biodestruction

 

Destruction was formed in 1983 under the name Knight of Demon by Mike Sifringer, Marcel 'Schmier' Schirmer and Tommy Sandmann. In 1984 Steamhammer signed Destruction and the mini-LP Sentence of Death was released. The following years Destruction established themselves with classic albums such as Infernal Overkill (1985), Eternal Devastation (1986), Mad Butcher EP (1987) and Release From Agony (1987). But then Schmier decided to leave Destruction to pursue his own band Headhunter. Destruction hired André Greider and released Cracked Brain in 1990. Mike Sifringer kept the band going with an unstable lineup throughout the nineties and the material the band released was below par.

So bad in fact the band doesn't see it as Destruction material any longer. After a decade away from Destruction, Schmier decided to return to Destruction and in 2000, Destruction released All Hell Breaks Loose, which was their first thrash metal album in ten years. In 2001 Destruction released The Antichrist which scored a ton of good reviews. Ever since then, Destruction has released six more studio albums and they are once again a leading force on the European thrash scene. This is the Destruction biography.

THE BEGINNING (1982-1986)

Destruction from Weil am Rhein were formed as Knight of Demon in 1982, in the beginning Destruction were influenced by bands like Iron Maiden, Mercyful fate, Motörhead and Venom. The original line-up featured bassist Marcel 'Schmier' Schirmer, vocalist Ulf, drummer Tommy Sandmann, and guitarist Mike Sifringer. But vocalist Ulf was kicked out after a dispute with Mike Sifringer over a girl and Schmier took over the vocal duties. They soon changed their name to Destruction and released a demo titled Bestial Invasion of Hell in 1984.

After this the group signed with Steamhammer Records and released their debut EP titled Sentence of Death later that year. The EP was a success and in may of 1985 Destruction released their full-length debut Infernal Overkill. In 1985 Destruction was invited to play the World War III festival in Montreal, Canada together with Nasty Savage, Possessed, Voivod and Celtic Frost. Destruction also got the opportunity to open up for Slayer on their first European tour.

In July of 1986 Destruction released their sophomore album Eternal Devastation. The album showed some growth when it comes to technical dexterity. A tour with Rage and Kreator followed. But then drummer Tommy Sandmann decided to leave Destruction and Chris 'Witchhunter' Dudek of Sodom filled in for the rest of the Eternal Devastation tour.

CHANGES (1987-1991)

In 1987 Destruction recruited drumer Oliver Kaiser. The band also decided that they wanted to go from a trio to a quartet, so they found the guitarist Harry Wilkens and recruited him as well. In 1987 Destruction releases the Mad Butcher EP, The Mad Butcher then became the bands mascot. The track was originally used on their 1984-EP Sentence of Death. The Ep featured a Plasmatics cover.

In December of 1987 Destruction released the Release From Agony album. On Release From Agony the band made full use of the extra dimension the second guitar added, although their increasing musical dexterity and more intricate song structures did nothing to temper Destruction's original aggression and heaviness, and the band began to extend themselves abroad, playing with Motörhead across Europe and on a few dates of Slayer's US tour and a few gigs with Cro-Mags.

In 1989 Destruction released the live album Live without Sense, after the live album, tensions started to rise and the bands front man Schmier left the band because he was tired of arguing with the other members. Destruction decided to continue and at first they tried out with Artillery's vocalist Flemming Rönsdorf, but the label didn't want to pay him upfront so he declined to join Destruction. They finally decided to go with André Greider from Swiss thrash band Poltergeist.

Schmier on the other hand hand started a new thrash metal band called Headhunter and they album debuted in 1990 with the album Parody of Life.

In 1990 the new lineup recorded and released the album Cracked Brain. The album was true to the bands roots and it is an underestimated album in the bands catalogue. The album featured a My Sharona, which is a The Knack cover. Newcomer Christian Engler played some additional bass on the album.

WITHOUT SCHMIER (1992-1998)

In 1994 Destruction released a self-titled EP with a brand new lineup of vocalist Thomas Rosenmerkel, Drummer Oliver Kaiser, Bassist Christian Engler, Guitarists Mike Sifringer and Michael Piranio. The EP was released through the Brain Butcher label and it was a total failure.

But despite the setback, Destruction continued on and released the Them Not Me Ep in 1995, it was another disaster and the bands future was in real doubt now. But the band plowed on yet again and released the album The Least Successful Human Cannonball in 1998 and by now the band gave up their classic logo for the first time. The bands music during the nineties was questionable to say the least and in retrospect the band has disowned the Thomas Rosenmerkel era of Destruction.

During this time Schmier's new band Headhunter delivered two more albums that received pretty good reviews: A Bizarre Gardening Accident (1992) and Rebirth (1994).

COMEBACK (1999-2007)

In 1999 Schmier returned to Destruction after being absent for a decade. The comeback lineup was Mike Sifringer, Schmier and new drummer Sven Vormann. The band was soon booked to three big German metal festivals, Bang Your Head, Wacken and With Full Force. The band signed a deal with Nuclear Blast and recorded All Hell Breaks Loose in 2000. The band finally scored some good reviews again and the fans were excited that Destruction had returned to their thrash roots. But it was nothing compared to the fans reaction and all the reviews their 2001 release The Antichrist received.

The album was a huge success and Destruction was back as a force to be reckoned with. During the late 2001 and early 2002 Destruction, Kreator and Sodom toured Europe together. Destruction then released their last album on Nuclear Blast titled Metal Discharge in 2003. Then Destruction signed a deal with AFM Records. In 2005 Destruction released Inventor of Evil. Schmier performed guest vocals on the Elvenkings "The Winter Wake" album. Then the band decided to re-record some of their old classics for the 2007 album Thrash Anthems.

IN RECENT YEARS (2008-2017)

In 2008 Destruction released D.E.V.O.L.U.T.I.O.N.. The same year Schmier re-awakened his old Headhunter band and they released the album Parasite of Society on AFM Records. In February 2011, Destruction released Day of Reckoning. A European tour with Overkill followed. The band's thirteenth studio album, Spiritual Genocide, was released in November of 2012. Their next album, Under Attack, was released in May of 2016, A tour with Flotsam and Jetsam, Nervosa and Enforcer followed.