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May 17, 2012 |
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DESTROY DESTROY DESTROY - Devour The Power
Metal Blade (2006) |
8/10 |
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01. The Summoning
02. Hang The Vermin
03. Gods Of War And Open Sores
04. Ripped Apart By The Juggernaut Of Fornication
05. Battle Cry
06. Eternal Voyage Of The Geishmal Undead
07. The Beast That Cannot Be Fed
08. Mutilated Cranial Orifice
09. Seduced By The Locrian Temptress
10. Hellfire
11. Bring On The Exodus
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I honestly can't tell whether DESTROY DESTROY DESTROY are an "irony band" or not. The music sounds genuine enough, but you just have to look at the band photo to realize that something is up: drummer Eric W. Brown sports a Kerry King spiky bracelet alongside nerd glasses, the bassist is flashing a weird "come hither" look to the camera, and singer Brian Kemp wears an Eric Adams-style (MANOWAR) loincloth and clutches an invisible orange in his hand. Come on, no serious American band looks like that anymore… well, except for MANOWAR. Then, there are the song titles. "Gods Of War And Open Sores" could be the name of a CRADLE OF FILTH b-side, and "Mutilated Cranial Orifice" has that classy CANNIBAL CORPSE ring to it.
On the other hand, they're from backwoods Tennessee (an area not exactly known for its hipster population), and Mike "Gunface" McKenzie from THE RED CHORD guests - and whatever else you may say about that band, they certainly aren't ironic. Best I can figure, DESTROY DESTROY DESTROY are basically the Death Metal equivalent of 3 INCHES OF BLOOD: a bunch of guys who got drunk, thought it would be funny to start a Metal band, and woke up with hangovers and a record contract.
Musically, these guys invoke CHILDREN OF BODOM with a dash of HAMMERFALL's epic grandeur. Much like 3 INCHES OF BLOOD, the element that will kill this group for most people is the vocal performance: Kemp does his very best to sound like Dani Filth. Unlike 3IoB's Jamie Hooper's horrific falsetto, though, I can deal with screechy Death vocals. If you can't, don't bother. Those that stick around are in for a pleasant surprise, because DESTROY DESTROY DESTROY are actually very good at playing Euro-Metal with a smirk.
The band's saving grace is that they know how to write incredibly catchy songs. The aforementioned "Gods Of War And Open Sores" has a definite ARCH ENEMY neo-thrash vibe, and "Ripped Apart By The Juggernaut Of Fornication", "The Beast That Cannot Be Fed", and "Seduced By The Locrian Temptress" would be right at home on COB's "Follow The Reaper." "Mutilated Cranial Orifice" deserves special notice for the cheerful sing-along chorus, "We will fist fuck your skull!" The one for the ages, though, is "Battle Cry", a multi-tiered hymn with precision machine-gun drums, keys that sound like the background music from a Castlevania video game, spoken word interlude, and crowd-participation chant of "die die die!"
Despite the tongue-in-cheek tone and derivative sound, DESTROY DESTROY DESTROY's superlative songwriting skills and talent are undeniable. Much like DETHKLOK, their songs have a sense of humor, but they back up the humor with a solid musical foundation. Fun stuff, and highly recommended... that bassist sure is creepy, though.
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