Review by Rexorcist for Destruction - Release From Agony (1987)

After three decently energetic but artistically disappointing albums and one big improvement on writing in a four-track EP called Mad Butcher, I was really hoping the next track in this major thrash venture, Destruction, would show some real class and sophistication.  After a surprisingly moody and atmospheric intro, I'm assaulted with their heaviest thrash so far: Release from Agony.  But there's more unpredictability and rhythm involved in all the speed.  God was I hoping this would be a consistent thin, especially considering that this is the last of the classic Destruction era before the initial quality drop until four albums later with their comeback, The Antichrist (unless you count the live album, Live Without Sense).  The next track goes more or less the same way, but still boasts the improvements with ease.  But I found myself once again worried when track four, Sign of Fear, clocked in at nearly seven minutes.  It starts off with some doom metal before going into some straightforward heavy metal incorporating some thrashiness, but a slow enough pace to completely differentiate itself from the bulk of the generic Destruction catalogue.  This song gets dark and even creepy at times, so in a way it became my favorite Destruction track.

As I'd naturally expect, Unconscious Ruins goes right into the wild and insane hyperspeed thrash that we should come to expect from a band like Destruction.  This ups the ante on their previous heaviness yet again.  Being a fun-filled four-minute thrash track, it only really seems generic when compared to giants like later Kreator albums.  Otherwise, it's pretty fun.  Incriminated starts off with a slower, groovier approach before going into more hyperactivity, and like the previous track, remains fun.  But it seems that breaking new ground wasn't a focus anymore.  Still, it one again rocks all the improvements they made on their production, stylistic and rhythmic choices.  The rest of the album plays out very similarly, and maintains both its newfound improvements and standard behavior at the same time.

Boy did these guys rock the concept of a largely single-genre album.  Of course, this album's also a bit frontloaded because the second half doesn't really take any experimental directions like the first half did.  Still, this was a wild album and a huge improvement, a final testament to their golden age and IMO the best they had to offer at that point.

87