Destruction

Biography

Destruction is a German thrash metal band founded in 1982 in Weil am Rhein, in the south of the country, around singer and bassist Schmier. Together with Kreator and Sodom, it forms the founding trio of Teutonic thrash, rawer and more aggressive than its American cousin. The early records Infernal Overkill (1985) and Eternal Devastation (1986) built a reputation for speed and ferocity, driven by razor sharp riffs and primal energy. After difficult years marked by Schmier departure, he returned in the late 1990s and successfully relaunched the band. Still active, Destruction remains a benchmark of European thrash and a recognized influence on extreme metal scenes, its early albums still cited as essential.