INTERVIEW: Destruction is back, this time with ‘Birth of Malice’
Photo: Destruction’s new album is called Birth of Malice. Photo courtesy of the band / Provided by Atom Splitter PR with permission.
When fans of thrash metal think of the greats in the genre of music, it doesn’t take long to get to Destruction, a heavy band from Germany that recently released its 16th studio album. Birth of Malice is out now, courtesy of Napalm Records, and listeners should expect wildly pulsating riffs and socially conscious lyrics.
“It was actually not a very long process,” said guitarist Martin Furia about the recording process in Switzerland. He’s joined in the band by original bassist and vocalist Schmier, guitarist Damir Eskić and drummer Randy Black. “We got together, if I remember correctly, around February or March last year. We started working. It usually goes that [Schmier] brings bass riffs, and he introduces them to the rest of the band. Then we have to adapt them to the guitars. We add more downpicking and all this fresh metal picking stuff for guitars. Then we start to give shape to the songs. I think I went to Switzerland maybe two or three times. Meanwhile Damir was there two, three times as well. I think by May the album was completely recorded. We composed and recorded, and then I did the mixing and mastering. … In total, I think it was only four months, something like that, but very spread around.”
Before Furia became the guitarist for Destruction, he was actually the live sound technician for the band for five or six years, so he has a lot of built-up knowledge about how the thrash metal outfit should sound. He tries to put that remembered energy into the music they create.
“I think we let the songs dictate what they need,” he said. “[The album] turned out being a little bit of both, the classic sound with a new spin. We are really happy with the result. The reviews so far have been amazing. I think it’s a little bit of a continuation of Diabolical [from 2022]. What with the new members, the band has changed a little bit, and Diabolical was the first step toward this direction. What was melodic in Diabolical is more melodic now. What was groovy is groovier now. What was extreme and fast is faster and [more] extreme now. I think it’s a little bit of everything. This album shows very nice the present moment of the band.”
Destruction doesn’t stray away from lyrics that are topical and can be interpreted as commentaries on the world in 2025. Their latest single, for example, is called “A.N.G.S.T.,” which is about tackling one’s inner-demons. Another tune, “No Kings — No Masters,” has a self-explanatory song title.
“It’s so important nowadays,” Furia said. “There is such a bombardment of information. It’s tough for people to make up their minds because it appears all the time someone telling you what to do, how to think, what to feel. I think metal is very important. … We don’t write bullshit. We try to give the message. We don’t claim to be the owners of the truth. Actually we are very against all that kind of messiah way of communicating. We just add our perspective to things that happen to everybody. It’s important that bands have something to say. We definitely come from that school of thinking. Thrash metal has always had a view on life, on everything that is life in general, be it religion, social issues, politics, whatever. We still talk about that because they are still relevant topics, even though people try to silence you and tell you, ‘Oh, don’t talk about politics. Don’t say this. Don’t say that.’ F— that. Destruction doesn’t take shit from anyone. We are never accepting anyone to tell us what to do or what to think.”
Furia said the song “No Kings — No Masters,” in the minds of the fans, is a classic Destruction tune at this point. Audiences have been enjoying the onslaught of sound ever since the band started placing the song in the set list each night.
“It was so well-received by the audience,” he said. “It’s been really heart-warming how the new material is being received. We cannot wait to play the whole album because we think we have a really strong album that we can present live.”
The point of “No Kings — No Masters” is to have listeners connect the song to the world they live in. Furia wants them to see the lyrics of the tune in real life.
“There are so many people claiming that they are going to save you,” the guitarist said. “There’s no solution if you don’t have the will to do it yourself. You should be your own king and your own master, and try to develop a sense that instead of, ‘I’m going to save you,’ let’s just save [us] altogether by trying to be a little bit less of a son of a bitch. Let’s try to not follow these people that claim to be the solution to the problems that they create. Politicians are very good at this kind of shit. They tell you, ‘I’m going to solve this. I’m going to solve that.’ All the issues we’re going through are created by them. They give you this illusion of a messiah or catastrophe that is coming that they have created.”
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Destruction’s new album is Birth of Malice, which is available now from Napalm Records. Click here for more information.
