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Destruction

Band formed in 1982 in Lörrach, Germany

Destruction's Genre:

Speed/Thrash Metal, Heavy Metal, Power Metal

Biography

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 as well as drummer Sven Vormann, and relaunch 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 and 2007's Thrash Anthems by AFM Records. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia

AOL Radio Stations Destruction is Featured on (2)

Metal

Welcome to Slacker Metal...home to the world's most extreme music. Metal is all about speed, volume, and intensity. Slacker Metal will punish your ears with tunes from today's most innovative bands while paying homage to the true metal gods. Get ready to bang your head, hail!!!

Destruction

This station plays the best music from and music from related artists like Death Angel, Exodus, Overkill, Kreator, Death, Sodom, Testament, Slayer, Annihilator, Sepultura and more.

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Destruction's Selected Discography (21)

Spiritual Genocide

2013 Nuclear Blast GmbH201317 Songs

Day of Reckoning

2011 Nuclear Blast GmbH201113 Songs

Artists Related to Destruction (50)

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	Exodus	Once the kings of the Bay Area metal scene -- the birthplace of thrash -- Exodus were unceremoniously demoted from their post with the arrival of Los Angeles' Metallica in 1982.
	Overkill	New York thrash quartet Overkill were formed in 1984 by vocalist Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth and guitarist Bobby Gustafson, and also included bassist D.
	Kreator	Arguably the most influential and successful European thrash metal band ever, Germany's Kreator is also by far the most enduring.
	Death	Over the course of more than a decade and seven increasingly accomplished albums, Chuck Schuldiner, the architect behind the ubiquitous Death, became a bona fide heavy metal icon.
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	Testament	Testament were the biggest thrash metal band never to reach the platinum plateau. In fact, the San Francisco quintet seemed on the verge of challenging Metallica (their most obvious influence) in the melodic thrash sweepstakes, but their run toward the top was eventually derailed by inconsistency, bad business decisions, and the genre's dwindling appeal.
	Slayer	Slayer were one of the most distinctive, influential, and extreme thrash metal bands of the 1980s. Their graphic lyrics dealt with everything from death and dismemberment to war and the horrors of hell.
	Annihilator	Canadian thrashers Annihilator are the lifework of guitarist Jeff Waters, who founded the band in his native Vancouver in 1984 -- just as the speed metal revolution was getting underway further to the south in the San Francisco Bay Area.
	Sepultura	From their humble beginnings in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, Sepultura went on to become the most successful Brazilian heavy metal band in history.
	Morbid Angel	Groups like Venom, Mercyful Fate, and Slayer may have founded death metal in the early '80s, but it wasn't until such disciples as Morbid Angel came along at the close of the decade that the genre was pushed to its most extreme level, both musically and lyrically.
	Celtic Frost	Celtic Frost's impact on the evolution of European heavy metal cannot be overstated. Along with power metal kings Helloween (and to a lesser degree, the sometimes cartoonish Mercyful Fate), Frost's enduring influence on Europe's heavy metal landscape is arguably comparable to Metallica's standing in America.
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	Anthrax	Nearly as much as Metallica or Megadeth, Anthrax were responsible for the emergence of speed and thrash metal.
	Voivod	Voivod (singer Denis "Snake" Belanger, guitarist Denis "Piggy" d'Amour, drummer Michel "Away" Langevin, and bassist Jean-Yves "Blacky" Theriault) were one of the first thrash bands from Canada to gain popularity outside of their home country.
	Municipal Waste	From choosing a name that makes them sound like some sort of urban public works department, to their music itself, Richmond, VA's Municipal Waste openly bow down to the memory of '80s thrash metal and crossover -- twenty years after, and a few hundred miles away from the original movement's heyday in New York City.
	Megadeth	After he left Metallica in 1983, guitarist/vocalist Dave Mustaine formed the thrash metal quartet Megadeth.
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	Vader	Vader formed in 1986, toiling around the European death and thrash circuit while releasing demos into the metal tape-trading circuit.
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	Suicidal Tendencies	Judging from their name, Suicidal Tendencies were never afraid of a little controversy. Formed in Venice, CA, during the early '80s, the group's leader from the beginning was outspoken vocalist Mike Muir.
	D.R.I.	D.R.I. (aka Dirty Rotten Imbeciles) were one of the first bands to fuse hardcore punk with thrash metal, along with Suicidal Tendencies and Corrosion of Conformity.
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	Cannibal Corpse	"If vomit were a movie, this would be the soundtrack," wrote one critic of Cannibal Corpse's music, some of the most extreme, violent death metal sounds and subject matter ever committed to tape.
	Pantera	The preeminent metal band of the early to mid-'90s, Pantera put to rest any and all remnants of the '80s metal scene, almost single-handedly demolishing any notion that hair metal, speed metal, power metal, et al.
	Deicide	Controversy has plagued Florida-based quartet Deicide. During their first tour in 1992, the band was severely criticized for their statements in favor of animal sacrifices.
	Sacred Reich	Led by bassist/vocalist Phil Rind, this Phoenix-based band also includes Wiley Arnett, Jason Rainey, and Greg Hall.
	Bolt Thrower	One of Britain's most consistent and enduring death metal bands, Birmingham's Bolt Thrower has weathered the best and worst of times in the extreme genre's history without ever giving in to commercial temptations, or hardly even altering its sound.
	Dark Angel	Dark Angel became known in thrash metal circles for their ability to deliver some of the genre's most challenging and articulate albums without ever losing touch with its core attributes of pure speed and primal aggression.
	Possessed	Like the extreme music they created, San Francisco's Possessed seemed cursed by dark and evil forces throughout their troubled career.
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	Prong	Rising out of the expansive early '90s thrash metal landscape, New York's Prong carved a niche all their own with their minimalist urban take on the genre.
	Cavalera Conspiracy	Brazilian death/thrash metal act Cavalera Conspiracy originally formed in 2006 as Inflikted, around the talents of ground breaking metal juggernaut Sepultura siblings Max Cavalera (vocals and guitar) and drummer Igor Cavalera, guitarist Marc Rizzo (Soulfly), and bassist Joe Duplantier (Gojira), but changed the name to Cavalera Conspiracy for legal reasons.
	Corrosion of Conformity	One of the first punk-metal fusion bands, Corrosion of Conformity (C.O.C. for short) were formed in North Carolina by guitarist Woody Weatherman during the early '80s.
	Metallica	Metallica was easily the best, most influential heavy metal band of the '80s. Responsible for bringing the genre back to Earth, the bandmates looked and talked like they were from the street, shunning the usual rockstar games of metal musicians during the early '80s.
	Nuclear Assault	Nuclear Assault were among thrash metal's most socially aware groups, making room for serious subject matter (and occasional goofs) in their careening speed metal riffing.
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	Iced Earth	Fashion trends may come and go, but Florida's Iced Earth has remained steadfastly committed to championing the cause of heavy metal through thick and thin.