Good

Nation: Germany

Album Genre: Thrash Metal

Pros: The percussion on this album is absolutely brutal! And for those who are into balls of thrash metal where the aim is to play with attitude driven by speed and some kickass vocals, this is your album. Highlight tracks include "Bestial Invasion" (by far the best on this album), and "Black Death."

Cons: Being a guy who is not the biggest fan of German thrash, I tend to be picky about what I listen to in this particular leg of thrash. One thing that usually bugs me is how repetitive it can become. It seems to be that bands such as Destruction, seem to go the route of extremely speedy thrash over catchy beats and riffs. I don't know how good they would be live (this could be a good thing for all you Destruction fans out there). I like Destruction in doses just because it's a speed driven thrash fest! Give me a Vio-lence album over Infernal Overkill any day of the week though.

Vewy Good

Nation: Germany

Album Genre: Thrash Metal

Pros: Now THIS is Thrash Cody like! I am not the biggest fan of Germanic thrash, but this album has some great rhythm work and is beyond catchy! Catchiness is key for me in metal, especially thrash, and this album has loads of it! The main rhythm in "Dictators of Cruelty" and "Nailed to the Cross" are unbelievably catchy. I am a bigger fan of the later work from Destruction, and this album shows it!

Cons: Nothing dramatic.

Vewy Good

Nation: Germany

Album Genre: Thrash Metal

The tried and true old school German thrash masters Destruction are back with yet another release amidst a slew of new releases coming at us every which way. With this latest releast Inventor of Evil ,I am happy to announce our beloved Germanic Butcherers are back and definitely still in their prime!

Ever since the band reunited with long time vocalist Marcel 'Schmier' Schirmer in 1999, Destruction has released album after album of blistering old school thrash giving all of us old school thrashers the absolute madness we thrive on. Ranging from good to amazing on each album, everything from 2000's All Hell Breaks Loose through to 2003's Metal Discharge left me almost non-chelantly expecting a continuation of greatness with their 2005 release, and boy were my expectations held true. Not only is this a great album, it is one of their better ones, only being bested by The Antichrist in greatness. Featuring incredibly catchy riffs (including some riffs in Dealer of Hostility that take alot of influence from the Bay Area Thrash scene), songs that are NOT monotonous ( Destruction for me can sometimes fall victim to creating unoriginal music at times), and of course the trademark vocals of Schmier in top form. The only problem I have is with the third track...

The Alliance of Hellhoundz is like the extreme metal version of Hear N' Aid. Featuring an all star heavy metal cast consisting of Biff Byford ( Saxon ), Doro Pesch, Shagrath ( Dimmu Borgir ), Björn "Speed" Strid ( Soilwork ), Paul Di'Anno (ex- Iron Maiden , Killers ), Messiah Marcolin ( Candlemass ), Mark Osegueda ( Death Angel ), Peter "Peavy" Wagner ( Rage ), and Peter Tägtgren ( Hypocrisy , Pain ). The intention of this song was obviously to bring together some of the biggest names in the industry to sing about the greatness of heavy metal, which is fucking cool, I am down with metal fellatio in songs, but what I don't like is when 3345945 metal vocalists try to one up one another in the same song with different styles just thrown together for the sheer fact that it can be done. As far overall quality, this song is passe instrumentally with the entire focus on the vocals, and the vocals themselves are cluttered adding absolutely nothing productive to the song.

Despite the one hiccup on the record, the rest of the tracks remain untainted classics in the making. If it weren't for the heart and soul embodied in every member of Destruction , I sincerely do not know what the state of thrash would be in right now, regardless of what country the music is being played in. Every album Destruction has released in the last 5-6 years has been an important accolade for not just thrash, but metal in general. It shows that a band can hold true to their sound yet continue to evolve and really give the fans what they want to hear. In honor of this, everyone grab your nearest beverage and raise it high, for I am declaring a toast.....Long live metal, long live thrash, and long live Destruction ! Let there be many more years left in the hearts, creativity, and talent of this band to get the job done to help entertain poor schmucks like myself. CHEERS!

(Originally written for www.metalreviews.com)