RSS Feed


DESTRUCTION
Diabolical

Napalm (2022)
Rating: 7.5/10

Hearing another Destruction record is a bit like seeing an old friend. Y’know, the one who you were best mates with during the 80s, and who still conjures up those old times even if they aren’t quite as good as before. They are the friend who has become a bit repetitive, all too familiar, but one who you’ll always hold dear to your heart.

Destruction, just like fellow German thrashers Kreator, and more so Sodom, have followed similar path; beginning as evil, primitive youths flirting with first wave black metal aesthetics, but over time their coats have become glossier and the sound – although still potent – less exciting although matured and reliable but with heaps more melody.

I don’t blame the band for such evolution though. Instead, I blame us as listeners because the audience – especially those that were there when the band first sprouted from Hell’s flames – always yeans for those halcyon days, and almost refuses to move with the band, not realising of course that the musicians who created such flair are as old, if not older, than its audience.

So for Destruction and the likes to return to the raging prowess of, say, 1984’s Bestial Invasion Of Hell demo, would in fact be a false move. And so it’s important for us to savour these warhorses why we have them, because whatever form they choose, bands such as Destruction, Sodom and Kreator will always thrash hard, stick to their guns and provide enough battle-worn metal until the next offering is churned out.

Welcome then to album number 16 from these Teutonic terrors. It’s been three years since the last album, Born To Perish, although there was a flurry of singles last year. Diabolical, just like every trusty Destruction release, is typically speedy, aggressive and spiky.

The title track kicks things off, setting the tone and ripping your head off. It’s a full speed ahead blitz with those spiteful vocal snaps from Marcel “Schmier” Schirmer backed up with equally rigorous axe furies of Damir Eskić and Martin Furia, propelled further by the sonic percussion of Randy Black.

What Destruction proves is that even with numerous line-up changes over the years the beast remains on the offensive, rarely giving way to glinting melody and never sacrificing its belligerence, even when a melodious solo interrupts the toxic haste.

Tracks such as ‘No Faith In Humanity’ and ‘Repent Your Sins’ are heavily Slayer-ized at times, fitting in very much with the modern thrash glint. But because we know that it’s still Destruction in guise we feel the need to critique it more than some of the upstarts on the block.

The aforementioned brace of guts go hammer n’ tong, speeding, snapping and gnashing with every instrument, but it’s Schmier’s vocal attack that keeps the combo ticking along. And there are no let-up as ‘Repent Your Sins’ brings a twisted, chugging melody, snarling with its riffage and marching with its punchy drum.

Other highlights on this 13-track affair are the ravenous ‘Hope Dies Last’, a fully nuked barrage of rampant percussion and seething axe work, while ‘State Of Apathy’ riddles the listener with gunfire and is another war-torn speed attack matched by the scurrying assault of ‘Servant Of The Beast’ and the cutting guitar work of ‘Ghost From The Past’, where the bass rumbles like an impending storm.

The only track I’m not fazed by is ‘The Lonely Wolf’. This one provides more melody and is anthemic in its chorus, but it feels a tad generic, more akin to a power metal-cum-thrash workout in the vein of Grave Digger.

Even so, Diabolical remains as effective as razor wire around the throat as a snarling repertoire of tracks culminates with a cover rendition of GBH’s ‘City Baby Attacked By Rats’ which Destruction transform into a hyper snap. In a sense it’s not a necessary finale, and to have finished the opus with the excellent ‘Whorefication’ would have sufficed – a track with heaps of Slayer influence with its devious chugging.

So all in all, Diabolical is another solid addition to the prolific catalogue of one of Germany’s finest metal attacks. However, just like that old friend who batters and bruises you for 45 minutes straight upon seeing him, eventually you’re just glad he’s getting back on the train soon to leave you in peace… until the next time.

Neil Arnold

<< Back to Album & EP Reviews



Related Posts via Categories
Share