1.  D.E.V.O.L.U.T.I.O.N.
2.  Elevator to Hell
3.  Vicious Circle/The Seven Deadly Sins
4.  Offenders of the Throne
5.  Last Desperate Scream
6.  Urge/The Greed of Gain
7.  The Violation of Morality
8.  Inner Indulgence
9.  Odyssey of Frustration
10. No One Shall Survive

Backing Vocals – Andre Grieder, Franky Winkelmann, Harry Wilkens, Marc, Ramona Götz, V.O. Pulver
Bass, Vocals – Schmier
Drums – Marc
Guitar – Mike

Destruction are what I like to call your solid Thrash Metal band. Not for them the wayward path; apart from a period in the nineties when Schmier left that few people like to talk about, they’ve been churning out the riffs since 1982. And guess what? Tenth full-length D.E.V.O.L.U.T.I.O.N is as solid an album as you could wish for a classic German Thrash band in 2008. Which means it’s pretty damn good, from the acoustic notes of the intro to the twisted vocals of the end. The moment that Schmier lets out his trademark scream in the opening title track, you know you’re in for one hell of a ride through Thrash’s post-millenial terrain; big chunky riffs, gang-shouts and fantastic solos all feature here, as well as the most important and most underrated element of Metal – the songwriting.

Throughout the album, Destruction prove that their experience has paid off, as they write catchy yet Thrashing anthems – the ripping Elevator To Hell, the crushing Vicious Circle – The Seven Deadly Sins (complete with monkish chanting) the pulverising Offenders Of The Throne... there’s nothing to complain about at all. Oh, some extreme purists may find a riff or two in Last Desperate Scream a bit too groovy, but when you’ve got as good a solo there, who cares? The playing on D.E.V.O.L.U.T.I.O.N is pretty fantastic, Schmier backed up by the usual crew of guitarist Mike Sifringer (Gary Holt and Jeff Waters providing guest solos on Urge and Vinnie Moor in the title track) and Marc Reign on drums. And above all this is Thrash that entertains in a way that the new wave of Thrash bands springing from everywhere like nightmarish self-cloning mutants will never be able to replicate – it’s plain German Thrash that needs nothing more than a few beers and space to headbang in. No progressive experimentation, no rapping, no female vocals, just pure Thrash madness from the masters, that works so well for what it is alone.

You don’t need to be under the age of eighteen, into beer bongs or skateboarding (never seen the appeal of the last, myself, except for those fun videos of people falling off the stupid things) to enjoy this, and in a Metal world where money is increasingly becoming more important than music, it’s a joy indescribable in mere words to hear Schmier’s butchering of the word ‘odyssey’. If you aren’t throwing the horns, unveiling the flag of hate and grinning like a loon through each syllable (Oh! Dee! See!) then you can damn well leave the hall. Let’s hope the Destruction lads release many more albums as ass-kickingly good as this in years to come. ---Goat, metalreviews.com

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CD I

   1. Intro
   2. Total Desaster
   3. Mad Butcher
   4. Devil's Soldiers
   5. Invincible Force
   6. Death Trap
   7. The Ritual
   8. Tormentor
   9. Black Death
  10. Beyond Eternity
  11. Release From Agony
  12. Sign Of Fear
  13. Incriminated
  14. Our Oppression
  15. Survive To Die

CD II

   1. Confound Games
   2. United By Hatred
   3. Upcoming Devastation
   4. Confused Mind
   5. Curse The Gods
   6. Unconscious Ruins
   7. Thrash Attack
   8. Reject Emotions
   9. Mad Butcher
  10. Pink Panther-Life Without Sense
  11. In The Mood -Release From Agony
  12. Bestial Invasion

Together with their countrymen Kreator and Sodom, Germany's Destruction constituted the dominating triumvirate of Teutonic thrash metal during the 1980s. And even though they ultimately failed to match these peers in terms of commercial success and longevity, at least two of their albums still qualify among the crème de la crème of the decade's speed metal. Heavy metal underwent a worldwide revolution in the early '80s, when the lingering lessons from '70s giants like Black Sabbath and Judas Priest crashed head-on with the D.I.Y. ethos of punk rock and the sheer velocity of Motörhead to spawn the much ballyhooed New Wave of British Heavy Metal, which, in turn sparked a far more powerful and lasting bastard offspring: thrash metal. Of all the nations contaminated by this musical virus as it proliferated unchecked, Germany was second only to the U.S. in terms of widespread infection.

Among its earliest contenders, there was Hamburg's Helloween, Essen's Kreator, and, from the town of Weil am Rhein in the Fatherland's southwestern tip, Destruction. Formed in 1983 from the remnants of an earlier band named Knight of Demon, Destruction brought together towering vocalist/bassist Marcel Schirmer (aka Schmier), diminutive guitarist Mike Sifringer, and drummer Tommy Sandmann. Looking to take advantage of the bustling worldwide tape-trading network responsible for breaking most of the '80s biggest heavy metal bands, the trio immediately set about recording and circulating its Bestial Invasion demo to critics and fans alike. It wasn't long before Germany's own Steamhammer label came calling with a record deal, and Destruction's Sentence of Death EP was released in 1984, soon to be followed by 1985's Infernal Overkill LP. Both of these were surprisingly proficient affairs fueled by raw aggression and youthful energy, and Destruction toured Germany with Slayer later that year before taking part in the legendary WWIII Festival in Montreal, Canada, alongside Celtic Frost, Voivod, and other rising stars of extreme metal.

Once they returned home, the bandmembers got to work on their second album, 1986's well-received Eternal Devastation, but lost founding drummer Sandmann shortly before heading out on the road again, this time with fellow Teutonic thrashers Rage. Thankfully, Sodom's Chris "Witchhunter" Dudeck was able to step in until they could find a permanent replacement in Oliver Kaiser. Additional guitarist Harry Wilkens was also brought on board at this time, and, after testing this new lineup on 1987's Mad Butcher EP, Destruction delivered what many consider their finest album, 1988's Release from Agony. Not all fans were in agreement, however, as the newfangled quartet's far more technical, almost progressive-leaning direction also rubbed hardcore constituents the wrong way. Being chosen as the opening band for Celtic Frost's disastrous Cold Lake tour was another unexpected setback, and, confirming that things were not right within the Destruction camp, popular frontman Schmier was unceremoniously sacked shortly after the release of 1989's Live Without Sense to make way for "more capable" replacements in vocalist Andre Grieder (ex-Poltergeist) and bassist Christian Engler.

Feeling betrayed, upset fans made their feelings known by staying away in droves from 1990's Cracked Brain album, as well as subsequent offerings like 1994's Destruction, 1995's Them Not Me (both EPs introducing new vocalist Thomas Rosenmerkel and guitarist Michael Piranio), and particularly, 1998's career low The Least Successful Human Cannonball. Schmier, in the meantime, had formed a new band called Headhunter and busied himself with the operation of his own restaurant, but he couldn't resist the opportunity to finally reunite with former partner-in-crime Sifringer and drummer Sven Vormann; the trio relaunched Destruction at the dawn of the new millennium. Since then, 2000's All Hell Breaks Loose, 2001's The Antichrist, and 2003's Metal Discharge (featuring drummer Marc Reign) have been released by Nuclear Blast, and 2005's Inventor of Evil, 2007's Thrash Anthems, and 2008's D.E.V.O.L.U.T.I.O.N. by AFM Records. Destruction returned to the Nuclear Blast fold for 2011's Day of Reckoning, which would be the first album to feature new drummer Vaaver. Spiritual Genocide dropped the following year and coincided with their 30th anniversary. Under Attack, the band's 14th studio long-player, dropped in early 2016. A sequel to 2007's Thrash Anthems (aptly named Thrash Anthems II) arrived in 2017. ---Eduardo Rivadavia, allmusic.com

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