This German thrash metal based band was arguably the first thrash metal outfit in existence. They were founded back in 1982 under the name Knight Of Demon. For whatever reason, the band changed their name to Destruction after only a few weeks. From then onto 1990, they had managed to release five full-length studio albums. After 1990, their involvement in the metal scene was almost totally void. Marcel "Schmier" Schirmer left the band back in 1989, but despite his departure from the band, their spirit over the silent years survived. After a decade of pretty much zero involvement in the metal scene, vocalist/ bass guitarist Schmier and rhythm/lead guitarist Mike Sifringer reunited along with a new drummer named Sven Vormann. Their 'All Hell Breaks Loose' release back in 2000 was a strong comeback album by the band. 'The Antichrist' was released in 2001, which also was a monumental piece of work. After 'The Antichrist' was released, Sven left the band due to personal reasons. Marc Reign replaced him on drum duties. 'Metal Discharge' was their follow-up, of which didn't achieve the level of success that their two predecessors received.

This album remains to fall under the thrash metal category. However, the guitar riffs were not as prevalent as was featured on their previous album. It seemed that their guitar riff structures lacked complexity and innovation to them. The music doesn't display much thought put into it, and lacks originality. Mike apparently threw together some guitar parts without putting forth many interesting qualities to them. However, the first track entitled 'The Ravenous Beast' was probably the most memorable song. It has a wicked bridge/chorus section to it, and it seems as though that song is the most original sounding one. Many of the tracks on here didn't really stick in my head. I think that Mike was really lazy when he wrote the music for this release. The title track was a decent song, but still not too catchy. The riffs that were apparent on their two previous releases were more intriguing to listen to. 'Rippin' the Flesh Apart' was another decent sounding track, but still not that great of a song. As the album progressed, the rest of the songs seemed to be pretty stale and monotonous.

'Savage Symphony of Terror' begins with a pathetic guitar/vocal output, though as the song continues, it works into a little bit better riff-writing structure to it. This album contains a lot of aggression, and doesn't letup any throughout its entirety. This is a good thing though; Destruction was able to put forth somewhat of an energy filled release. I just wasn't impressed with their approach here in terms of the guitar riffs. They failed to captivate me and were not at all as good as on their two previous releases. The bridge/chorus sections for all of their songs were the best album features. The songs take some time getting used to, so don't expect to be intrigued by them when you first take a listen. When I first heard it, I was totally turned off. The reason again was because their guitar work failed to capture my interest. After a few additional spins, I grew to like it a bit more.

The production/mixing sound to it exhibits a flat tone to the music and wasn't as crisp as on their two previous releases. It was difficult to hear the bass guitar, so this left Schmier's efforts to be lacking in this department. The double bass kicks to Marc's drumming exhibits with it another example of the failure in the mixing process. The vocals, however, were quite audible and prominent. From this aspect, I'd say that it was the highlight of the album. Marc's backup vocals were also very well heard, and success for this section was well achieved. Mike's guitar rhythms/leads lacked a real crunch tone to them. Their two previous releases were examples of a better distorted guitar sound to them. Here, they failed to capture that nice crunchy guitar feature to it. If they carried that component with them on here, then I think that it would've been a stronger release sound wise.

Mike's rhythm guitar playing was much more successful than his lead guitar efforts. I say this because he doesn't seem to initiate any useful strategies when he comprised his solos for this album. It's as though his leads were merely improvised upon; this is evident the entire way through the album. His rhythm works are no doubt much stronger then his leads. It was quite a disappointment to Destruction fans, myself included. Marc's drum work was solid though despite the poor mixing. There were a lot of double bass kicks and the drum parts were formulated to fit well alongside the guitar rhythms. Schmier did a good job on vocals, but unfortunately his bass guitar work wasn't well heard again because of the poor mixing.

The lyrics focused on metal of course, and surprisingly enough politics as well. They abdicated from singing about anti-religion/Satanism topics. This is good because they were better thought out than on earlier releases. I still think that they could've been more intriguing to read, but that wasn't the case. 'The Ravenous Beast' was an example of a total lack of ingenious lyrical writing. It was not only on this track, but holds true for all of them. Schmier's efforts showed his total lack of education, and poor in-depth writings. He could've taken a smarter, and less nonsensical approach to his work. However, it's better that he talks about more intriguing things than just Satanic ramblings. This album would've been a bit more interesting if he put in a broader range of writing. On another note, if you purchase the limited edition version to this album, it features a few cover songs as well as some earlier recorded demo tracks.

In conclusion, this album had some strengths and many weaknesses. This holds true for any band, but for Destruction fans, it was a total disappointment. They did not abdicate their throne in terms of putting out aggressive thrash metal, but it was difficult for the band to come up with more intriguing songs than on their two previous releases. This album really failed in putting forth effective guitar riffing that would be stunning for a listener. Mike's leads again fell short in his attempt to dish out any type of arpeggios, sweep picking and tremolo picking licks. Schmiers' vocals I still praise because of his unique sounding qualities. His voice on the album remains to be totally original. He doesn't sing like any vocalist within this thrash metal genre. This is a positive aspect to the band and album. Marc's drumming/backing vocal efforts were very well orchestrated. Because of the less than average points to the album's overall mixing, his drum abilities didn't do him the justice that he deserved. Overall, this album fails in its efforts to persuade me to recommend it to any thrash metal fans. If you wish to hear some unique and originally sounding thrash metal music, don't pick up this one, pick up their two predecessors, 'All Hell Breaks Loose' and 'The Antichrist'.

Reviewed by Death8699
03/25/2010 13:43

This album never bores me! I mean its sound and songs do bore into a brain without any hardship, but I do not get tired while its 39 minutes of thrashing pleasure. Destruction came back after that groove period of 1990s with all guns blazing with the year 2000's album 'All Hell Breaks Loose'.

'Metal Discharge' is a utterly fitting title for these 10 songs. Musically this follows that 2000 platter and 'The Antichrist' from next year, which were harking back to the old stylings of the band, but still too were steps forward. The V.O. Pulver's analog production job is raw-ish, and it really works well with savage songs. Thrash metal was about chaos when it emerged, and Destruction truly found it again with their comeback album, and thankfully did not forget about it again. While the band didn't invent anything new here, it's not either a lame self-plagiarism; they had a clear bearing and they didn't fall on their faces going that way.

This album is mostly about fierce juggernaut thrash (in other words, in-your-face), and very much back-to-basics style, too. The songs are rather short, and are made of only a few parts. When the tempo slows down, they also tend to include more variety and tricks in a song. It never gets progressive, but it certainly brings in variety when the band switch off their total-devastation mode. It works well, the variety, even though the album cannot be said to be long...

If you want riffs, you got 'em right here!!! Many song's opening riff (and opening, generally) does grab listener's head and start whisking it around. Vicious performance with fast string-sawing, power chords, palm-muted notes and explosive lead breaks is what Mike Sifringer knows from his heart. Even though he is the sole guitarist, there is some overlapping guitars, of course. This happens when the solos are played. I think during other times it's one guitar only. He's not technically a very impressive lead guitarist, but he does his job here.

Schmier's pain and hate mirroring vocals, where abrasive meets shriek, are very distinctive, and are in good shape here. His vitriol and violence is simply towering, even though the lyrics are far from most hateful the band have put forth. The thing I've never really enjoyed in these "new Destruction" albums are the backing vocals; very much different to Schmier's voice with all kind of lower growling, surely, but they can get bloody annoying due to their frequent occurance and overpowering style. Schmier's bass tone is metalic and of course the necessary backbone to the Destruction sound.

Drummer Marc Reign (in Morgoth nowadays) made his Destruction debut here. His style is very busy and hefty. He manages, in all that speediness, to bang in loads of small details. Of course there is no sign of sloppiness, that happened on early Destruction albums; generally, the band sounds bloody tight (with honest analog production). The snare sound is very snapping, and might repulse someone, but I feel it's like splitting the atom with every strike!!!

'Metal Discharge' is mostly very vicious slab of Teutonic thrash terror from a classic band after over two decades since their first outcry. I personally see it on the better half of "new Desturction" albums put out up to date. The cover art is rather simplistic and actually boring, but it can be seen to shout out loud: "listen to the music inside!" And if thrash metal is your thing, then you really should.

The bonus disc insight: A collection of three bonus tracks from earlier releases, perhaps, and four demos. Iron Maiden's classic 'Killers' is absolutely beautifully thrashified! Gotta love the distorted bass guitar tone... One of the better IM covers I've heard, to tell the truth. Metallica's 'Whiplash', a more obvious choice, is a lovely scabby take on this classic song. Nothing to be shamed about... The Exploited's 'Fuck the U.S.A.' is a cool metalization, if a tad wishy-washy, because it really does not destroy. However, it makes me think about Tankard, because Schmier does sound a bit like Gerre here, and the music is punk, you know?! The demos are cool for collectors out there. Of course more bareboned versions, but the songs' souls are what matter.

Rating: 8- (out of 10) ratings explained

Reviewed by Lane
06/04/2019 10:49