Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Retroview: Destruction - Release From Agony

Many years ago, Ice T was on MTV to promote the first Body Count album. Back then, most people didn't know he liked metal, punk, and hardcore, so he had to explain his tastes. The first band he mentioned was Suicidal Tendencies, but he said he learned about new bands all the time. For example, he said, "Sometimes I'll just buy a record if it's got a ill-ass cover," and held up a copy of "Cracked Brain" by Destruction. "The joke's on him," I thought, "that record fucking sucks."

A few years after that, when I was 18 or 19, I went through a big thrash phase where I was listening to a lot of Destruction. One of the albums I listened to a lot was the Destruction live album, "Live Without Sense." I went to see the legendary grindcore band Hemdale at the height of my thrash phase, so I was really excited when they took the stage and Matt said, "This is a brain-crushing new one, it's called LIFE WITHOUT SENSE!" before their opening song.

Anyway, that brings us to this album. I hadn't listened to it in years, so I put it on just to see how it held up. Turns it out it's pretty boring, I didn't make it past the third song. But I did have a good laugh at the chilling lyrics to the title track (and the cover art):
I am caught in a dream
and I am trying to pass through.
Something insane is on the prowl
uncertainty is frightening me.
It will get me. It will choke me.

6 comments:

  1. I don't listen to Destruction very often, but I think this is probably my favorite album of theirs. I find every single one of their early releases to be so fucking overrated it's almost laughably painful. There are some decent tracks here and there, but every other top-rung German thrash band shits all over Destruction without even thinking about it. It's just a fact. I never did understand why so many people speak so highly of early Destruction. I mean, just listen to it!? What's the big deal!?

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  2. i agree. in retrospect, they were entirely forgettable. sepultura was the best german thrash band ever, even though they werent from germany.

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  3. I jack off underwater in hell.

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  5. Sergeant, I will NEVER forgive your ass for getting rid of those autographed Destruction records w/o asking me if I wanted them. I would have paid you Stop dollar for those!

    I remember Ice-T wearing a DRI Thrash Zone T-Shirt on MTV once :)

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  6. granted Destruction was overated, but Release From Agony is an undisputed classic record, their best record and quite unique & essential for any thrash fan. To make fun of that record pretty much makes you total douche fishing for nerd-rage.

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