If you are looking for some really heavy and refreshed 80's based thrash-metal you must check this album out, read more if you want more specific details. ''Destruction'', one of three very famous thrash-metal bands in Germany released this heavy-hitter in 2005, this is their 9th studio album and it is called ''Inventor Of Evil'', they have also released four EP's and one live album so far. The album contains very heavy riffing and shredding, harsh but yet pretty strained vocals, incredible drumming and lots of speed. The band members in this album is just three persons, Schmier came back and wanted to start over so they did as they did at the first time, to make an album with only three members and they did the right thing if you ask me.
The line-up for this album is made by Schmier (Marcel Shirmer) and he is the vocalist and bassist, Mike Sifiringer is the guitarist and Mark Reign is the drummer. All the members are doing great on this album because the wall of sound is so thick and heavy, Schmier's bass is though pretty audiable in this album, there are no bass solos or filler sections but you can hear the bass very well in the songs. The vocals from Schmier is very enjoying and cool to listen at, the vocals feels though a bit forced or strained but it sounds very evil and devilish, in some songs he even delivers harsh screams and some growls. Mike's guitar work in this album is awesome, the guitars sound is very heavy and solid, the riffing and shredding is catchy and very fast as thrash is supposed to be. The guitar solos are though not so great but they sure are good, most solos are chaotic, frantic, fast and they are not so melodic. The drumming which is performed by Mark is also very good, the drum patterns are very variating, they are very heavy and of course fast. The drums are catchy in most of the songs and because of the variation in the patterns makes the material more enjoying and you just got to listen to the songs many times before you get a bit tired of them.
The songs are forceful thrash-attacks, it sounds like refreshed 80's thrash-metal but the heaviness is heavily improved, ''Soul Collector'' got some really heavy drumbeats, the tempo is very high (classic thrash drumming), the guitars are incredibly fast but yet very precise and the vocals are both low and high. ''The Defiance Will Remain'' starts off with screams and heavy riffing, the drums feels very heavy in this song though, the song is very intensive and the vocals has the same sound here. The song is just pure heaviness and is one of my personal favorites. ''The Alliance Of Hellhoundz'' starts with some screaming guitar solos and later the song gets more serious, the song is very catchy and forces you to headbang. The overall sound is once again very heavy, the tempo is still very fast and there are also some really cool galloping/triplet shredds in this song. ''No Mans Land'' was my first favorite song and thats because of the pure aggression and heaviness in it. The song is very catchy and the chorus so powerful, keep up the headbanging if you were doing it in the previous song. ''The Calm Before The Storm'' is just as its head title, the song starts slow with very harsh and quiet vocals along with slow acoustic guitars. The song suddenly turns into the opposite and becomes once more very heavy and intensive, I can't find the song so catchy but the chorus here is also very powerful. ''The Chosen Ones'' kicks off with fast drumrolls and fast soloing, the drumming is nearly perfect in this song because they are so fast and heavy, the shredding is very fast but the song as whole is not so catchy to my ears (except for the drums).
''Dealer Of Hostility'' might be one of the more complexive songs because of the intro for example, the riffing is pretty advanced, the solo sounds a bit more melodic and the drums has many different patterns. Though I can't find this song so catchy because of this but still pretty enjoyable. ''Under Surveillance'' begins with a 'slower' intro with heavy riffing and hammering drumbeats, the song gets very catchy when it once get started. The formula is like the previous songs, very fast, heavy and the hasrsh vocals are included. ''Seeds Of Hate'' begins with some wierd and half-spooky riffs, the heavy drumming enters and later the vocals kicks in. This song is like the other songs and that will say quite intensive, maybe not so heavy and it is pretty catchy. ''Twist Of Fate'' opens up with more triplet shredding along with monster-drumming. The riffing in this song is quite complexed and the drumming is not so good in this one, the fast beats does not fit to the song. ''Killing Machine'' is also one of my favorite songs, it starts pretty 'slow' but it later bursts to a forceful and blasting heavy-hitter. The tempo is fast and the drums are very fast and catchy, the only thing that is bad with this song is the vocals. The vocals sounds so d***ed strained and overdone if you ask me. ''Memories Of Nothingness'' ends this violent thrash-attack, it is a short outro song with lots of fast acoustics which are quite advanced and also a bit melodic but the song as a whole is not a good one though.
The things that I enjoyed about this album was basically the whole thing, this stuff was awesome compared to the material I have heard from ''Destruction'' before. One thing I enjoyed was the perfect sound, the sound is thick like a brick wall because of the heavy drumbeats, the brutal guitars and the more audiable bass. The songs are catchy most of the time, I find the guitar work quite advanced an complex, it does not sound like technical thrash bands as ''Artillery'' or ''Megadeth'' but it is pretty close in my opinion. The tempo is heavy in every song basically except for the short filler song called ''Memories Of Nothingness'', songs with a high pace and brutal sound would be ''Killing Machine'' and ''No Mans Land'' for example. I enjoyed also the vocals pretty much, the vocals also added more atmosphere in the songs because of the harsh and evil singing from Schmier. But the vocals also bugged me sometimes too, in some songs it feels like Schmier is trying to perform more than he is capable of, not a big deal but it sounds a bit overdone time to time.
That will be enough from my part, I've read things about this album, heard stuff about it and friends of mine has been asking me if I could take a look at this album. I was very surprised when I listened to it in my walkman, it sounded so heavy and the songs were very catchy most of the time, you could even headbang to almost every song and the drumming almost made your adrenaline rush at some times. This is my second album that I have heard from ''Destruction'' and this is considered to be directed to more dedicated fans, but I enjoyed it even though that I haven't heard more of their earlier stuff. Thrashers most gets this album because it has the perfect formula if you want to do some serious headbanging. I hope this was not to boring to read and I hope that this was to any help, thanks.
PROS
+ Great overall sound, thick and very heavy
+ The vocals suits perfect to the songs
+ The drum work is nearly incredible
+ The album is pure heaviness and aggression from the german thrash veterans
+ You will listen to some songs many times before you get bored by them
CONS
- The only thing that would trouble people would be the raspy and harsh vocals
RECOMMENDED TRACKS
-- No Mans Land
-- Killing Machine
-- The Alliance Of Hellhoundz
--The Defiance Will Remain
The album may not be seen like a classic but it is so much more and I will give this album full score: 5/5
