I've already praised the quality of remasters pulled out by the German label Holy Roller Records, see their work they did with non-Relapse remasters of Razor (Relapse got the bulk of the best) but High Roller Recs did miracles with some extremely poorly recorded albums such as the previously named band 1987 letdown Custom Killing, making into something listenable.
Well, when it comes to Destruction, High Roller Recs deserve extreme praise on top of the now clear as day bass and the awesome sound given to Sifringer's guitar and gone are the far-away sounding pounding devices of the drums from all of their 1985 to 1990 records (OG Destruction, even Cracked Brain counts despite what some would claim). That's where I actually discovered High Roller Records (and they keep remastering and reissuing never dying classics, this year (2022), they have did it for Canada's Sacrifice first 2 albums, to excessive success. No overblowing the whole eq band, all of the sounds we should have been hearing are there and we can admire Mike Sifringer's talents, he was a lot more committed when it came to writing stuff other than great riffs, the amazing musical thrash break in Confound Games is something to behold and to cherish, if you worship mentally twisted sounding thrash metal, it doesn't get any better. High Roller made sure that nobody forgot how genius this LP, the Mad Butcher EP and Release From Agony LP from 1988 were, the 2 other reissues are excellent too, but they're not in the same ballpark for obvious reasons.
This album takes your mind and throws it around in a, pardon the pun, eternal nightmare of weird tempo changes in most of the songs. Songs like Curse The Gods and Life Without Sense in particular makes you wonder if Schmeir (bass, vocals) did more than just drink your average thrashers' alcohol during the process of writing this album along with his 2 companions. The closer, correctly named, "Confused Mind" is complimented by overdubbed "Hell Awaits" type effects in the first verse and the relentless riffing, sharp as razors, no, chainsaws....uhm no, the very best butcher's knife, is unconventional and always has this effect of uncertainty into where things are going in each compositions, even the instrumental "Upcoming Devastation". The soloing is very Hanneman/King worship, but at this time it was done by single person and Sifringer had his own signature to these, Destruction being one of those bands that are instantly recognizable, especially with Schmeier back in 85-89 and in their 2000 and 2001 comeback LP's. The thrash break in this closer track is so damn effective, I wish it wasn't being faded out (Sifringer is still coming with variations here and there but we are treated to the sound of a walking woman and some maniac killing her with some funny sounding typical 80's scary movie kind of funny.
The only track that is not following the album's theme of mental illness, solitude, insanity, mania inducing lyrics and riffs is United By Hatred, it's got a very melodic intro riff and is overall the fastest track on here with that intro riff coming back again, with a very effective chorus, a call to all of metal scene in the 80's for those who were different and despised the way things were forced upon the common man by the State and its politics, nevermind their "side". German bands always took more pages from the hardcore/punk book when it came to lyrics regarding injustice and NATO vs. Soviet nonsense, and they were West Germans, a still occupied country in many of their eyes, not just my opinion or that of Destruction or the overall underground extreme music of the mid 80/late 80's.
Now most of the time I would say, "get the original, or some earlier remaster kid", but not when it comes to jewels of the 80's and early 90's thrash and death/thrash that is resurrected so efficiently by High Roller Records, all of their remasters of Destruction records are dollar per dollar a win, you will be ripped off by extremely expensive original vinyl or CD's that were recorded with a very new method of recording that Destruction's producer was using at the time, recording straight from the analog studio to digital (to CD), which often causes Destruction to be forgotten a little under Sodom or Kreator in their early output when it comes to the greatest of German thrash, to me that is unwarranted, Destruction's 80's material when correctly eq'd like on this remastered reissue, especially this album, as it is the best offering of theirs in their original incarnation as a trio, it couldn't get any better and I'm glad Harry Wilkins showed up for the next 3 records, too bad he's only a studio and solo guitarist even since they have regrouped with extreme effect in 1999, writing 2 new classics as in "All Hell Breaks Loose" and "The Antichrist" in 2000 and 2001, even later Wilkins is only a studio musician, a shame, because Mike's abilities at soloing are peaking here and on the next 2 releases, he's a master at devastating brutal thrash riffs that feel a bit sick in the head though, no doubt.
I got this to my older cousin who's an old metalhead in his 50's and in his words "I had no idea this album was this good, even back then!" So that means HRR did its job, dig out artifacts of massive importance and influence from 25 to 40 years ago and actually do a great job when doing their remastering. Those remasters almost make the Thrash Anthems I and II re-recordings not as necessary, although the former has 2 new pretty good original tunes. Highly recommend, I so wish Mike had continued to write those spirally, mind crushing, mania inducing riffs sometimes after the few albums issued after 2005 where they kind of lose originality, but they continue on due to Schmeier not losing one iota of his the power in his voice, the one of a man that needs very strong meds when not performing music (to his credit too, he's such a kind chill dude in real life).
Finally, it's hard to pick highlights, as this just long enough album is solid as reinforced titanium in both composition and how catchy they are despite the uneasy feeling they bring to the listener. But Curse The Gods and Life Without Sense are still very commonly played in their live sets to this day, so, before taking my word for it, you can just buy one track from that remaster and make it one of these and then compare with what you already own, you'll be very surprised! Same for those not that familiar with Destruction, this is the way to go to discover this classic thrash band, this edition, as vinyl or cd/digital files is the way to go for those who have a problem with very lofi production, something Destruction had an issue with until Release From Agony, but even that remaster from HRR makes that LP better just the same.
Going on without hearing this again in this format would literally be living senselessly (sorry....I had to).