2022 press on blue and green bi-colored vinyl with printedinnersleeve, insert, poster and photo. Limited 300 copies

Mere months after Germany got its inaugural ass-kicking from thedeveloping Sodom and their infectious debut EP, another entity camealong and veritably rocked the scene all the way to its core.Eschewing the NWOBHM/Punk stylings and straightforward,street-riffing simplicity of their peers, Destruction insteadprescribed to the serrated precision of the Bay Area brigade,taking Metallica and Slayer as gospel rather than Venom. Thetechnical force of Sentence of Death is immediately evident, andmust have been quite a statement at the time, literally a newbanner for the Germans to fly, one that could stand toe to toe withanyone else out there, if not use its precise pugilism to beat themto a bloody, quivering pulp. Sentence of Death is a precisioncarving into the developing flesh of thrash metal, and stands as aripping good listen nearly 30 years later, having lost little, ifany, of its nasty, cutting charm. Destruction presented aninteresting take on the acrobatic thrash riffing of their Americancousins, whipping about the fret board in frenzy. Whereas Sodomchose a few punishing chords and constructed them into a fewpunishing riffs per song, Destruction’s method was much moreclinical and evolved, piecing together long strings of sweetnotation and slathering their violent riffing in an abundance ofsweet solo’s. As far as I know, this put most other thrash of theperiod to shame, in terms of pure ability. At nineteen and a halfminutes, this is almost exactly as long as its cohort in crime, Inthe Sign of Evil. Not long by any stretch, but the material here isdensely packed and hungry for blood. Certainly, the content is muchmore menacing than the goofy cover image. Perhaps this looked coolto people at some point, but it only makes me laugh incredulously.It’s oddly endearing, though, like all those other things that areso overtly and unapologetically 80’s tend to be. Just look at thathair! Total Desaster (…desaster?) charges right ahead after a shortintro, and while the riffing technique used was not exactly uniquein a musical world where Kill em All was king, the vocals ofSchmier certainly served to slap fans upside the face with thisunique flavor. His psychotic, slimy, slur of a yell is not toounlike Angelripper in that it was much dirtier than the norm, buthis higher pitch and wild inflections put a trademark stamp ontheir style. Black Mass kicks off with an excellent solo and slamsthrough a smattering of semi-technical bravado that wouldn’t soundout of place on one of the better Megadeth records. Mad Butcher isstill one of their most iconic songs, a driving andstraight-to-the-point exhibition of delicate, evolving, razor-sharpriffing patterns that don’t shy from the minor frets… probably myfavorite song on the record. Satan’s Vengeance and Devil’s Soldiersare also pretty hostile, the first a consistent fast-pacedthrasher, while the second builds some atmosphere before lettingloose it’s hectic, mildly blackened aggression. Not all the riffingis equally memorable, but it’s without fail pretty strong, and youwon’t ever be bored for its short duration. For all the EP’sstrengths, though, my socks still weren’t really knocked off. Forwhatever reason, early Destruction has never exerted completedominion over my soul, a trait that extends to lots of classicthrash that many metal heads consider to be, well, classic. Not toinfer that this is in any way lacking (though their ensuingfull-lengths were a bit of a slog for me), but it’s just notperfection to my ears. As to why that is, I’d guess that as a youngadult of today, it’s harder for me to appreciate and identify withmaterial that may have rocked my world had I not grown up withunceasing brutality handed to me on a silver platter. For example,the natural impact of Left Hand Path is no doubt lessened whenyou’ve grown up listening to Behemoth. That said, I love some otherclassic metal from this time period much more, so whether or notit’s because of desensitization or just plain natural preference isnot entirely clear. Perhaps both, to some degree. In any case, Iwouldn’t say it’s perfect by any stretch, but Sentence of Death iscool both historically and based on its own merits, and I echo mostpraise for it, if not quite to the same degree of rabid fellatio.For 20 minutes, this is a lot of material, and it’s short enough tonot overstay its welcome or stagnate in any way. It’s worth owning,and chances are if you’re an incorrigible thrash hound, you willfind yourself much more smitten than I. Certainly all the youngheadbangers would do well to give this a go as well, if only forevolutionary knowledge of your chosen art form. Sentence of Deathis a pretty ambitious start, but only a hint at the coming changesthat Destruction would continue to exhibit, for better or worse. Ina world-wide context, it’s perhaps not the most unique slab ofthrash ever penned, but its impact on the German scene was, and is,immense. It’s also just damn good, slightly more fun than In theSign of Evil even, and a nice bar set for both the band and thescene in general, instantly ingratiating themselves to the moretechnically-inclined thrashers of the world. With solid riffs,strong musicianship, and the drive to pull the elements intoexciting cohesion, Destruction’s debut is a pretty forcefulstatement, one that stood at the crest of the coming tidal wave ofGerman thashing excellence.

Track listing:
1. Intro
2. Total Disaster
3. Black Mass
4. Mad Butcher
5. Satans Vengeance
6. Devils Soldiers

Condition cover: nm

Condition vinyl: nm

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