Review by Vinny for Destruction - Birth of Malice (2025)

I am coming straight off the back of reviewing the new Sodom record and having referenced Destruction in that write up I thought it prudent to look at the other major Teutonic thrash release this year from Schmier and company. Could we have two decent releases in one year from two of the longest serving thrashers around nowadays? If there is one immediate similarity to highlight it is the album artwork on both records is great, and I would go as far as to say that Destruction pip Sodom to the post in that department overall. I feel it only fair to also say that the effort is also just as high from Destruction on Birth of Malice as it is from Tom and company on The Arsonist. Whilst the intensity levels might not quite be comparable, the work ethic is most certainly still there.

After only a couple of tracks though, it is clear to me that I prefer Destruction less overall. That’s not just a comment on this record; it is also a general statement about the bands over the many years I have under my belt from listening to thrash metal. It is not necessarily that Destruction are doing anything wrong. The current line-up is strong enough to carry off some blistering leads, furious drumming and cutting riffs. If anything, I have always had a problem with Schmier’s vocal style, and he retains those high-end shrieks here. Simply put I prefer my thrash metal vocals to be gruffer. Musically speaking though there are things to get on with here. The riffing on ‘No Kings - No Masters’ carries an otherwise clunky sounding track well, especially when the furious leads attack the track also.

Randy Black certainly puts a shift in on the drum kit without dominating the record and a healthy production job keeps the instruments all sounding coherent. The bass even makes a rare appearance in the middle section of ‘God of Gore’ but the track itself is one of the more muddled sounding ones on the album. What Birth of Malice needs is more direct an approach to proceedings, despite there being lots of leads flying around the place, we need more of the chopping thrash riffing intensity that underpins tracks like ‘AN.G.S.T.’ or ‘No Kings – No Masters’ instead of pseudo heavy metal numbers like ‘Dealer of Death’ or ‘Evil Never Sleeps’. The sad fact is that the second half of the record is utterly skippable with the cover of Accept’s ‘Fast as a Shark’ being the only pick from the final five tracks on offer. Here lies the final comparison with The Arsonist. Just like its Teutonic cousin, Birth of Malice is too long and could do a lot better coming in at the thirty-five-minute mark, culling most of the second half of the record in the process.