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Nov 24, 20225 min read

Destruction - Spiritual Genocide (2012)

FROM THE CRYPTS - CELEBRATING PAST ALBUM RELEASES in the HISTORY of HARD ROCK & HEAVY METAL…



On November 23, 2012, Destruction released their thirteenth full-length studio album Spiritual Genocide in Europe via Nuclear Blast.


The album was released as a celebration of the band's 30th anniversary.



Background:

On August 24, 2012 it was announced via the Nuclear Blast website that Destruction had entered the studio to record their 13th album to celebrate their 30-year anniversary as a band.


Marcel “Schmier” Schirmer commented;

"For this anniversary album we did a really great job, our new drummer Vaaver opens up new possibilities of course. On this album there are no limits. So fast, brutal and yet groovy we haven't ever sounded, probably! Also the guest musicians are very special this time: with Gerre (TANKARD) and Tom Angelripper (Sodom) our old friends and companions are with us, the original Mad Butcher/Release from Agony - line up is doing one song and with Ol Drake (Evile) we got the hottest young Thrash guitarist for a few solos on the album!"

The North American release of the album was delayed three months post-European release. In an interview with Guitar World, Destruction frontman Schmier explained why;

“If I was the label I would have released it at the same time, but it’s not up to us. I think the reason was, December is not a month for heavy metal releases in America so the label said there was no chance of releasing the album that month. So we pushed it to January. But then we have to wait until Nuclear Blast found a new distribution company in America. That’s why there’s been a three-month delay now in America as compared to Europe, which is kind of bad, but there’s nothing we can do. All we could do is provide some extra bonus tracks. We have four additional songs for America only.”

When asked about the bands drummer Vaaver (who’s first performance with the band was on their previous album Day of Reckoning), Schmier had this to say;

“…he’s definitely a big part of this record. He’s able to play everything. He can play jazzy and crazy stuff. He’s very groovy and he’s also able to play really fast. So the album is a really good mix of all that. It’s a very fast record but it has more groove moments also. He was already doing a good job on the last album, Day Of Reckoning, but I think this is the first time he has shown what he’s able to do with Destruction. He’s been in the band for two years. I’m really looking for the future because we have an amazing vibe, he’s a fantastic drummer and the chemistry within the band is a lot better than ever.”

When asked what he thought of guitarist Mike Sifringer’s work on this album, Schmier replied;

“Well, Mike is doing a lot of stuff at home now. He got a lot of recording equipment of his own, so he worked a lot at home on his guitar tracks and stuff. So he’s been really focusing on a lot of details for the record, and he’s been really working the hardest. He has spent several hours to create guitar tracks and come up with riffing ideas and stuff like that. We didn’t get so much time to finish everything, but we still sat down and worked it out in some tough shifts. It was great fun to do this album and Mike did a great job on the guitars. He has brought in new influences and ideas, and there’s a lot of really heavier doom songs also, which is important for Destruction.”

When asked if he thought that Spiritual Genocide was more atmospheric and darker than some of their recent albums, Schmier said;

“It’s kind of difficult for me to say, to criticize my own work. I think the new album is fast and groovy, but it also offers a variety. If you go on playing just thrash, of course you’re limiting yourself in your thrash costume. None of the songs on this new record have the same tempo. All of them have a different root and speed, so the variety on the album also makes it a little bit darker. It’s not a slow album, it’s just that there’s variety. Some of the albums we did in the mid-2000s were slow. This one has some ultra-fast parts too."

When asked if the bands intentions were to do an album with more variety, or whether it just came naturally, Schmier replied;

“When you start writing, of course you are aware of the style and aware of where you want to take it. As a musician you always want to create something new, you know. Otherwise you’ll be criticized for repeating yourself. With this new album, we are not just copying our own work from the past or from other thrash bands. There are a lot of new ideas, and I’m proud that we’re still able to come up with that even after all these years. It’s easy to write a brutal album, but it’s very difficult to write a brutal album that has variety and style on its songs.”

Critical Reception:

Upon its release, Spiritual Genocide received mixed to positive reviews, with Neil Arnold of Metal Forces Magazine saying;

“While these type of bands will always struggle to better their early works, this trio have no need to attempt such an impossible task. Destruction stand for thrash metal, and while they may have spent their existence in the shadow of false labels, 12 albums down the line are prime examples of what sincere thrash is all about. There’s nothing fancy here, just barbaric, ballsy, face clattering metal that consistently blows the roof of anything and everything else this year. Spiritual Genocide is a scathing opus that reeks of a pissed-off attitude… what more could you want from a Thrash record? And just to think that Destruction’s earlier works are even more vicious!”

While Ray Van Horn Jr. at Blabbermouth.net wrote;

“The initial press reaction to Spiritual Genocide has been mixed and those are just the spoiled times we're living in. So much has been recorded in Metal at this point, a reliably heavy band such as DESTRUCTION is held accountable for the minutest imperfections or potential squanders. Contrary to some opinions, this album hardly squanders. Had Spiritual Genocide followed Release From Agony or The Mad Butcher EP, it would've been held in immediate regard. The fact an album this meaty, defined and brutal is subject to scrutiny seems pretty goddamned weird.”

Note: The reviews shared here are for historical reference. The views and opinions expressed within are not always supported (in full or in part) by Into the Wells. — E.N. Wells



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