The fifteenth record (or actually the sixteenth, if we stubbornly count the ’90s period that the band itself has written out of existence) by Destruction: the eternal third of the German thrash Big 4 after the untouchable giants Kreator and Sodom, but well ahead of their mates in Tankard. Birth of Malice is the album’s title, and we could pigeonhole the record with a few spot-on descriptions so effectively that you wouldn’t even need to read on: rock-solid, an easy listen, old-school thrash, always welcome, I’ll have another fifteen or sixteen, please.
You do want to read on? No problem, because there is certainly more to be said about Birth of Malice. For one thing, Destruction is thankfully still a quartet (thrash without a proper rhythm guitarist really is less) and this is the second album by the Schmier/Martin Furia/Damir Eskić/Randy Black line-up, following the more than fine Diabolical. The gentlemen have delivered an inspired record that at times sounds nicely venomous, but here and there also sags a little and doesn’t linger enough. Typical Destruction, then: between napkin and tablecloth.
The title track is an instrumental opener that ominously builds towards the song Destruction, which kicks off in extremely tasteful fashion. “We’re Destruction,” Schmier spits into the microphone, after which he lets out a few blood-curdling shrieks. It’s as simple as it is effective, and the volume immediately goes up a notch. “This is our lifeblood / No right nor wrong / Follow the metal / Forever strong.” Schmier turned 59 last year, and lyrics like these have a distinctly high-school feel to them, but they work like a charm alongside the ferocious guitar, bass and drum parts that the lanky German has constructed around them. Great video too:
The follow-up Cyber Warfare (one of the three tracks Schmier wrote together with Martin Furia) is another delightful pummeller with excellent guitar work, and there’s no time to catch your breath when No Kings – No Masters is launched, once again featuring very fine guitar picking. Scumbag Human Race also puts a big grin on my face, because Destruction has delivered a fourth cracking track. God of Gore likewise has all the building blocks for a fifth banger, but when push comes to shove this song ends up being the least sticky of the tracks on the album so far.
With A.N.G.S.T., the band initially lowers the tempo before racing towards a sparkling finale, bringing the level back up to that of the first few songs. Still, the centre of gravity does not shift anymore. There is nothing wrong with Dealer of Death, Evil Never Sleeps and Chains of Sorrow. On the contrary: I catch myself banging along with a malicious grin from time to time, but on the whole it’s just not quite there (with the exception of Evil Never Sleeps, where you have to search for the highlights with a flashlight). Of course, Destruction never flies off the rails anywhere – that doesn’t happen anymore after a career of more than forty years – but by now too little sticks.
Only with the unofficial closer Greed do the band rediscover the bravado, suppleness and sparkle of the early tracks. The official closer Fast as a Shark is, of course, a cover of the Accept song from as far back as 1982. Respect to the now elderly gentlemen that their work still easily stands the test of time, but nowadays it also feels a bit like an easy choice for Schmier and his cohorts to pick precisely this song for a new version. After all, the best cover of Fast as a Shark has long been made (by Altar in 1998), and Destruction is, naturally, very much in Accept’s lane. So one plus one quickly equals two, and a cover of a band from a different musical direction would have been more fun. Still, none of that detracts from the fact that Birth of Malice is simply a rock-solid, easy-listening, old-school thrash metal album. But you already knew that.
Score:
83/100
Label:
Napalm Records, 2025
Tracklisting:
- Birth of Malice
- Destruction
- Cyber Warfare
- No Kings – No Masters
- Scumbag Human Race
- God of Gore
- Angst
- Dealer of Death
- Evil Never Sleeps
- Chains of Sorrow
- Greed
- Fast as a Shark (Accept cover)
Line-up:
- Schmier – Vocals, bass guitar
- Damir Eskić – Guitar
- Martin Furia – Guitar
- Randy Black – Drums
Links: