review by: Roberto Martinelli

How can you not love Destruction? This band sucks. This band rules. This thrash icon of the '80s helped make the German scene what it was, and indeed what it is.

In terms of thrash, Infernal Overkill is exemplary. You get a solid feeling in your gut as to how honestly metal this recording is. Marvelous riffs, like on "The Ritual," "Bestial Invasion," and "Death Trap" present the quality that this three-piece had to offer. The thrash riffing is so abundant and satisfying as guitarist Mike (that's it; just "Mike") delivers his rhythm guitars in interesting arrangements.

But it's Destruction's less than exemplary aspects that are equally as endearing. You have to begin with Schmier, who is one of the worst singers that you love to listen to. I don't think I get more satisfaction from doing impressions of a vocalist than of Schmier's raspy voice, punctuated (more and more liberally as his career went on) by hilarious falsetto accents.

As if that weren't enough to amuse you, add in Schmier's fantastic butchering of English pronunciation to make the experience all the more fun to listen to and decipher. How could Mike have ever kicked him out of the band? It's unthinkable to have a Schmier-less Destruction.

In the early days, Destruction's drummer was Tommy, who, it must be said, just really wasn't very good. Luckily, his lack of skills also lends to the worth of this album (although who knows how cool Infernal Overkill would have been with Dave Lombardo or even Ollie, Destruction's second drummer, in Tommy's place), as the drumming manages to rule while at the same time being crap. If you listen to it, you'll know: there's just something not quite right about the beats, not to mention the times when Tommy comes in too early or too late, and how his beats get flipped over, like on the beginning of "Tormentor," which starts off as a snare first beat, but ends up a few repetitions later as a bass first beat. Check out the drum-only beginning of "Antichrist" to hear the atrocious, cheap Casio keyboard snare sound on this album.

Although it may seem that most of this review has been spent on pointing out how bad Destruction are, don't forget that the From the Vault section is dedicated to recommending old albums, and Infernal Overkill is a classic that rocks even more because of its flaws. Like a big, dumb, clumsy dog, Destruction is endearing and yes, eminently loveable.