Terror Abraxas

Some bands that can excite me a lot, but leave me relatively cold the next moment (read: song). You guessed it, Deströyer 666 is one of them. The euphoria of the first two critics does not really set in with me in the case of "Terror Abraxas", because the general phenomenon of the Australians is reflected on this EP. It is not only the bland, expressionless and somehow tired sounding cover version at the end of the CD that clouds the overall impression.

Deströyer 666 always have the best songs to offer when they sound as evil as if the Grim Reaper himself is grinding his too-long fingernails over the blackboard of first graders. But that happens too rarely here. "A Breed Apart" certainly has a fine measure of poignancy, bloodthirstiness and cruelty. Admittedly, it already becomes clear here that the drum sound is at a loss compared to the guitars. But some nasty melodies give the opener a scratchy, nasty character. After that, however, malice has its lunch break.

Of course, it was never a one-dimensional speed kills approach that the gentlemen from down under pursued. Similar to their faded compatriots from Assaulter, Mr. Warslut and colleagues can also be real bullies without having to set all musical levers to full attack. Nevertheless, the vocals, the melodies and the aura of the tracks lack a bit of the pitch-black element for me here. The anthemic "Trialed by Fire" does not fall under easy-listening metal, but there are certainly enough pieces in the studded-wristbands-and-leather-jackets direction that challenge the listener more. No question, the band does not commit any serious mistakes. But when it comes to intensity, meanness and hostility, the last ten percent is missing, not only in the melodramatic, seven-minutes-mark-crossing title in the centre of the song list. It may be that the band itself noticed this during the recording. That could explain the partly hefty rumbling in "Terror". Unfortunately, the guitar lines die in this track before they can leave an impression. In contrast, they do not miss their effect in the other (self-composed) songs. No one should say that everything is bad here, it's just that not everything is good either. As a result, "Terror Abraxas" presents itself as a quite nice, but by no means essential EP, which would have deserved a few percentage points more with a less dull sound.

I have to admit, I can be a bit of a Destroyer 666 fan-boy sometimes, but how badly can I be blamed? Ever since they started making music, their releases have always been nothing but solid, versatile, and vibrant in the name of metal. They haven't released anything in the past 6 or so years, but their latest release Terror Abraxas still leaves an awesome aftertaste.

There are only five songs on Terror Abraxas, yet they vary greatly in structure, style, and length. The EP isn't much longer than 21 minutes, but there's so much to it. 3 of the 5 songs are faster, and have the typical violent Destroyer 666 type of tone. "A Breed Apart" is a relentless punch in the face that kicks off the EP and similarly "Those Who Dare Beyond."

"Terror" I believe is the best track on the EP so I'll go into a little more detail here. At first it doesn't sound too much like a typical Destroyer 666 song mainly because it sounds like it has a black-death metal influence. But looking at the main themes and lyrics of this song, this is definitely awesome Destroyer 666 material. The vocals in the first minute and how they shift in tones are definitely awesome, there's tons of progression in the middle of the song filled with relentless, diverse and complex riffs. The lyrics are simple yet incredibly bad ass, and the ending itself (last minute) is incredibly powerful. "Hail...fire...Hail...victory...onwards we march!..." This may be one of my favorite Destroyer 666 songs because there is so much to it.

The other two songs have a lighter feel, focusing more on a calmer, yet triumphant melody. "Trialed by Fire" is one of the longer and more epic of all Destroyer 666 songs along with "Prometheus".If anyone has listened to Dissection before, "Trialed by Fire" may bear a resemblance to their earlier work (you know, when they were actually good).

And that's the EP: Just 5 strong tracks but enough to keep you listening for several sessions. Do buy this if you get the opportunity. It's a shame that Destroyer 666 hasn't released anything else over the past 5-6 years, but even if they never make another release again, "Terror Abraxas" ends their discography on an excellent note.

This is a mixed bag release for Destoryer 666. No, I do not refer to ‘a mixed bag’ as inconsistent quality, but a mixing of styles. But hey this is D666, and that has always been their claim: mixing pretty much every style of metal to create something almost completely orginal.

The songs on this album sound something like ‘leftovers’ from other albums. (again, I do not use that term in the negative sense. A Breed Apart shares the epic and melodic blackness of the first 2 albums, while Those Who Dare Beyond is almost a spitting image of Which Hunter off their previous full length.

Trialed By Fire is Destroyer’s obligatory epic, and boy does it kick tremendous amounts of arse! It is hard to determine exactly what genre this is, as it fits squarely into none. It takes the more melodic parts of the two epics from phoenix rising to create their first true epic that is free of br00t. Excellent song indeed.

Terror is a full on blackened-death song that sounds a little out of place here, although it does have it’s moments, while Prometheus is pretty much a shortened version of trialed by fire. That is, it has a rather melodic black/death feel to it.

The overall musicianship and instrumentation is nothing short of first class and the lyrics continuing in the grim, evil vein of the past, although toned down slightly.

Excellent album by the masters of first-class Australian evil! Indeed, they do not show many signs of slowing and I am sitting here eagerly awaiting their next full length release, hopefully being released late this year!