Artist: Destruction
Label: Nuclear Blast Records
Release Date: 10/21/03
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Title: Metal Discharge Artist: Destruction Label: Nuclear Blast Records Release Date: 10/21/03 |
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Abyss's Review:
I don’t know if any band would be all that well-served by putting the word ‘discharge’ in their album title, but a band as old as these guys certainly want to avoid it. Of course, I guess it could be a military thing, like a play on ‘mental discharge’ (a Section 8 if my M*A*S*H memory serves me right. And I’m sure that M*A*S*H is the most technically rigid military TV show ever - especially once Alan Alda took over directing!). Does the fact that I took it the first way show off too much of my personal life? Perhaps, let’s just end this by saying I’m not a big fan of the thought of ‘discharge’.
"This veteran German thrash act have come out with a solid record, sounding ‘retro’ while avoiding sounding ‘dated’." Anyhoo, this veteran German thrash act have come out with a solid record, sounding ‘retro’ while avoiding sounding ‘dated’. Production is rough, but competent, and like most 80’s-era thrash, the music is less concerned with being ‘tight’ as it is getting you to move around. Old-school fans shouldn’t be disappointed in this record at all, as the riffs are compelling, the vocals are abrasive, and it has more sneer-induced attitude than Elvis vs. Billy Idol in a house of mirrors. But, that being said, I doubt there will be many new fans jumping on board.
While it might be disadvantageous to compare this album to the classics, but if you’ve liked the recent output from bands like Kreator and Sodom, you’ll be more than happy with this release. I, myself, have been really enjoying this type of sound lately (which is weird, cause I was so spent on it for so long, just read my Kreator review) and continue to be happily surprised by how effective it remains as a genre. I guess I really am getting old. One word review: Awesome.
"One word review: Awesome."
Death's Review:
Metal Discharge?
Anyway, Destruction are cool, and always have been. At this point, they’ve hit a certain stride, a consistency, album-to-album. There is a sort of sameness about what they do and it renders this album a touch more mediocre than the other material. Not necessarily “less than” or in any way worse than The Antichrist or All Hell Breaks Loose, but just a hell of a lot more expected. The excitement of Schmier returning to the Destruction fold, and he and Mike resurrecting past glory for the late-nineties reunion, has worn off for me. I’ve seen the band live a few times since they got back together, and the huge gap in time between seeing the reformed, modern Destruction and the old-school, Destruction/Cro-Mags tour as a teenager has finally passed. So I pretty much know what the deal is with this reunion now. I know what to expect.
"Now they’re like the AC/DC of German thrash. They’re solid, consistent, yet in their consistency they’ve delivered exactly what was expected." That’s probably because Destruction pretty much knows what its fans want to hear, and without other pretension simply sets about giving it to them at every turn. The only problem is that my taste for the band seems to be different than the majority. I liked the technical and slightly weird later Destruction stuff like Release From Agony and even the post-Schmier Cracked Brain. But I am in the distinct minority it seems: the Destruction reunion is definitely much more about the Infernal Overkill, rawer, early aggressive German-thrash era. Which of course is pretty awesome too. But that’s where Destruction are these days – they bust out with some old-school, buzzsaw riffs and string them together into formulaic yet fun headbanging anthems. Some people might bow out because of Schmier’s vocals, but you basic thrashers will love the traditional approach. I’m getting mildly bored with it. Old Destruction morphed and changed from album to album – the pre-death metal of Sentence of Death gave way to the reckless thrash abandon of “Bestial Invasion,” which gave way to fist-pumping anthems like “Life Without Sense” which became moody material like “Sign of Fear” before becoming uber-“technical Bay Area thrash/power metal” with Cracked Brain. Now they’re like the AC/DC of German thrash. They’re solid, consistent, yet in their consistency they’ve delivered exactly what was expected. Sadly, they’ve delivered nothing more.
So viewed from a lens of nostalgia, Metal Discharge is worth your attention - or at least you’ll need to be sure to catch the tour when the band comes around because they put on a great show and it is thrash history right before your eyes as these guys perform their classic material with integrity and aggression. But the album is not necessary, and if you heard The Antichrist you’ve heard enough to already know whether or not you want to buy this album. Who knows? After a while I may decide that this is the best of the three most recent Destruction albums. But even if this is a little bit better, It’s not enough “better” or enough “worse” than the last two to either scare away old fans or to attract too many new ones. Bottom line: safe and expected but cool.
"Bottom line: safe and expected but cool."
Hel's Review:
Destruction is back with yet another thrash attack. This time, we are treated to Metal Discharge. (Gee, I hope that washes off.) The German trio remains true to their credo of thrash mayhem and deliver a platter which stands up nicely to their veteran thrash standards.
A curious thing happened while I was listening to this album. Intending to turn the volume on my MP3 player down, I hit the wrong button (as usual – who was the moron who decided I needed to press the top button to turn it down?) and the volume amped way up. Desperately pushing the correct button did not help – it was firmly stuck, blaring Destruction at a very loud volume. While it was undoubtedly caused by the battery running low, it’s more fun to think of it as a testament to the music: it thrashes so hard, this album may take control of your electronics! Beware the power of Destruction!
"Take note, kiddies, here’s a piece of history sticking its metal fist in your face and shaking it." Seriously though, Metal Discharge features Destruction’s brand of driving old-school thrash metal in a no-nonsense package that will endear itself to their fans. I hope to see a continuation of the thrash metal revival we’ve witnessed lately, and with this record, Destruction lays down the rules, old school. Take note, kiddies, here’s a piece of history sticking its metal fist in your face and shaking it.
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