Destruction - Birth of Malice ★★★☆☆

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★★★★☆ SONGWRITING

★★★★☆ THEMES

★★☆☆☆ LONGEVITY

★★★★☆ PRODUCTION

★★★☆☆ THRASHABILITY

★★★☆☆ GOOD SH!T

Is that ramrodding I hear beyond the bend? Must be the Teutonic Trash Metal I hear people talking about!

Birth of Malice opens with a pointless title track. Then were upon a band’s namesake song, 'Destruction'. When a band stamps its own name on a track, the stakes are high — it has to deliver. This one isn't bad, and regardless of the shred craze its perhaps surprisingly one of the slower ones on the album.

Its 'Cyber Warfare' where its at, though. Delicious, delicious guitar antics open up a fast spine shaker with a very topical and self-explanatory message for today. 'No Kings - No Masters' feels very much pointed towards the well-known political duo covered in news media these days. Its in these types of songs where the shrieking of the bass-playing vocalist, Schmier, comes to its own. Undeniable highlight on the album and rightfully a single release beforehand: fast, catchy, energetic, poignant; truly...

(teutonic) Thrash Metal at its best!

A personal standout, 'Scumbag Human Race' is a vicious yet infectious track brimming with attitude and, once again, woefully topical. Notably, it’s also penned by Destruction’s "new guitarist", Martin Furia, giving it a distinct edge that sets it apart from Schmier’s usual razor-sharp vision for what the band is all about.

That said, with 12 tracks, the album does feel overstuffed. Excelling at high-speed there's a predictability to the madness whereas the slower moments are unconvincing for variety. By the time the Accept cover, 'Fast as a Shark', rolls around at the end you have found yourself struggling to stay engaged.

From Germany with love (for Thrash Metal)

Destruction's teutonic machinations are well crafted and they tick all 'em boxes for the connoisseurs. The band has always felt more single-minded (and aggressive) than the others of the Teutonic Big Four (Sodom, Kreator and Tankard), which further makes everything a bit too mechanical for my personal liking.

On the other hand I feel that anything below 200 bpm and the band is a fish out of water — go figure.

I must've listened to the album some 10 times before I could put my finger down on why I was so pleasantly surprised by this one: it reminds me of modern day Megadeth, which is very passable. Birth of Malice shares many characteristics with Megadeth's Dystopia, and one of the most obvious factors is the relentless tempo to stomp forward.

Destruction thrives in its comfort zone, and mid-tempo isn’t part of it. The album is weighed down by these exact disposable chunks that fade into the background — a case where less would have been more.