Destruction System

The context surrounding this release is simply sad, after the milestone that was Spectrum of Death the last thing this band deserved was to disappear and leave extreme thrash fans with only one album to rejoice over. But there was also something else, in the same way that Spectrum of Death had a predecessor demo distributed at the band's shows, a second demo that promised a sophomore album was the sign of something that came close but didn't happen... Until 2015, when the studio album finally saw the light of day. However this second release hasn't had nearly the same impact as the debut. Was it because it came too late? Or was it because it wasn't up to the level of Spectrum of Death? The truth is that comparing it to the debut is a mistake, it's not worth it because Spectrum of Death was simply a lightning in a bottle, something so extremely unique and special that not even the band itself would be able to repeat it, so unless you want to set yourself up for disappointment just enjoy this release on its own merits.

Of course Destrucion System shares many elements with the debut album, in some ways it's even better, the intensity of the band hasn't gone away and has no intention of doing so, the riffs are still monstrous and addictive, they really feel reminiscent of the old school, also the chaotic solos are still spectacular radiating the same energy as on the debut. The drums on the other hand, are if anything much better than on Spectrum of Death, not only are they better produced and mixed in the final cut, Lee Reynolds delivers an underrated performance making, at times, his instrument the centrepiece of the composition, and that's saying a lot on an album so dedicated to riffs. The best example of this can be seen immediately in the first song of the album, as there are several sections where the drums are the king of the scene, build ups, fillers, blast beats... The fact that it is such a fast and wild album is thanks to the rhythm that sets the pace throughout the whole work.

Then there is the issue of Pat Lind's voice, his performance on Spectrum of Death is one of the best in history, in fact he is largely responsible for the quality of Morbid Saint, as he makes possible how inhuman his tone seems and how well it fits in such a wild and primitive music. In Destruction System his voice is not as good, he lowers the intensity a bit and that's noticeable, but still what is undeniable is that his performance is still an absolute milestone of the genre, his tone is simply ripping and in every delivery of every word you can really feel the aggression. It's fast, it's powerful and you can feel the throat being torn out, another masterclass from the american singer.

As for the songs themselves, here comes the most differentiating point with respect to the debut, the compositions are much more oriented towards the classic thrash metal standard, there are no longer those short but intense songs where they aggressively compress an entire song in a few minutes nor are there those long songs with more epic tonalities, the death metal influences that surrounded the debut are no longer so obvious. Luckily this more simplistic approach is still just as good, there is a lot of gang shouting throughout and I think it works great, most of the songs follow a similar pattern with an instrumental intro with a good number of riffs to finally come in with the main riff and vocalist, and yet the album is so fast and so aggressive that it never gets repetitive, it's quite amazing how the compositions have multiple segments and manage to be so dynamic when no song is even 5 minutes long.

I think that in general this work is the result of more technically mature musicians, some of that youthful energy is lost but who doesn't lose it? It's normal to lose some punch but at least it's noticeable that they have gained new skills and they make the most of them. If something has characterized Morbid Saint is that when they make their music they focus mainly on what they do best and everything else is left behind, Destruction System is the confirmation of this and that's why it's so good, because it doesn't try to be more than what it is and it doesn't try to be more than the debut. Destruction System is their own style, their own essence and they are proud of it, and when you listen to it you can feel it, you can feel their honesty, and that increases its quality. Bravo.

Morbid Saint's second album is a very pleasant experience for those who enjoyed the sheer madness and utter mercilessness of "Spectrum of Death". Let's be honest here, that's a pretty damn hard album to top, or even get close to. It is one of the 5 most incredible thrash records ever written. While the followup is nowhere near as raw and wicked and vicious, this is an excellent addition to the Morbid Saint discography in terms of imagery, as well as lyrical and musical content. It delivers on what you would like to hear, and maintains the unique elements of the Sheboygan quartet.

The main difference between this and the debut is that while the latter focused on all out brutal merciless in your face assault, this record is as strange as that sounds, more philosophical and sophisticated. Those two adjectives aren't exactly the best to describe this record, but it certainly is when compared to that monstrosity of a predecessor. On here, the songs take it a bit easier on the gas pedal, giving us a variety of excellent mid-paced thrash, like "Halls of Terror", "Destruction System", and "Living Misery". Of course, some of the faster songs are also present, to not disappoint the speed freaks, in the forms of "Disciples of Discipline" and "Darkness Unseen".

The musicianship displays an excellent use of skills by the band members. The band already developed their own sound and vibe just by the second album already, and despite the differences between this and the debut in terms of pace and production, these songs fit perfectly well into a setlist when you mix them with songs off the debut. The band manages to create a very dark, very desperate, brutally hopeless and apocalyptic atmosphere with the riffs that manage to make you feel like the world is coming to an end, and you are watching as it is falling apart. That's the purpose of every picked note on here, and the disc does that absolutely magnificently.

Let's also not forget the solos, which Morbid Saint is outstanding at by the way. They have some solos on there that are much better than what they need to be for this type of music. For instance, the ones in "Darkness Unseen" and "Disciples of Discipline" are excellent and actually intelligent instead of some cat torture, which is usually what's appropriate in Morbid Saint's style of music. Pat Lind again puts on a hell of a show, he makes up a large amount of Morbid Saint's unique musical identity, and he delivers those absolutely magnificently ruthless and hateful growls that we love from the debut, only more frantically and less deeply this time.

The percussion is absolutely crazy throughout the record, and particularly with the production, it is extremely dominant. That isn't an issue when you have someone like Lee Reynolds on drums, who is just a killer double-pedal player, and manages to hit all the right fills at all the right times. While the first record was more dominated by the guitar and vocals, this one is more dominated by the drums and the vocals. This is not an issue though, because while the drums sound loud, the guitar does not get pushed into the background at all. It sounds a bit unconventional and strange, but this album has been produced very well. Only a little bit more bass, and it would have been perfect.

Morbid Saint's sophomore effort is an excellent, apocalyptic, aggressive, desperate thrash album that is perfect for times when you look at today's condition. The title speaks for itself, and this record is perhaps more relatable today than it's ever been. Life is a lot easier to go through when you are equipped with some of the most vicious, pissed off, hateful and angry thrash metal records that have been released in history. It is a delight that Morbid Saint are coming back now, and I am sure that their comeback will be a worthy one!

If you managed to survive Spectrum of Death, you know how good that relentless piece of thrashing madness is. You remember how every song except the interlude near the end barreled forth with a relentless, bloodthirsty drive to pummel listeners into submission with its million-mile-an-hour riffing. Morbid Saint's second full-length (originally existing as a 1992 demo but released as an official album last year), while not an unworthy successor, doesn't deliver the sheer amount of ferocity the Sheboygan boys' exemplary debut nearly murdered us with.

While the aural stampedes that threaten to overwhelm you at any moment don't return in large numbers, Destruction System is easily recognizable as a Morbid Saint release. Even with a decreased speed, the album is plenty dirty, with an evil, roughshod feel reminiscent of the Teutonic thrash scene that makes the performances seem more organic. The production, at least on the recent vinyl version, is practically the same as it was on the last album, with the guitars having the same biting tone and the drums the same vicious energy. And of course, Pat Lind's voice is just as raspy and venomous and his delivery just as hateful. Though the pace tends to be a bit slower, Destruction System is still a white-hot thrasher, maintaining a sense of menace and never reducing itself to simplistic grooving.

Though this album isn't quite as fast as its predecessor, it's by no means slow. The full-speed attack that made up almost all of Spectrum of Death is back, but it's scattered throughout the songs rather than presented as a near-continuous stream. The pace picks up for many of the solos, for instance. The drums speed up to the tempo they maintained throughout the debut and the guitars deliver some awe-inspiring solos that have the same frenetic insanity as the Hanneman-King tradeoffs from Reign In Blood but with more in the way of melodic considerations.

The parts that come between the full-throttle thrash assaults are focused more on delivering solid rhythms than sheer instrument-punishing violence. The title track is the catchiest number here, with some verses offering a strange but invigorating change of pace from the rest of the song and an engaging and catchy framework that feeds into the simple but equally infectious chorus. The songs contain a number of different riffs, most of which aren't all that memorable but are enthralling in the moment. And there are still plenty of passages that go all out with the same abandon as the last album so if that's all you want out of this release, you won't be completely lost.

Destruction System is a bit more melodic and restrained than its predecessor but still packed with fury. Morbid Saint matured a bit between releasing their first album and writing this one but as previously stated, this demo-turned-full album just doesn't offer the same level of cathartic entertainment even if the rhythms themselves are more deliberately crafted. Put together in its first incarnation at a time when thrash metal bands were simplifying their approaches left and right, this is not a bad sophomore effort by any means.

In 1988, local Thrash act Morbid Saint released quite possibly one of the most down-right most fucking evil, criminally underrated, and thrashingly annoihilating debut LP "Spectrum of Death." An album so heavy if one didn't suffer from side effects such as constipation, mania, sleepless nights, insomnia, ringing in the ears, rapid heart beat, psychosis, fatigue, and uncontrolable headbanging they might as well been dead or some wimpy poseur who ended up seeing the doctor because they weren't downright fucking cazy enough to handle such intensity from one single album.

Now what do we expect after the fallout of "Spectrum of Death", nothing but the black ash snowfall of "Destruction System". "Spectrum Of Death" was the sound of WWIII in full affect, "Destruction System" is the sound of radiation sickness slowly starting to eat it's way through the bodies of the unfortunate survivors. I will give you a heads up on "Destruction System", if you are looking for the ultra-intense speed and mental illness sorry jack, but you do get a good dosage of evil Thrash and that's better than nothing. And I am not too surprised with this myself, to try to keep going after "Spectrum of Death" would make most bands go supernova. Not for Morbid Saint....no the evil never dies.

The production on this is nowhere near the mix on "Spectrum of Death" which I rare hold against any band. As long as the music is honest I could care less about sound production. A bit muddy at first but you'll easily get used to it afterwards. The drums and vocals are the clearest sound while the guitars are a notch down....bass completely unlistenable. This would resemble something a bit more mainstream, but again has an evil sound which still lets Morbid Saint keep their originality. The closest thing I can honestly draw a comparison is possibly early Demolition Hammer as far as production goes.

Songs like "Darkness Unseen", "Depth of Sanity", "Disciples of Discipline"(The spoken intro Pat Lind sounds eerily remininscent of somewhat like Dead from Mayhem!) are riff-festivals and tons of drum insanity. The others don't stand-out....in fact they sound like left-overs from "South Of Heaven". This isn't bad in and of itself, but you are still ravenous for more of what "Spectrum of Death" killed you with. Maybe it will grow on me in due time but for now, Morbid Saint still kill and I'll keep blasting out "Spectrum of Death" while having a couple of Pabst Blue Ribbons.

So, after waiting 4 years, Morbid Saint came back to kill you, because I’m sure 4 years is enough time to recover after the absolute fucking madness of Spectrum of Death that hospitalized you in the first place.

If you thought Spectrum was great, you have to hear this! Even though the drums nearly dominate everything else in the production, to the point where you can hardly hear the vocals at some points, and the bass is drowned out and almost completely inaudible, this is actually really fucking good. The guitars have kept their razor tone, and the vocals are the same ones you know and loved from SoD.

The songs themselves are actually better than the ones on SoD, for the most part (Assassin is still their best song, IMO, but hey, that’s a fucking hard song to top.) Songs such as ‘Darkness Unseen’, ‘Final Exit’, ‘Halls of Terror’, and ‘Sign of the Times’ remain catchy as hell, while not compromising any of MS’ signature brutality.

The drumming consists of mainly frequent, subtle changes, such as the ones at 0:37, and 0:53, in ‘Darkness Unseen.’ Now imagine that happening in EVERY song. Oh, what FUN. The riff work is still of the same variety as on SoD, but the solos. OHHHH, the solos. Flashy as fuck, (think… if Ralph Sanatolla tried his hand in thrash!), and just about EVERYWHERE. And the bass? From what I can hear of it

However, there are a couple notable flaws that drag this down, somewhat. The aforementioned production, with the drums being far too prominent, however, it’s excusable, as this is merely a demo. And the songs might tend to run together, slightly, as you near the end, but other than that, this is fucking excellent.

Essential if you were a fan of SoD, and just fans of thrash metal in general.

Well, here we have the completely fucking awesome follow-up album to Spectrum of Death, which will completely obliterate the remains of our necks that the previous album left behind. Well, sorta. It's like an album, but it's got the bottom-of-the-line mixing and production values that a demo has (You can even hear someone stop the recording after the song is over).

Quite a head-scratcher. Let's call it an "almo" (album + demo, not the furry Sesame Street character).

The only part I'm completely sure about is that this almo is here to wreck your neck much like Spectrum of Death did. The production, as I mentioned earlier, isn't as good as SoD. The volume is pretty low, and at times you'll have to really listen in to here the riffs. The vocals are mixed about right though. Pat Lind's performance isn't as great as it was before, but it's still top-notch.

The classic Morbid Saint riff structure is back, with the heavy mid-paced parts really shining through on this almo. The fast parts totally shred you to bits as well. They're catchy, yet thrashtacularly brutal at the same time! Check out the part at about 2:33 in "Living Misery"; it's like fishing. The riff before it is catchy and lures you in, then the 2:33 part comes and you suddenly find yourself on a hook, gutted, and sold to a fish market in China for a half of a penny. Fuck yes. The opening riffs to each song make sure you stick around and listen too (except for "Darkness Unseen" and "Disciples of Discipline, those songs start off with clean guitar parts). Not much more to say about the riffs, as they're all good and written in the same vein as the SoD ones; some much more cooler than others.

The drumming on this album is In-cred-a-ble. So fast and enticing, and weird beats are to be found here too (check out the part at 0:17 in Halls of Terror, the timing of the snare drum is abnormal, yet goes along with the riff solidly). The 2x bass beats are also wicked fast, yet in-time with the guitars. The drummer doesn't sound like he's trying to catch up with the guitarists. I think Lee Reynolds is one hell of drummer, and he could definately give Flo or Pete Sandoval a run for their money.

I like this whole almo, but three tracks that stand out the most are Darkness Unseen, Final Exit, and Halls of Terror. This is definately a worthy successor to Spectrum of Death.

/almo review