Under Attack

Pretty divulsion of packed thrash revolution, as they would most likely utter. One of the few left with Mike on guitar being the founding member since '82 or '83. Schmier now is one of the only founding member of the band. Still on here for guest lead guitars have Harry (ex-Destruction) who's been superb the whole way through his career with Destruction. The songs here are definitely quality! It's probably a better LP then their current on 'Born To Perish'. They put forth one great concoction of songs that totally kick ass. I thought it definitely stronger than 'Metal Discharge' and 'Spiritual Genocide'. One of their better ones!

The riffs are really cool though not as catchy as the early Destruction or late 80's work by the band. I felt that 'All Hell Breaks Loose' and 'The Antichrist' were some more modern full-lengths that caught Destruction to the core. I like the fact that they had multiple guest musicians on here except that their follow-up album from this one 'Born To Perish' features them as another 4 piece that was like in the late 80's as on 'Eternal Devastation/Mad Butcher' and 'Release From Agony'. I enjoy their era with Harry Wilkens as member of the band. He was also featured on 'Live Without Sense'. I feel that they're stronger as a 4-piece.

The sound quality on here is top notch! And the riffs are probably some of the better that dates back to early '00-'01. They diversify as well, it isn't just solely thrash, they mix it up with some clean guitar as well. Schmier sounds like Schmier where during the earlier days he has a little bit of a higher pitch voice and on their latest live CD 'Live Attack' he's a pitch lower it seems. I like him on here and the energy to this album is high! They seem to tear it up in the riff department. The vocals go well with the music. Everything goes and flows smoothly the whole way through! There wasn't a track on here that I disliked.

You can get this on YouTube, I'm not sure if Spotify has it streaming. It doesn't on mine but in any case I bought the CD. I felt like it's Destruction so there's hardly a chance of them disappointing. And I was correct! Every song on here is full of energy and great riffs. I felt that they were way strong on here though they get a good "B" rating on here. Definitely Destruction infuriation galore. These guys have the energy and originality in their songwriting. They don't let up on here and the cover track on here which I believe is Venom was well played out. And of course the outro being "Thrash Attack." Own this one!

Few bands make it to 30 years of activity, but Destruction have managed that feat with a slew of quality EPs, some fine live albums and numerous compilations gathering their releases together to help bide that time. Now on album fourteen and their eighth post-reunion effort, the long-running German thrashers carry on their Teutonic leanings with a stellar effort from Nuclear Blast Records on May 13th, 2016.

Utilizing the same rabid rhythms and rattling thrash riff-work it has plenty of enjoyable nods to their classics without offering much deviation being given the rather those same galloping rhythms being full of fiery performances that are like more modern versions of their late-80s work. Balanced out with some stylish mid-tempo chugging and it manages to get close a lot of times to their classic sound while being balanced out with the occasional mid-tempo plodding chug-style rhythm that gets utilized here. Though this one manages to sound relatively similar to the type of work featured in their discography, that inherently is the album’s lone downfall. As ravenous and aggressive as the majority of the material is, there’s never any sense of the group expanding or broadening it’s horizons to really give us something new or interesting. It’s all pretty much by-the-numbers style riffing and rhythm patterns which is fun by going along through the motions of fast-paced old-school thrash but doesn’t really offer up the feral energy of their early work or the relentless aggression of their earliest post-reunion work that remain their best efforts. It isn’t detrimental to the album as a whole but does manage to stick out somewhat, especially on a group this deep into their catalog.

Though it’s got a familiar ring of the past running throughout this one, it’s simply a matter of not really distancing itself enough to really take on the classics even with enough to like here that it instead becomes recommended more for nostalgic fans of the band who’ve come this far already or just the most complete connoisseur of old-school thrash.

Behold: the next step in the thrash revival of German legends Destruction. Since 2000, Schmier and co. have gone the way of fellow teutonics Kreator - in re-thrashing their sound after their awkward 90s groove phase. Previous albums like "Devolution" and "The Antichrist" proved that there's plenty of fuel left in the Destruction riff-tank. Hell, the opening title track churns out at least 5 different riffs before we hear the first lyric! However, as the title of this review suggests, us fans may be getting used to their reliable formula and yearn for something to push the envelope slightly.

It may take a while to get going, but once "Under Attack" hits its memorable chorus at breakneck speed, it's a joy to headbang and shout along with. Both the opener and follow-up "Generation Nevermore" are true thrash anthems pushed to the hilt thanks to Mike's well-executed leads. Both he, and Vaaver on the drums, create that sonic madness that reminds us fans of the chaotic "Infernal Overkill" glory days. Schmier sneers and grins his way ever so familiarly through the whole affair - employing a few interesting techniques here and there (the snarly chorus of "Elegant Pigs" springs to mind). There is also an abundance of gang shouts from the backing vocals, more so than on previous releases, adding to the fun factor.

Unfortunately, the production feels a bit thin - losing a lot of power that could have beefed up the mid-tempo tracks. The weakest points are indeed where the speed decreases. "Getting Used to the Evil" has many excellent ideas to expand upon, but its sluggish tempo leaves it stranded in repetition. A shame, considering how powerful the chuggy chorus is. Thankfully, "Stand up for What you Deliver" delivers solidly on the groove front - showing that Destruction are not a one-trick pony.

There's definitely far more to enjoy than to disparage on "Under Attack". The rapid thrashers like "Pathogenic" and "Stigmatized", with their vicious chromatic riffs, are a joy to behold. Lyrically, there are few faux pas here and there. "Second to None" is a cringey ode to internet trolls, whilst "Getting Used to the Evil" employs the most awkward rhyme in metal history: "We are creatures of habit and adore the divine. During life, agony becomes a routine baseline." What? Ah whatever - English isn't their first language, so I can't get too het up on this...

When the trio are belting away at the top of their game on pure thrashers like "Conductor of the Void", it proves how much the younger nu-thrash bands could learn from the 80s veterans still going strong here in 2016. Destruction are certainly in a secure position, but could suffer from stagnation if they don't push the envelope a bit further. That being said, there's only a small amount to complain about here and any thrash aficionado will have his appetite suitably whetted by the German's most recent output. "Under Attack" certainly thrashes, but it doesn't turn heads.

"Global unity - the freedom of our mind.
Humanity - UNDER ATTACK!!"

After 30 years and well over a dozen albums, Destruction is a band which, to me, tends to transcend all expectations. If they were never to make a record again which could match their flawless, fun post reunion effort The Antichrist, or even channel an effective nostalgia for their streak of innovative, 80s excellence, I doubt I would feel robbed. I think they've very likely shown us the full range of what they have to offer, without some drastic mutation like putting out a techno single; and if their own catalogue isn't enough, you can dip into the superb Headhunter discography, or the Panzer supergroup that Schmier recently took part of. Whether or not Destruction is going to write another classic is moot at this point, so the fact that they're still churning out some solid, energetic thrash is sort of...beyond what I might ask for, and while Under Attack does little to distance or deviate itself from this 'stay the course' mentality they've been locked into for 15 years, then that might just be enough. I said the same thing in 2012, for an album I found surprisingly catchy, but that one ultimately did have a mildly different feel to it.

Not so for Under Attack: this is pure, 21st millennium, muscular thrash metal which more or less comes across as an unerring sequence of remodeled, rearranged, riffs from their 80s era, only with the 'boon' of modern production which actually works against it, rendering it nigh indistinguishable from 4-5 of their other reunion era recordings. Voluminous, punchy rhythm guitars playing strings of notes and chords that don't possess a lot of nuance individually, but grant the listener enough variation that he or she isn't going to be too concerned as long as the neck can be strained, which with cuts like these is never really in question. The lead guitars here are actually pretty good, though, possessed of a style which seems to outlast their brevity, and most importantly, this just oozes Schmier's charismatic, strained snarls and roars to the extent that he might have recorded them all as prepwork for a "Nailed to the Cross" or "Thrash 'Til Death" and just saved them for now. He sounds like he's been taking some sort of miracle enhancement pill for his throat, and his bass lines are still fat and omnipresent even where they're not turning away from Mike's untiring, masterful ground work.

This is now Vaaver's third full-length within the ranks and he's hammering away with enough force that his presence instantly brings the Destruction beat system into line with other modern, extreme acts who might play faster and more technically, but not 'harder'. All of this adds up to what is just a consummately professional, pure, nasty Teutonic thrash blowout, at best semi-catchy in pieces like "Generation Nevermore" or "Pathogenic", at worst never really lagging behind much of the other material they've spewed out these last couple decades. The cleaner guitars add just a sliver of variety to the proceedings, tasteful and never overstaying their use, and whilst the bonus material, a cookie cutter cover of Venom's "Black Metal" and a re-recording of the original "Thrash Attack" from Infernal Overkill, are pretty safe choices, they don't allow the sum energy of the disco to falter. In the end, while this is unquestionably going to feel redundant to a lot of listeners, it's a well executed album which I'm going to get a handful of spins out of, but won't last me forever since there just aren't any tunes present that I could consider bonafide future classics for the Germans.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com