Maximum Destruction

Though often overshadowed by the massive Bay Area thrash scene and it's slightly humbler yet more star-power driven New York counterpart, there was a respectable showing during the mid-80s by Cleveland's underground. Indeed, not long after Metallica and Slayer had fired shots that would be heard round the globe, a pair of formidable acts in Cleveland-based Purgatory and Euclid, Ohio born metal maniacs Destructor would crop up like a deadly pond of industrial waste and explode in fairly close proximity to each other with impressive debut LPs before the likes of Testament and Death Angel were fully on the scene. Particularly the latter quartet Destructor would show the greatest potential in challenging the dipolar consensus with a blend of Rust Belt-styled working class determination and arguably the most over-the-top presentation of any leather-clad outfit of their day.

One look at the crazy presentation of the band on the album cover should quell any mystery as to what method is behind the madness that is Maximum Destruction, and that is the core concept of madness itself. Though maybe not as dark and menacing as what Slayer and Possessed were putting forth in 1985, the aggression factor brought by this fold is undeniably unhinged, rivaling the most excessive parts of concurrent Overkill debut Feel The Fire. For his part, the aptly nicknamed Dave "Overkill" Just sports a similarly exaggerated vocal persona to that of Blitz Ellsworth, though with a more bestial demeanor that draws a bit closer to Tom Araya. The surrounding music, spearheaded by a dueling guitar display out of Just and Patrick "Rabid" Wolowiecki like a crazed rendition of what King and Hanneman brought to Show No Mercy, veers a tad closer to the earlier heavy metal influences that were more common to 1983-84 thrash (fittingly so given many of these songs were demoed in 1984), while bassist Dave Holocaust's grimy lines resemble a more technically minded Lemmy Kilmister meets a less showy Cliff Burton and drummer Matt Flammable pummels away at his kit like a one-man demolition team.

Though what unfolds courtesy of this interesting combination of elements has been often likened to the exploits of contemporary releases by Exciter and Agent Steel, and while there is a similar sense of exaggeration at work, the end product here is less of a speed metal affair and more a chaotic thrashing machine with some early power metal tendencies. Following a series of garbled demon speech, guitar noise and sounds of objects being smashed comically dubbed "Prelude in Sledge-Minor Opus 7 1st Movement", Dave Overkill unleashed one of the most iconically piercing shrieks in metal since Dickinson's famed "Number Of The Beast" air-raid scream, ushering in a towering 7-minute opening thrasher of a title anthem "Maximum Destruction". A full course journey through early thrash's many slower and faster paced modes of expression, this towering inferno of riffs sets an unrelenting tone that endures throughout the album, replete with wild, visceral vocal gymnastics and plenty of flashy lead guitar high-jinks, ultimately resulting in something that predicts where the likes of Lȧȧz Rockit and Exhumer would go soon after.

About the only downside to the astounding degree of power that this album starts with is that they find themselves struggling to step things up after all but blowing the entire payload on the first entry. Nevertheless, a more concise brand of explosive thrashing mayhem is unveiled as side A gets underway, with the high octane entry bearing the band's name "Destructor" blazes away at full speed, ruining almost every neck in the hall in under 3 minutes before the equally frenzied and vicious "Overdose" rages in to finish the job in a riff-happy, flashy fashion that would make Exodus and especially Gary Holt proud. The speed show takes on a more bass heavy tone with "Pounding Evil", with Dave Holocaust ripping away with the same strength as his 6-string toting compatriots. Likewise, one would be remiss to deny the bottom-heavy galloping stomp of anti-communism ode "Iron Curtain", with the bass one again climbing atop the arrangement and painting over one of the more catchy anthems with that tasteful, Cliff Burton-inspired brilliance that almost seems to predict where said icon would go a few months later on Master Of Puppets.

By 1985 standards, this is the sort of album that is so potent in it's unsung glory that any self-respecting thrash fan who has yet to hear it will find something that falls just ever so shy of rivaling Exodus' seminal debut. While the production is a bit rough, the presentation a tad on the sloppy side when compared with what was coming out of the Bay Area at the time, this is the sort of album that showcases a band with the competence and the hunger to go the distance and challenge the Metallicas and Slayers of the world. Sadly, not long after enjoying initial success on Auburn/Island Records and preparing for what would have assuredly been the sophomore outing that would have made them a contender, bassist and integral member of the fold David "Holocaust" Iannicca was murdered senselessly by Robert Bedzyk (may his stay in hell be a terrible one), short-circuiting the career of what would have been an interesting playing in the thrash movement during the late 80s when the style had reached its proverbial peak. But tragic turns of events notwithstanding, this is one of the more unique diamonds in the rough of the early thrash metal explosion, and a guaranteed banger to any fan of the style yet to have heard it.

Come on, dudes, the impressive cry at the beginning of the quasi-opener and title track deserves its own exclusive headline, doesn’t it? It was the first element that stuck in my mind back in winter 1985 / 1986, not the infantile-provocative artwork, a special chorus or something else. This does not mean that “Maximum Destruction” showed significant signs of weakness. Surely, with a comparatively mild song like the (very cool) “Iron Curtain”, Destructor was neither the fastest nor the heaviest band in the metallic cosmos, but in a world of posers, thrashers and nothing between these groups, they were definitely harsh enough to stand on the correct side.

The already mentioned title track stands out on this album, not only because of the opulent length. Its "Hell Awaits"-affine intro, its menacing verses, its fatalistic chorus and the energetic ending – everything adds value to the song. Last but not least, I remember that the line “Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Holocaust of damnation” sent a shiver down my spine. That wouldn't happen to me today. One becomes numb.

Is the production great or do I just think so because it reminds me of the mid-eighties? I am not sure, but I tend towards the former. “Maximum Destruction” sounds raw, unadjusted, dirty, powerful and grim. Of course, it is not the grimness one can meet behind any tree in the Norwegian forests, but it is a thrashing grimness that makes the good compositions even better. With this said, we have an adequate production which meets a band with seemingly good manual skills. The result is a tight appearance of band and songs.

Speaking of the songs, it is not only the title track that makes you bang your head in an old school ecstasy. The very dynamic “Pounding Evil” had already made a stetment on “Speed Kills II”, where it had not faded next to Onslaught’s “Fight with the Beast” or Agent Steel’s band anthem. To be successful in this challenging surrounding was not easy. “Take Command” and “Overdose” (fantastic riffing at the end) also deliver pure metallic passion, a fine degree of valiant belligerence and uncompromising spontaneity. Destructor did not intend to sound very progressive or technical, the coherence of the songs was in their focus. And so the full-featured pieces cruise somewhere between Lääz Rockit, At War and Exciter, only the meaningless intro and the two average instrumentals fail to fascinate me. By the way, one of them is called “Instrumetal”; worst pun ever.

In a nutshell, Destructor’s debut still reflects the juvenile impulsiveness of its spiritual fathers. It’s a bastard of power, speed and thrash and it’s simply sad that the band did not promptly publish further albums. Of course, a late work like “Forever in Leather” also makes you forget the daily shit, but due to its chronological isolation, “Maximum Destruction” spreads a not reproducible aura. The guitars, the high-pitched, sometimes hysterical vocals, the somehow archaic atmosphere of the entire full-length – early unbelievable, but everything still works, even almost 40 years after its release. So what is left to say? Probably nothing but this: “Uaaaaaaaaaaaaaah”.

Looking at this Maximum Destruction, I’ve always thought that it never received the importance it deserved for what it is: a good speed/thrash metal album. There several almost completely forgotten albums in this genre and nowadays they are a cult for the collectors worldwide. Listenable Records understood this and the label reissued this small jewel of sincere metal to make it receive the right attention.

Just ten fast tracks to enjoy the essence of 80s classic speed metal, this is Maximum Destruction. The title track is remarkable for the Exciter style guitars work and the powerful vocals by Dave Overkill, with some falsettos too to accompany the solos. The atmosphere has something really gloom inside, almost apocalyptic. There are good mixes of different tempo parts but there are no innovations or things like that. This is pure metal and the speed attack of “Destructor” is here to crash everything.

The production is quite dirty but old fashioned and good to me. Maybe a better work could have been done for the rhythmic guitars but thinking at the budget of a band like this in 1985, it’s OK like this. The vocals are very powerful and surely they are one of the most relevant characteristics in this sound. The various “Take Command”, “Pounding Evil” and “Iron Curtain” are heavily inspired by Exciter and to the early speed/thrash metal that in those years was taking the entire world.

The speed level is always high and the fast bass drum gives the rhythm to the various songs, full of chorus with several voices during the refrains. The guitar solos are quite simple and furious but in the “Instrumental” song we can finds lots of influences from the NWOBHM for the run after each other of the lead guitars lines and the more present melodies. Surely the most important characteristic in these songs remains the hyper vicious and angry vocals, which pass easily from a raw form of falsetto to lower tonalities that fill the air with gloom and darkness.

The minimal, essential sound, the leather jacket, the thrash/speed genre and the awesome old school lyrics are a perfect combination for the classic metal album in the 80s. Nowadays, there are a lot of groups that want to come back to the roots instead of continuing on the path to innovation, taking inspiration from these bands and this is a thing that really makes me happy. Discovering other good albums in the underground is never too late, especially when they come from the most shining period ever for this genre.

I'll get straight to the point with this review. Destructor are one of those incredible thrash acts of the 80's that despite making an incredible return to the modern scene (still playing classic thrash at its finest), they still don't get a lot of well deserved attention. These guys really know how to rip your face off while not caring in the least bit, you can just tell this stuff is straight from the heart. "We've got the Future - We've got the Power!"

While it may not be all strictly "thrash", Maximum Destruction is extremely symbolic of its time. This is 1985 - a time before the "How to make Thrash for Dummies" guide was released, this stuff is completely over the top and violently relentless with no set of rules or generic ideas in sight. That is by far the greatest aspect to this album and basically what Destructor does best, you will have no idea what the hell is going to happen next around all corners of every track.

The lyrical content is extremely fun, albeit sometimes a bit goofy (bondage themes at the end), you can't help but love Dave "Overkill" Just's vocals and the passion he puts into his aggressive singing (and when you check out their new material, it's easy to state he hasn't aged at all). The vocals are incredibly catchy along with some of those unforgettable choruses, you might find yourself screaming along with "Overdose!" towards the end of that track. I can never get enough of vocalists like this, just screaming and shouting their lungs off like it's the last day they have on Earth. The rest of the band is way above the norm as well, drums, bass, guitars, everything is completely top notch and again, they follow absolutely no rules. This is all cemented in with one thick and heavy production that fits them perfectly. Debut's from Agent Steel, Artillery, Whiplash, etc, Maximum Destruction is in the same vein of those.

This album is an experience that puts the -heavy- in heavy metal. Overdose is quite the unforgettable number, but how about the ever so majestic Iron Curtain? The brilliant soloing seems endless! How about the unstoppable Destructor and Pounding Evil tracks? The consistency is flawless and this entire album is literally an 'overdose' of powerful metal that'll make you headbang so hard your head might fall off. Those who think they've heard the best in thrash but haven't heard this should think again and for anyone who loves the brilliance that came out of 1985 and somehow missed this, get it immediately! Essentially fans should also check out their newer releases Sonic Bullet and Forever in Leather, like I stated earlier these guys have made on of the best comebacks I've come across and their new material is timeless.

"Welcome to the age - Of Maximum Destruction!"

“…we were born unto leather, chains, and steel…”

Believe it or not, come 1985 there wasn't a logjam of bands playing exalted, unadulterated thrash - bands unclouded in their fervor and unmistakable in might for the task. There were some Canadian, Brazilian and German imports scratchin' away at it, but most were a little too left field of obvious. Just as distant in remembrance is Cleveland’s consummately named Destructor. Really, in '85 the look of the band was an important criteria involved in album procurement, and these guys were planted right on the front cover. It's a cover that embellishes the promise (and to some it's kind of a shaky one) that the material within will be worth its weight in incivility and madness even while it (barely) staves off an admittedly cheese-like aroma - four guys with goofy stage names, poised in goofy poses, silly evil trinkets in hand, decked out in the almighty metallic attire of the day. In response to their advertised metalness, hopes high, eight bucks bought me a chance to hear ‘em.

Tossed the thing on to almost a full minute of shattering glass, mangled guitar squeals and distorted bellowing of their namesake. This litany, conspicuously dubbed “Prelude in Sledge Minor, Opus 7 1st Movement”, builds up the hope and faith of OTT-ness, the smell the savagery ahead, and the backbone of this still-fresh style rushing into view. But even as the lengthy title cut angrily rumbles along, it seems unexpectedly restrained, shackling the promise. It's right there though, preheated and ready to destroy, revving the motor just under the red line, palpable even to the most novice (or hardened) of listeners. Then like a powerful prisoner feigning weakness, onslaught “Destructor” decimates the album's manacles and in a bludgeoning gust confirms that my hard-to-come-by cash hasn't been foolishly spent.

As inhibited as an injured boar, vocalist Dave Overkill mangles words with a low-end throat, wild-eyed and vicious, crazed with a passion that fuels many a serrated scream, and is quite the spot-on sponsor for this genre’s homicidal focus. Wearing intensity like armor, tracks like “Take Command”, “Pounding Evil” and “Overdose” mercilessly detonate the style’s sonic message in the important presence of those who may have originally been wary of the group’s unknown tour de force. Fetish-aggressive “Hot Wet Leather” and “Bondage” blear into one another with searing riffs and an ongoing lethality that could be the soundtrack to a steel mill disaster.

By now and with a cd pressing in (rare) release (and now are even on iTunes), Maximum Destruction should be liberated from memory’s broom closet with a beeline toward the annals of thrash history as one of the few A-grade albums released by a B-grade band, and nothing derogatory is meant by the statement.

Their ferocious skill is sharp without Ginsu precision. Their phonetic breath is brutal and insistent without merely cycling through the motions, yet it’s easy to determine that in Destructor’s line of sight, they won't be concocting any avant-garde masterpiece anytime soon. The sound is hungry, engorged with youthful inexperience and lust for a style that at the time was still only a few yards from its newly-built entrance. There are no “Heaven and Hell” poetics in their lyrics, but I doubt anyone expected more than unhinged, steely (“…thrash! Going wild! We’re burning with rage!...”) commandments howling the triumph of metal. Ya gotta love it.

Maximum Destruction is a success based on its propulsion of thrash metal spirit, not as measurement of mere velocity, but as a forward definition of the genre in light of the albums that were already crawling around for the world to trip over (remember, mostly everyone, even us rivetheads that were specifically on the prowl, likely stumbled upon stuff like this), and I mean heavy breathers like Sentence of Death, In the Sign of Evil, Kill ‘em All, Show No Mercy, and Fistful of Metal, and like Skeptics Apocalypse, Evil Invaders, and Endless Pain, Maximum Destruction epitomizes the incredible early days of thrash.

Sadly, bassist Dave "Holocaust" Iannicca, only twenty-three at the time, was murdered at a party on New Years Eve/Day in 1987/88. The band had recently signed with Island Records, and a week prior he'd proposed to his girlfriend. In the wake of this tragedy, Destructor went on a hiatus the lasted slightly over a decade.

"...metal at hand, the power we have to take command..."

This is a fairly average thrash album - not something entirely surprising for 1986. There are some well-written and catchy songs, but overall there is a sense of same-ness to the riff construction, and by the end you can definitely tell they are running out of ideas.

We start with a very silly intro, just random banging noises, before we finally bring in the guitars and turn into the title track, which is a pretty cool song. Maybe the best on here, though Destructor and Take Command are also quite nice. We have three good solid thrashers here, with nice headbanging riffs to go with it.

Then the album slowly slides into mediocrity. We have a little instrumental section, which is some riffs strung together but witl little sense of cohesion. Then, we have "Pounding Evil", which is a bit like Exciter's "Pounding Metal" but less memorable. Overdose pretty much consists of the chorus being repeated over and over again without much of a riff backing. "Iron Curtain" is decent again, and then the last two songs are total swill... silly lyrics and almost no riff backing at all. Skip button. We really have a lot of filler and very little killer, and that is what's really wrong with this album.