of Infernus and the terrible drum programming. Why the hell this ever came into being is anyone's guess, as Gorgoroth really butchered this song in the worst possible way.

This was the album that signified the death of Gorgoroth, for the time being. It would not have been so bad, if the few decent songs on here had been released as an E.P. Even then, the material could have used a little more work and a less irritating production. Destroyer is certainly not worth purchasing, so it is recommended that you seek out the handful of passable songs by some other means, but do not waste money on this.

Written for http://ritesoftheblackmoon.tripod.com

I'm not even sure if this could really be called a regular full-length album, rather than a compilation. Every single song features a different line-up and a different sound, both production- and music-wise. I mean, I don't mind when on an album every single song has its own distinct identity, but this just goes a little too far. And it's not only that. The album is said to be recorded "between 1994 and 1998", which puts it in the same timeframe as their three previous albums. This arouses the sneaking suspicion that we are dealing with leftover tracks here, songs that didn't make it on the previous albums and were recycled just for this release. At times, it certainly sounds that way. To be honest, this compilation (really, I can't call it an actual album) is so damn inconsistent that there is no way around reviewing it track-by-track, because songs really do not fit together as a whole, so that I can't review it as a whole either.

The opener, "Destroyer", is just a damn stupid song. It introduces Gaahl into the band, and is (along with the Darkthrone cover, I think) the only song on this album on which he appears, so it is probably the newest song on here. Well, to be honest, it sounds like it was thrown together in five minutes just to introduce Gaahl to those who would buy this album, because there really isn't anything else about this song. Most of it is based on a thrashy riff that is too damn awful to even pass as a throwaway from the "Under the Sign of Hell" sessions. It sounds like they went through throwaways, and threw out the worst riffs, then listened to those throwaways of throwaways and picked the worst one. It's annoying, doesn't go anywhere, and the whole song just feels like a waste of almost four minutes.The next song, "Open the Gates", definitely sounds like a leftover piece from the previous album and judging from the line-up listed in the booklet that assumption seems fairly accurate. It's pretty damn cool actually, and could probably have done well replacing one of the few weaker songs on "Under the Sign..." even though it is too damn similar to earlier songs, "Gorgoroth" from "Antichrist" and a collection of several of the more upbeat moments on "Under the Sign of Hell". A bit more of its own distinct character probably would have done the song some good, but overall it's a pretty good listen. Third song on this album, "The Devil, the Sinner and his Journey" sounds like a strange experiment recorded on a rather odd line-up that we have never seen before or would ever see again. T-Reaper, usually only known as the man on bass, takes over the vocals here, while the bass is performed by Infernus himself. Frost makes one of his irregular appearances behind the drums, and, most unusually, Gorgoroth employed someone by the name of Daimonion (who would later re-appear more prominently on "Incipit Satan") for the performance of synthetic effects. Overall, this song is rather common Gorgoroth material, not their best, but nicely going with a rather catchy lead melody, with the harsh synthetic noise adding an extra bit of flavour.

This is followed by the second of three songs recorded in the line-up heard before on "Open the Gates", and this one, going by the name "Om Kristen og Jödisk True", well, I don't know if these songs really were throwaways from previous sessions, but if this one isn't, it should have been one. This sounds like Gorgoroth playing at half their usual speed, and it doesn't become them well here. The whole song is damn tame, and damn boring. There just isn't any real energy, it just starts, they play their stuff, and then a few minutes later the song is over, and that's that. Nah, didn't impress me. On the fifth song of this album, "På Slagmack langt mot Nord", we hear the fourth (!!!) different line-up so far, and again this sounds completely different than the previous songs, musically and production-wise. You should be able to understand my frustration with this by now. There's not much to be said about this song, either. It's fairly generic, nothing too exciting, but it's a pretty good song with a nice drive. Oh, and Infernus is playing the drums (along with his usual instruments), and he's fairly good at it. Nice, how versatile he can be, because one song later he not only plays the drums, but performs the vocals as well. This makes "Blodoffer" - though co-written by Tormentor (whose songwriting talent was put on a rather shady light due to his only other songwriting credit being the albums useless opener) - feel a bit like an Infernus one-man-show. But hey, the man can pull it off, it seems. The song is probably one of the strangest Gorgoroth songs I have ever heard. The guitars drone on one chord almost the whole time, with a static blastbeat in the background. This is heavily overshadowed with very disturbing effects that sound like you are just sitting in a large nuclear submarine hitting stony ground, while the water pressure mercilessly deforms the outer hull. Guitars and drums go through slight changes later in the song, but never lose their unnerving droning quality, while the effects grow ever more creepy. A strange song indeed, and definitely not a piece of easy listening, but a highlight on this album - and Gorgoroth's whole career - in terms of terrifying atmosphere.

The last song listed on this album's tracklist - though not the last song on this album - is "The Virginborn", the third and final appearance of the "Open the Gates" line-up. I can imagine that this must be quite popular with many people, because unlike Gorgoroth's usual high-speed inferno, this is a pretty damn catchy lower tempo groove piece. The riffs flow very well over the straight-forward beat, and it's probably theoretically impossible that this doesn't at least get your head nodding. At over eight minutes, this - as far as I remember - is the longest piece in the discography of Gorgoroth, and even though the drum beat doesn't really change much, the variations in riffing as well as the quite hypnotic feel of its catchiness carry you through its full length smoothly, without ever really providing any reason for boredom. Last but not least, there is the cover of Darkthrone's classic "Slottet I Det Fjerne", the exact same song that appears on the "Holy Darkthrone" tribute compilation as well. Since this song does not appear in the tracklist of this album, it does not inform us about the line-up either, but from the sound of it I just have to assume that this is the sixth different line-up we are hearing on this CD to this point. Again, the production does not match any of the previous songs, in fact, this one sounds even more different to the others than the others sound from each other, making this album feel even more disjointed. Still, on its own, this song is pretty damn good. Of course the original is classic already, so there is some quality by default, but the extremely raw production gives this song an extremely harsh feeling, which nicely contrasts the fuzzy but smooth ambience of the Darkthrone's version. Just listen to how every time the vocals stop, there is a loud and fierce feedback from the microphone, it's so delightfully raw that you can easily develop an addiction for it.

Overall, there are some nice songs here, mostly mediocre songs, some throwaway stuff, and way too much inconsistency to constitute an actual full-length album. Definitely something for Gorgoroth fans and completists such as myself, but people looking for a really good album should stick to "Pentagram" or "Under the Sign of Hell".

I was worried at first when I heard Gorgoroth signed to nuclear blast records, I prayed to the gods of metal that they wouldn't sell out like Dimmu Borgir.
My prayers didn't go un-heard! Once again Infernus delivered the goods.

Firstly this album has a much colder raw sound than its three predecessors had and overall its hard to spot the similarities between Destroyer and the early works cos of the almost entirely new line-up.

The guitar work of Infernus really shines here. This becomes apparent when the mental intro on the title track ends and the riff kicks in, it gets louder and more insane as a mash of frenzied drumming and machine like noises are mixed up to culminate in one of the most insane black metal songs ever.
From here the pace doesn't really let up as Gorgoroth refuse to compromise their style by putting short slower passages into the middle of songs like so many other bands.

Obviously the drumming is good ( after-all this is black metal ) but alongside the guitar the vocals are amazing too. Gaahl's voice is your typical evil screeching but on this record they fit perfectly in time with the drums and guitars etc. This is cos of Infernus' brilliant song writing.

There is a big mix of styles on this album that are all very well put together. These include some more traditional metal style riffs like on "The Virgin Born" which is the only mid-paced track present. And a menacing presence of electronic samples like on the opener which thankfully never dominate the music and an awesome old school sound which make a very original sound throughout which has never been matched in the eight years since this album was vomitted forth into existence. Many bands have these elements in their music but only Gorgoroth have managed to blend them so well to make such a frenzied black metal assault.

Push play at your own peril. The first track on this album must be one of the most insane black metal songs ever. The opening 20 seconds of this track is like driving 200 mph in the wrong lane, not that I have ever tried driving a car, but I imagine it being close to this experience.

If you wish for distorted guitars like the ones on Gorgoroth’s other releases you’ll be disappointed. Not for the absence of them, but for the fact that people don’t make this kind of black metal any more. “Destroyer”, as the song is aptly named, is an ugly song, and the album is also an unpleasant acquaintance, though in my eyes that is just a flattering remark.
The albums itself spans over 4 years of Gorgoroth’s celebrated career (from 1994-199, something that explains the vast horde of musicians appearing on this “compilation” (I believe there are a total of nine different sets of fingerprints on this record), and the songs are therefore very varied, both when it comes to style and when it comes to quality. Overall, the album is still a typical Gorgoroth release, as it combines the extremely competent almost light-speed guitar-work that is the trademark of Infernus and the other stringmen, and the lovely melodic parts that makes the crushing brutality of songs like “Destroyer” appear almost unnecessary.

My personal favourites are “Destroyer”, “Open the Gates” and “The Virginborn”. As mentioned before, “Destroyer” is one hell of a beast. It speeds by as falling church masonry. A thing that gorgoroth has done on their later albums, and an idea that I support wholeheartedly. Why start an album with a lame two-minute ambient piece, or with some (cheesy) film-quotes, when you can just give the listener a minor head trauma? An interesting note about this song is that current vocalist Gaahl, made his first Gorgoroth appearance on this track (as far as I know). This song is therefore in some way a glance into the future of the band. “Open the Gates” and “The Virginborn” have an entirely different line-up, namely Infernus, Tormentor, Vrolok, Ares and Pest (these songs must then be from the period around “Antichrist” and “Under the Sign of Hell”), and are a huge step from the likes of “Destroyer”. The songs are much slower, and in these songs Gorgoroth shows that they have more to them than meets the eye. Actually these songs are so soothing and melodic that apart from the vocals this almost sounds like music that most people would be able to accept. Luckily Pest destroys any hopes of that, with his evil high-pierced voice described how Jesus lies dead at his feet.
As you may have figured, this is not merely a brutal black metal album about Satanism, war and u-boat sounds (!?). This is a political and religious manifesto, an open attack on Christianity, and its enslaved pawns.

Sadly, Gorgoroth will not print their lyrics for various reasons, one being that they do not want bands to cover them, so if you don’t understand the words, then it’s simply tough luck. This is a bit odd considering that they cover Darkthrone’s “Slottet I Det Fjerne”, but let’s leave that for another time, and just respect the band's wishes. From what you can salvage, Gorgoroth’s famous philosophical side (look at “Antichrist” for an instance), is still being nurtured, and Infernus & co. has always tried to show the listener that this is not only musical compositions, but is in fact works of art, in which the band tries to take a stand.

Gorgoroth has always had an enormous sense of originality, and only the band member’s solo-projects manage to make something remotely close to this beast. Pest’s Obtained Enslavement, or to some degree Orcustus, is close, but this is the magnum opus. “Destroyer or About How to Philosophise With the Hammer “ is truly Gorgoroth’s finest hour, if you have the time, try to find room to enjoy this tour de force, but take your time, and I’ll dare promise that you’ll not be disappointed with this album. Enjoy!

Gorgoroth is probably the most underrated band in the genre at this point. Where their older material lacked a clear vision and was mainly being a bit adolescent this album sky-rockets them into maturity.
This is what Black Metal is about! The production is a harsh and cold mixture of high en middle frequencies with the exception of the bassdrums (at least on the songs that are recorded with real drums, there's some drumcomputer on the album) who roll over the low end with a deadly-kick-in-the-stomach-bassdrone. Every break and every riff sounds like stomp in the face or a razor across the throath. Don't listen to it if you can only stand this type of music with a crisp and clear sound!
The album starts of viciously with the crushing song "Destroyer" which leaves absolutely no doubt about this band's mission: To Destroy Everything!!!
The song "Open The Gates" follows in a more mid tempo structure which carries a lot of weight and a great melody line that remotely reminds me of swedish death metal. Other great songs are "På slagmark langt mot nord" with it's deeply intense industrial sampling (Einsturzende Neubauten, anyone?) and the violent "Blodoffer".
But what really puts the cherry on the cake is the Darkthrone cover "Slottet I Det Fjerne". Now, for those of you who haven't heard the original let me tell ya it wasn't a walk through the park on a sunny day either but Gorgoroth dropped a fucking H-bomb on the entire fucking park and covered it in the soot and debris of all the dead christian pigs burnt in the process, thereby claiming dominance over the surving rabble of dogs and usurping the world of man!!! (gasps frantically while reaching for his Spawn figurine beating it mercilessly upon his self righteous christian G.I.JOE dolls)
Okay I'll tone down a bit now and say no more on the subject of burning Christians. Just buy this album cause it fucking rocks.