Destruction are considered part of the “Big Four” of German thrash bands, alongside Kreator, Sodom, and Tankard. I of course did not know this when I picked up Sentence of Death at Rough Trade during our visit to New York City a few months ago. What I did know, however, is these guys look like they probably played the kind of music I would have LOVED in 1984, and frankly still enjoy today. Bullet bandoliers, studded belts and gloves and bracers, leather jackets, and the largest hair known to man – all the elements are here.
This is one of those occasions when the cover matches the music perfectly. Speedy thrash with a healthy dose of black metal thrown in, Destruction shred and destroy all comers. There’s even some legitimately virtuoso guitar playing, such as the opening to “Total Desaster” [sic], the type of thing normally reserved for NWOBHM or Yngwie Malmsteen. My pressing is one of the German versions from 1984, and while I’ll say it sounded a little bit flat at first, I came to feel right to my ears pretty quickly. This was before the era of the loudness wars and heavy bass. I do wonder if any of the seemingly endless represses from 2017 and later were remixed to make more palatable to contemporary ears… but I kind of hope they didn’t because Sentence of Death meets the test of time and stomps it into the ground.