Band:	Destruction
Album:	Metal Discharge
Style:	Teutonic thrash metal
Release date:	September 22, 2003
Guest review by:	Justin

01. The Ravenous Beast
02. Metal Discharge
03. Rippin' The Flesh Apart
04. Fear Of The Moment
05. Mortal Remains
06. Desecrators Of The New Age
07. Historical Force Feed
08. Savage Symphony Of Terror
09. Made To Be Broken
10. Vendetta
11. Killers [Iron Maiden cover] [limited edition bonus]
12. Whiplash [Metallica cover cover] [limited edition bonus]
13. Fuck the U.S.A. [The Exploited cover] [limited edition bonus]
14. Bestial Invasion [demo 1999] [limited edition bonus]
15. The Butcher Strikes Back [demo 1999] [limited edition bonus]
16. Nailed to the Cross [demo 2001] [limited edition bonus]
17. Metal Discharge [demo 2003] [limited edition bonus]

When vocalist/bassist Marcus Schmier reunited with guitarist Mike Siffringer in 1999, old school thrash fans salivated over what the legendary German act Destruction would bring forth with their return. 2000's ?All Hell Breaks Loose? was, if anything, a solid release. The follow up, 2001's ?The Antichrist? moved even closer to the original Destruction design of old, and while unanimously garnishing great reviews, the best would prove yet to come.

With their ?Metal Discharge? being their third comeback album in as many years, Destruction have possibly come up with their best yet since 1986's ?Eternal Devastation?. With drummer Marc Reign making up the trio, the band have once again utilized the production talents of Peter Tagtgren and his Abyss Studios, and the quality is evident from the moment the false beginning of ?The Ravenous Beast? rumbles from the speakers. The riffs are lightning paced, the bass sound clearly audible and all the while, kept in time with Reign's impeccable time keeping.

From here on in, the album takes Destruction's unified thrash pace and runs with it over the course of ten tracks without stopping for a moment to allow either the band or the listener to catch their breath.

The title track ?Metal Discharge? and ?Mortal Remains? has Schmier in fine vocal form, with a clear move from the dominant German accent of the past, while the mid paced ?Rippin? The Flesh Apart? is as close as Destruction gets to slowing the pace down (which isn's all that much).

The riff within ?Fear Of The Moment? is inventive by any standards, while ?Desecrators Of The New Age? (which also happens to be the first promotional video clip) is perhaps the albums most accessible track.
Both ?Historic Force Feed? and ?Savage Symphony Of Terror? are hardly what you would call filler tracks, but when stacked up to the final two numbers ?Made To Be Broken? and ?Vendetta?, there's little to make them stand up to the standard.

Destruction really has made a solid comeback, and unlike most reformations, they seem to be getting better with every release, rather than going backward. ?Metal Discharge? is the true return of Destruction, and hopefully the comeback of classic thrash metal the way it's supposed to be made.