Review Summary: A prime example that, for all the good the thrash revival movement bought, certain bands should have remained silent to keep their legacy intact.
Where some bands brought thrash metal roaring back into life during the 2000's and continued this trend in the 2010's, some should have died off altogether. Legendary Teutonic thrash act Destruction fall distinctly into the latter category, seemingly content to simply ape the sound of their stronger material without any of the passion or creativity. Whilst Kreator, Sodom and Testament have adapted to the times, infusing more of a modern sound into their music, Destruction literally scrape the bottom of the barrel to write some of the most generic thrash of the current era, and 2013' Spiritual Genocide sadly shows this off.
The vast majority of the songs on this album race along at a breakneck pace, with very few memorable riffs or drum patterns rearing their heads above the swamp of safety. And that is the one word that defines the later music from Destruction - 'safe'. Sure, this has some chunky power chords and rapid tremolo lines for you to thrash your neck to, and the vocals have an intensity to them, but the songwriting feels so generic. The title track's verse is a disjointed mess, with the guitars feeling completely out of sync with the rest of the track, whilst the chorus attempts to force the listener to chant along but completely misses the mark. Promotional song Carnivore slows things down to a mid-paced groove, but none of the riffs match the fury of the lyrics. Even when the bridge riff kicks in, leading into a mediocre solo, I struggle to look at this as anything more than a below-par snoozefest. This isn't the sound of a band hungry to rip the face from the listener, as 'Infernal Overkill' and 'Release From Agony' were. This is the sound of a band that were offered a cheque by Nuclear Blast and thought "F it." Riot Squad opens with a mixture between thrashy shout and almost spoken lyrics over the top of another dull riff, whilst the cymbals in this track are obnoxiously loud in the mix and kill off anything good about it whatsoever.
This isn't to say the whole album sucks. After a brief introductory track, Cyanide opens with a drum fill and roar from the vocalist, with a nice meaty riff to compliment it. This is probably the strongest track here, feeling confident and with a decided uplift in passion from the rest of Destruction's post-2010 material. The middle riff has a bounce to it that keeps my neck swaying, with the chants of "Cyanide" throughout before a rather lackluster solo. Closing song Under Violent Sledge fulfills the role of "obligatory heavy closer", with an intro riff that pounds your temple away before a surprisingly tolerable verse. So, in summary, the album contains a lot of poor songs bookended by two solid ones, and is sadly evidence that certain thrash bands should have left that sound in the past.
