ALBUM REVIEW: Destruction, "Born to Perish"

By: Richard Maw

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 09/08/2019

Label: Nuclear Blast

Another deadly slice of Teutonic thrash.

“Born To Perish” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1. "Born To Perish"
2. "Inspired By Death"
3. "Betrayal"
4. "Rotten"
5. "Filthy Wealth"
6. "Butchered For Life"
7. "Tyrants Of The Netherworld"
8. "We Breed Evil"
9. "Fatal Flight 17"
10. "Ratcatcher"
Bonus:
11. "Hellbound"

The Review:

Destruction blast back, only three years since “Under Attack”, with ten tracks of efficient and cutting thrash metal. Now a four piece, thanks to the addition of Swiss shred-meister Damir Eskic and also the latest man to get behind the kit, Randy Black. Both newcomers put in a storming shift here; Damir really brings his A-game to the solos and Randy's drum performance is thrash circa 2019.

The opener and title track sets the tone here: thrashing drums, punishing leads and Sifringer and Schmier still providing a rock solid and destructive partnership. Sonically, this picks up right where “Under Attack”, “Spiritual Genocide” and “Day of Reckoning” left off: rock solid sound and razor sharp detail between the instruments. It's a long way from “Infernal Devastation” in terms of production values but the spirit of those days is still here.

Where Kreator remain a superb band, their sound has streamlined and become more subtle over the years. The same could be argued of Destruction, but not to the same extent as they remain a punishing and nasty proposition on record- less melody and more muscle. It seems that Schmier got all his melodic leanings out via the German Panzer side project a few years back, as what you get here is nothing less than thrash metal at all times.

The record steamrolls by with “Inspired By Death” and “Betrayal” following the title track with speed, violence and force. “Rotten” switches to the triplet/tanks rolling time feel that the band have used on past releases to good effect and it marks a good dynamic shift for the record. Likewise “Filthy Wealth” is not all out thrash- more like a Motorhead-type pace. It's no less effective and rounds out the first half of the album in style.

The second half of the record opens with the heavy-as-lead “Butchered For Life” (with a quieter mid section). “Tyrants of the Netherworld” is balls out thrash with a wall of guitars only letting up for a tasty drum break towards the end. A storming track! The final triumvirate of “We Breed Evil”, “Fatal Flight 17” and “Ratcatcher” are just as potent with the band applying maximum song writing chops to their speedy assault.

This is another good entry into Destruction's impressive discography. It does not top “Day of Reckoning” as their best album in the last decade, in my opinion, but it is right up there with the others. Another deadly slice of Teutonic thrash.

“Born To Perish” is available HERE

Band info: facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Pänzer - "Fatal Command"

By: Richard Maw


Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 06/10/2017

Label: Nuclear Blast

“Fatal Command” CD//DD track listing:

1. Satan's Hollow (4:04)

2. Fatal Command (4:57)

3. We Can Not Be Silenced (3:32)

4. I'll Bring You The Night (5:29)

5. Scorn And Hate (5:26)

6. Afflicted (4:42)

7. Skullbreaker (5:44)

8. Bleeding Allies (4:38)

9. The Decline (And The Downfall) (5:16)

10. Mistaken (4:54)

11. Promised Land (4:21)

The Review:

Pänzer came to prominence a couple of years back as a super group of sorts with members of Accept and Destruction combining to produce an album which sounded... mid way between those two bands. And very good it was too! The sophomore album by the band has seen Hermann Frank sadly depart, but the core of the band remain the same with Schmier and Stefan Schwarzmann still proving the thunderous underpinning to the band's sound. Pontus Norgren and V.O. Pulver fill out the line up this time around and the Swede/Swiss axis of metal works wonders.

The record is perhaps more anthemic than the debut “Send Them All To Hell” but it is just as metal; if not more so. There is huge choruses’ here- the opener “Satan's Hollow” is pure heavy metal, the following title track is more of the same. Big production and Schmier's manic vocals make this record feel energised and, in the right way, both retro and state of the art.

This is a harder proposition than Accept's latest (superb) album, but not at the level of intensity offered by Destruction. Schmier pushes and expands his vocal limits- as you can hear on “We Can Not Be Silenced”- and his willingness to turn in this type of performance says a lot about not resting on his laurels and giving his all to the record. There are mid paced chuggers like “I'll Bring You The Night” that nestle alongside more melodic and dynamic fair such as “Scorn” and “Hate” and you also get the pure heavy metal, verging on thrash, of “Afflicted” and the record is only half way at that point!

There is plenty of variety- “Skullbreaker” is a creeping and menacing track- not like the breakneck paced track I expected from the title. “Bleeding Allies” provides a stomping burst of pace and plenty of twin guitar work. The harder riffing of “The Decline (And The Downfall)” may please fans of Schmier's main band, but there is still a sense of metallic melody through the verses.

The final stretch of the album takes in the widdly “Mistaken” (great) and the fast and furious “Promised Land” (even greater!) and really closes on a strong statement for the record. This is a similar beast to their debut- powerful but with melody, hard driving but never out and out thrash. If that sounds like your bag- or for reference if you are a fan of Priest, Hammerfall, Accept and of course Destruction, there will be plenty for you to enjoy here. Classic heavy metal with a modern stainless steel sheen.

Band info: facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Accept - "The Rise Of Chaos"

By: Richard Maw

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 04/08/2017

Label: Nuclear Blast

A

“The Rise of Chaos” is precise, prescient, presented superbly in terms of artwork and production and, more importantly, rocks as hard as anything I have heard this year. A tour de force.

“The Rise of Chaos” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1). Die By the Sword

2). Hole in the Head

3). The Rise of Chaos

4). Koolaid

5). No Regrets

6). Analog Man

7). What’s Done is Done

8). Worlds Colliding

9). Carry the Weight

10). Race to Extinction

The Review:

Accept are back with a new-ish line-up and ten new songs. I'll put this out there straight away: I am a big fan of the Mark Tornillo fronted “new” Accept. “Blood of Nations” and “Stalingrad” were every bit as good as the Udo-fronted band's classics from the early eighties. “Blind Rage” was a very big commercial success for the band, but I found it a touch measured, a little too melodic and, well, just not quite heavy enough for my tastes (although “Stampede” is a true classic opener).

“Restless and Live” followed it as a very fine live 'career best of' and really gave great value for money for the fans. With “The Rise of Chaos”, the band deliver ten tracks over 45 minutes or so... and each track is balls to the wall metal!

No ballads here, and the record itself is a balanced mix of the hardest of hard rock (AC/DC on steroids) and the most Germanic of metal. Opener “Die by the Sword” has all the Accept trademarks in place; sandpaper lead vocals, Teutonic choir vocal backing, razor sharp riffing and rock solid rhythm section. It's a fine statement of intent and the record maintains that momentum throughout. It's a focused and often furious listen.

The song themes range from the dark and dystopian (the title track) to a more light-hearted, if curmudgeonly, view of the world (“Analog Man”). This is not a concept record per se, but as well as looking back to the past for comfort it also references darker events in “Koolaid”, via the Jonestown Massacre. For the most part, though, the record is firmly rooted in the present. The title track is a damning indictment of where the world is in 2017 and this is perhaps one upped by the storming “Carry the Weight”- a fleet of foot hook fest with some very contemporary political references. Is this the first metal album to reference Brexit?! Maybe.

The record is not as relentlessly dark as “Stalingrad”, but perhaps hits a note similar to “Blood of Nations”- but for my money this is a more intense listen. It's so focused and so relevant to the here and the now that I think the band have a real winner on their hands. Instead of pursuing more melodic writing, the band have gone back to their true strengths: riffs as tough as steel and hooks as catchy as anything else out there.

I can't find anything to fault on this album at all; the production is superb and state of the art, the individual performances of old and new members alike are stunning (Wolf Hoffmann is as flawless as ever, Peter Baltes ditto, Mark Tornillo excels) and while the band may have lost Hermann Frank and Stefan Schwarzmann (a huge shame- even if we got The German Panzer out of their departure) they have gained Uwe Lulis and Christopher Williams on guitar and drums respectively.

If you happen to be a fan of old school metal in the vein of early Maiden, Dio-Era Sabbath, NWOBHM's best acts, Judas Priest and so on, then Accept will be right up your strasse, the band have managed to really breathe life into the latter part of their career and recapture the spark and inspiration that made them Germany's truly classic metal band in the 80's. The band are not thrash, but have the heaviness to appeal to any fan of, say, Overkill. They are not hard rock, but your average AC/DC nut would find much to enjoy here. “The Rise of Chaos” is precise, prescient, presented superbly in terms of artwork and production and, more importantly, rocks as hard as anything I have heard this year. A tour de force.

“The Rise of Chaos” is available here

Band info: facebook



The German Panzer - 'Send Them All To Hell' (Album Review)

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 18/11/2014

Label:  Nuclear Blast

‘Send Them All To Hell’ CD//DD//LP track listing:

01. Death Knell
02. Hail and Kill
03. Temple Of Doom
04. Panzer
05. Freakshow
06. Mr. Nobrain
07. Why?
08. Virtual Collision
09. Roll The Dice
10. Bleed For Your Sins

The German Panzer is:

Stefan Schwarzman | Drums

Herman Frank | Guitars

Schimer | Bass, vocals

Review:

The German Panzer is trad metal with heavy overtones of thrash- if not quite ever reaching that velocity. Being made up, as it is, of Schmier from Destruction on bass and vocals and Stefan Schwarzmann and Herman Frank of Accept on drums and guitars respectively, you should have an idea of what it is going to sound like. In short, these ideas should be confirmed when ‘Death Knell’ rolls out of your speakers. This is metal, heavy metal, plain and simple.

‘Hail and Kill’ is nothing like Manowar, in case you were thinking that. Mid-paced straight ahead metal is exactly what you get. Indeed, the band sounds like a composite of the more established acts that supplied the musicians. And if you like your metal heavy, melodic and speedy in places, this is no bad thing at all. ‘Temple of Doom’ ups the heaviness quotient. Twin kicks rumble on as a rather Overkill-esque groove is hammered out. Great stuff and catchy too! Panzer sounds exactly how you expect a German tank to move; it's efficient, relentless and straightforward.

‘Freakshow’ is Motorhead mixed with Priest- something German bands generally seem to excel at- glorious noise and melodies in one. Nice lead breaks too. ‘Mr. Nobrain’, despite the abysmal title, is very good and ridiculously catchy. Why? Is more melodic and even uses synth type sounds here and there- not one of my favourites, but an impressive six minutes plus nonetheless with some excellent guitar work. ‘Virtual Collision’ is as heavy as lead and really emphasises the stellar production job- a massive sound all round, really, with time changes and real structure to the composition.

‘Roll the Dice’ has a majestic intro and then a slow groove for the main riff with a surprisingly anthemic chorus. The band again plays to their strengths- strong hooks and memorable riffs abound.  ‘Bleed for Your Sins’ is a rager and the last track proper on the record. It's all wailing leads, angular riffs and skull crushing drums and Schmier brings his recognisable voice to the table and puts it to good use. ‘Murder in the Skies’ is a bonus track for the digipack and is a nice bonus cut- albeit that some of the melodies do not quite suit Schmier's voice, to my ears anyway, but then again it is a Gary Moore Cover. 

To sum up, this is a fine record and adds up to the sum of its illustrious parts. It is heavy, melodic and well crafted. If you like Accept, Destruction and so on then you cannot go wrong. Exemplary modern trad metal.

Words by: Richard Maw

You can pick up a copy mostly everywhere now and also here

For more information:

https://www.facebook.com/TheGermanPanzer