AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |
Back to Blog
Destruction infernal overkill8/15/2023 In fact, Destruction try to pack as much heaviness and excitement into the release as possible, occasionally to the extent that it is overdone, resulting in slight difficulties distinguishing between the fast parts of each song and especially navigating a path through the scramble of quick solos, which bear extreme similarity to each other. However, the thing that is easy to announce is that all the songs are fast and you will be able to bang your head like a crazy person for the duration, since there certainly aren't any slow or dull parts. There are elements and moments that are decidedly not speed metal and engage with the new extreme styles, not least in the verses of 'Satan's Vengeance', where a primitive kind of death metal riff can be heard blurring up on the bass and approaching blastbeats on the drums, something that was extremely rare for the year. What makes the riff delivery interesting is that there is relatively little use of palm-muting in the sense that Hetfield et al were using it, while the riffs don't have the essential "choppiness" of thrash, instead racing forwards on light and sprightly combinations of notes and fills that often prefer speed over heaviness. What we find on Sentence of Death is a high-energy melodic delivery of Satanic garbage, constructed mainly around Mike Sifringer's slightly unusual riffing style. I would prefer to call this fast heavy metal than thrash metal, something that was still in the system when the full-length Infernal Overkill hit the streets the following year. However, it makes more sense in the view that thrash found Destruction rather than Destruction finding thrash, a view upheld by the fact that the three-piece were influenced more by Venom than Metallica, as one can judge by the lyrics and vocals on this release. It came as a slight shock to me that this EP was released as early as 1984, particularly as one tends to think of the German thrash acts coming slightly later than their Bay Area peers. And to make things more interesting, this EP was released in 1988 together with their full-length debut release, so the listener has the chance to enjoy a lengthier dose of frantic metal madness. Although many listeners consider that "Sentence of Death" is simply a speed metal release, what is true is that the album goes far beyond in terms of darkness and rawness. And although it would not be as harsh as the albums mentioned above, it is a release that those who want a real lesson on violence will enjoy. With no doubts, this German band provided a lesson on how to kill a horse with the help of the drums. That said, the debut EP remains alongside Sodom's EP and Kreator's debut as the best black metal releases that Germany provided during the '80s. Furthermore, the version featured in this release would be the best and the rawest. But besides the crazy lyrics that accompany this number, the frantic pace in which it runs and the menacing intro riff made this song the perfect black metal piece and a song that would provide some basis for their next releases. While "Satan's Vengeance" and "Devil Soldier's" seem to be the perfect source of inspiration for Bathory (please refer to their third release "Under the Sign of the Black Mark"), the third track is precisely what black metal started to lack since the early 90's: an insane butcher who kills his victims unmercifully. While it begins in a mid-pace, it then grows into a faster number with an incredible intro that precisely resembles Mercyful Fate's guitar playing (i.e., something trickly melodic that seems to move far beyond). "Total Disaster" is a perfect title for the next piece, since itself is a pure lay of insane speed, while "Black Mass" is more of a Venom meets Mercyful Fate thing. Afterwards, the release would continue with five of the rawest tracks that the black metal scene has ever offered thus far. Black metal during the 80's consisted of thrashy or speedy numbers dealing with Satanism, plus other components, such as a raw and dirty production, tremendously distorted guitars, shrieky vocals, and an unbearably tense atmosphere and this is what best describes Destruction's debut EP.Ĭomprised of six tracks, the EP kicks in with a spoken intro, which being something made up by Schmier, sounds like a speech from Satan himself. Building on the blueprint of Venom, Motörhead (just look at the cover, three guys who look like the members of this band playing speedish music) and Celtic Frost, this release would address the band's obsessions with Satanism and deprivation that would best characterize black metal music. Similarly to what their country fellows Sodom and Kreator made in the early 80's, these German metallers brought out a release that would be part of the earliest wave in the black metal scene.
0 Comments
Read More
Leave a Reply. |