Review Summary: The kind of album that makes you wanna punch an infant! Destruction are back with a vengeance!
With
All Hell Breaks Loose, Destruction finally end a long period of mediocrity with their best album in about a decade.
Lineup:
Schmier - Bass, Vocals
Mike Sifringer - Guitar
Sven Vormann - Drums
At this point it had been 10 years since
Schmier left the band, they were'nt doing well at all, in fact in the '90s Destruction were not signed to a major record label the band is one of the three big names of teutonic thrash metal; the others are Kreator and Sodom, till this point Destruction were forced to self-produce their albums, until they signed a contract with Nuclear Blast.
This album has been released in 2000, and it really defines how modern thrash should be. The production is really really good, It's much clearer and much more powerful than anything Destruction has had before, really evil and pissed off sounding. It's a pity that other bands that have been in this business as long as these guys still can't achieve that.
Well now, onto the album and the songs. This album has everything you'd expect from a killer thrash album...fast solos, aggressive vocals, insane riffing. The choruses sound fresh and intense, the vocals sounds very different, still raw and raspy, but now it sounds more lively and energetic than the previous albums Schmier was on. I prefer his new style of vocals compared to the old by far.
Some pretty catchy songs here too, The moment
The Final Curtain starts you can see that the old style is back again, Mike's classic riff style is back, its got a really nice solo and one of the best thrash songs of the 90's in my opinion.
Machinery Of Lies is another catchy song with an awesome main riff.
You've got no choice!! is an all out beast of a track with a small break in between.
Devestation of Your Soul is another solid track but the song that stands out most for me is
The Butcher Strikes Back, you can tell that its made for the old fans of the band, pretty good lyrics referring to the reunion of the band and the return of the Mad Butcher.
The solos in the album aren't very memorable but the lead guitar playing is fantastic throughout. The
Total Desaster re-recording and the Metallica cover
Whiplash (bonus track) are also excellent. The only track that I don't much care for here is the ending track. I guess the only thing thats lacking here in this album is that there isn't much variety in the songs.
Pros:
Schmier sounds a lot better than he did before. His new style of singing is amazing.
Really good riffage throughout.
Drumming is good as usual.
Production is fantastic!
Cons:
Lack of much variety in the songs.
The album may drag on a bit because there are 12 songs.
Overall this album is very enjoyable from start to finish, an awesome comeback indeed for Destruction. It's pretty hard to believe that this album was made in 1999/2000 during the Nu-Metal/Rap Metal and early Metalcore period when Thrash was dead and the only band properly Thrashing were Sodom. Props to both these bands for playing what they believed in. This album compares really well with their older material and was worth the reunion unlike so many bands nowadays that reunite to make a piece of crap. So get this album for sure if you're a fan of old school brutal thrash.
Rating:
4.5/5
This Message Edited On 12.02.07
