With many of us struggling with the current live music famine at the moment, due to obvious reasons, we get a slight glimmer of relief with Schmier et al launching their latest live opus, ‘Born To Thrash’, and it is an absolute beast, a solid hammer to the cranium and a relentless full on onslaught from the start.

The 53 minutes of pure thrash heaven was recorded live at the Party San 2019 festival and features a huge cross section from the Destruction back catalogue.
The set opens with the colossal, crushing, ‘Curse The Gods’, and the band and crowd alike are electric. The atmosphere generated from the opening bars is monumental and the band and hordes seem to be feeding off each other as the set progresses through the classic and newer anthems in equal measures.

Fan favourites, and absolute stalwarts to the Destruction live experience, are included in this package. ‘Nailed To The Cross’ is introduced by Schmier and then blasts off, reminiscent of an atomic bomb landing on its desired target. ‘Mad Butcher’ starts with a kick drum which winds the crowd into a frenzy before mesmerising fret work interjects and then the whole band climb aboard the speeding bullet of a track. ‘The Butcher Strikes Back’ is another colossal effort and the drum work of Randy Black is at the forefront of the frenzied thrash attack. All of these highlights shouldn’t negate the fact that there isn’t actually a weak string to this live bow, period.

Damir Eskic and Mike are phenomenal on the six strings throughout, battling and nurturing in absolute harmony and beauty together. The speed that the two frets generate is mind blowing and this is only grounded and stopped from heading skywards from the crunching and pounding bass lines created by the bass work of Schmier. The fluidity and flowing of the set is orchestrated and managed by the vocal power of Schmier, injecting his unique trademark sounds and range which only this German behemoth could possibly reach.

I have to admit that in my early formative years, when I was discovering and growing my thrash roots, I naturally leaned more to the U.S thrash maestros, with the Teutonic big 4 not really hitting my radar, albeit the mighty Kreator, until an infamous day in 2008 at Bloodstock Open Air when I was introduced to Destruction, true Germanic Titans, and I have not looked back since.

‘Born To Thrash’, my friends, will not disappoint, it is one uber slab of ferocity, aggression and violence, but above all else, pure unadulterated thrash.

(9/10 Phil Pountney)

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