DESTRUCTOR – Decibel Casualties

Take a trip back to the foundry with the new album Decibel Casualties from Ohio’s Destructor, who have been recording in one form or another for thirty-two years. Decibel Casualties chugs along with a traditionally heavy pulse; opener “Restore Chaos” sounds like it would not be out of place on one of the first three Voivod albums, at least until mainstay Dave Overkill’s vocals kick in.

There’s a muscular, relentless physicality to the opening guitar and drums that sets the tone for the rest of the album. Lyrically, though, the album is pretty one-note, with the majority of the eight songs featuring some variation on the “let’s all swear fealty to the power of Metal” theme. Think Manowar without Eric Adam’s four octave range and sustained screaming ability. “Keep The Faith” and “Metal Till Death” are two such examples, as is the more humorous (and therefore more pleasing) “Metal Spike Deep”, which starts off with a great shredding riff and rocks along to the chorus—“Metal Spike! Deep! The Metal Spike! Goes Deep! In Your Face!”. The song has one of the better solos on the record, almost as good as the ones traded on the rousing (and misspelled) instrumental “Firey Winds”.

Unrepentantly old school to the core of their tungsten hearts, Destructor isn’t going to appeal to everyone—Progressive and Symphonic Metal fans seeking mental stimulation or illumination would be well advised to listen elsewhere, but fans of straightforward, no frills Metal should find enough speed and adrenaline in Decibel Casualties to make it worth the price of admission.

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