Marking 30 years of no-compromise brutality, Teutonic thrash legends Destruction have apparently “knuckled-down big time” for this, their 12th studio album.
Still helmed by original bassist/vocalist Marcel ‘Schmier’ Schirmer and cigar-chomping guitarist Mike Sifringer, their music has proved as consistent as their lineup, and Spiritual Genocide is most definitely business as usual. It’s heavier, more focused and more diverse than their last few efforts, without wandering far from the trademark Destruction sound: chainsaw guitars, clattering drums and Schmier out front going ballistic.
It does not, however, raise the bar, nor does it have any particular air of celebration about it. Damned if they mess with the formula, damned if they don’t, Destruction have delivered yet another Destruction album. Stud-encrusted disciples will lap it up; everyone else will either nod gently in appreciation or simply reach for their battered copy of Eternal Devastation.
The true testing ground for these songs, however, will be the stage, Destruction’s natural domain.
