To my shame I’ve never heard of DESTRUCTOR until now. After searching the internet to find some information about this release I found out that they were an integral part of the first wave of Thrash Metal in the 80s and their debut album “Maximum Destruction” from 1986 ranks as a classic US Thrash Metal record from this era (it definitely is! – Frank). After the brutal murder of their bass player in 88 the band split up in 92. “Forever In Leather” is the second record of the Cleveland four piece after their comeback in 2003. So I was really curious about this record. And what a start. The first track ‘Tear Down The Heavens’ is a great opener with an awesome hookline. Great Power/Thrash Metal played right in your face. The next tracks ‘Skull Splitter’ and ‘World Of War’ keep the level. The guys left no time to breath and push the speed through the whole time. Not much place for mid tempo parts. The singer Dave Overkill has a great rough but also melodic voice. On the B-side are some songs that can’t hold the level of the first ones but that don’t subtract the great ensemble of the whole record. The production is powerful but not to modern. So friends of 80s Thrash Metal should definitely risk an ear. The vinyl from our friends High-Roller is as always a pleasure. Nice thick vinyl and a great 4 page lyric sheet. For all further info check out www.myspace.com/maximumdestructor, www.hrrecords.de

Euclid / Cleveland’s Power Metal warriors DESTRUCTOR are back again with yet another bloody skull to add to their burgeoning collection! The CD “Forever In Leather”, the band’s third HM album, kicks it into gear where last year’s “Storm Of Steel” MCD left off (for those that missed that outing, this MCD was originally only to be sold at The Keep It True Festival. So if you weren’t there or couldn’t get a copy through the label, be sure to read the review written by Frank Stöver amongst these pages for what you missed). A true rip-ride of a record, “Forever In Leather” takes the listener by force back to the days when Metal bands not only had something to say, but meant every riff they wrote and every word sung into the microphone! Eleven tracks of welcomed and inspired HM / Power / Thrash Metal are featured here that are a blessing to these ears! As the band breaks into the 21st Century once more, for those like me, who haven’t heard anything new by DESTRUCTOR since “Maximum Destruction” was for sale. It is a relief to know that they still haven’t lost their touch for heavy, and original Metal music. Granted these days the bulk of their album’s set-list seems to be written in a more EXCITER / MAIDEN-ish tempered approach, ultimately you would be hard pressed to see either of those aforementioned bands nowadays attack their material with such fervor, or even attempt to try to keep up with the blazing fury that DESTRUCTOR deliver note after note. And to those maniacs who still listen to “Maximum Destruction” on any kind of regular basis let me say that the DESTRUCTOR of old, the band that converted all the local Rivetheads and Earthdogs at the time from their home town(s), their home state, and across the U.S., all the way to Europe! To those specific fans, of who purchased DESTRUCTOR’s debut LP and remember being just floored by the raw balls-out Metal that this band wrought. The two-fisted writing force of Dave Overkill and Pat Rabid continue to please those Speed Metal fans of old, whilst thwarting the critics, the cynics and expertly pummeling their competition to the ground with such instant classics as ‘Skull Splitter’ and ‘Straight To Hell’. Two of the very best tracks on this album, favorites of mine, and two savage killers that I guarantee absolutely will smash your skulls with power! Contact: auburn833@aol.com or www.auburnrecords.com or P.O. BOX 925, Medina, OH 44258, U.S.A.