Winter Whiteout 2025

Off again for the holidays, thank you dear readers for stopping by! Back in January with a German death/thrash discography I have neglected to cover up until now. - autothrall

Deströyer 666 - Bitter Scorn EP (2023)

Bitter Scorn is little more than a bite-sized after mint to the phenomenal Never Surrender record, Deströyer 666 riding high on another success, and I have to admit it delivers. Partly on the strength of the cover song; K.K. Warslut and friends do not mess around when they decide to include something like this, and whilst Dio's "I Speed at Night" is a much different pick than something like "Prometheus" from the Terror Abraxas EP, it's another awesome execution which fully translates the driving, simplistic heavy metal number into their more volatile, armored and aggressive style, which feels flush with the increased elements of speed and thrash metal that have dominated their last two albums, but have always been in the DNA to some degree.

The new original, the title track, is also pretty good, with a great chorus and a vocal break that reminds me of something Venom would have done in their heyday. Like a lot of their recent material, it's largely built upon a speed/heavy metal structure but then injected with some of the blackened thrash elements, and yet they just don't sound a lot like the myriad of other bands doing their style. Perhaps because they've built up such a unique foundation from which to approach it, or the way they produce the guitars, Deströyer 666 has been fairly original for some time. Now, this is a 7", it's limited, collectible, and there are those restraints, most people will have to check out the Dio cover (at least) online, but it's worth hearing, and "Bitter Scorn" itself I think is available on one of the deluxe editions of Never Surrender, where it's probably a better fit. So as an individual PRODUCT, this has limited appeal beyond collectors, but the tunes will please those into the last decade of Deströyer 666.

Verdict: Indifference [6/10]

https://www.destroyer666.uk/

Deströyer 666 - Never Surrender (2022)

If the biggest criticism I can level at Never Surrender is that it partly sounds like a couple of outtakes from Wildfire with some new ideas spliced in, then you know it's a pretty awesome time. And it is. I think nearly anything would have disappointed me after that masterpiece. The Call of the Wild EP left me a little dry, sure, but if Deströyer 666 had simply called it a day and hung up the bulletbelts, I would have had no cause for complaint, because they'd capped off a pretty strong career with a pinnacle of excellence and they'd only be headed back down the other side. To the great credit of K. K. Warslut and crew, they managed the descent with one scorcher of a follow-up that strikes a lot of the same nerves while revealing a couple new ones to bite into. 

The vocals aren't quite on the level of Wildfire, but they still sound pretty great, especially with the exciting gang shouts and the continued use of that reverb effect that makes him sound so sinister on the prior outing. Some of the speed metal elements here show a fraction more of a straight punk or hardcore feel to them, but at the same time there are tunes like "Andraste" where they even let a little of that old Hellhammer/Celtic Frost influence return. That track is actually a great example of some of the 'new' here, because they're using more of the ritual chant rhythms with cleaner vocals, and it contrasts very well with the harsher inflection and those tremolo-picked guitars. Some of the songs use a similar approach to the guitars but with a more mid-paced tempo, and it actually lends a darker and more epic vibe to the writing than even on Wildfire, but the shouts and the punk-laced riffs bring it right back to that exciting street level. There are some absolute banger riffs in tunes like "Guillotine", and "Grave Raiders", the latter of which sounds like almost a German heavy metal song via Grave Digger.

But there are definitely a few like the title track and "Rather Death" that would have fit right in on the previous album. Warslut does experiment with some even more Kreator-sounding vocals on the latter, and I'm half-convinced it's really Mille singing those parts. Elsewhere, he does some more pure trad BM rasps just because why the fuck not, and the closer "Batavia's Graveyard" even reminds me of a more twisted version of Rock'n'Rolf from Running Wild, with some of that epic Bathory Viking metal influence circa Hammerheart. It's these little nuances and tributes that prevent Never Surrender from sounding like a total unswerving sequel to Wildfire, and I appreciate them, because this is pretty powerful stuff and proves there is plenty of space left for them to explore and expand their overall sound. And maybe that's a deterrent for some who might have just wanted Phoenix rising or Unchain the Wolves, but to that I say: those albums haven't gone anywhere, you can still listen to them. I just love hearing an already good band hit a great stride decades into their career and if this record's any indicator, this trend is in no danger of slowing down. Phenomenal.

Verdict: Epic Win [9.5/10]

https://www.destroyer666.uk/

Deströyer 666 - Call of the Wild EP (2018)

It's a difficult thing to follow up a masterpiece, or at least what I personally perceive to be a masterpiece, and so Deströyer 666 did the exact opposite. They released a humble EP, the Call of the Wild, with a title and cover art that resonate with the bestial mascots and warlike energies they've associated with in the past. While the style throughout these four tracks isn't a long distance from Wildfire, the production does feel a little more controlled and claustrophobic, there is still a good atmosphere created through the vocals and higher string guitar work, but there's something less affecting about it all, like they had torn the roof off in 2016 but for some reason it's been repaired or replaced. That's not a deal breaker, because the tunes here are still solid, but I'd be lying if I didn't describe this as somewhat of a disappointment.

"Trialed by Fire", the closer here, is a re-recording from the Terror Abraxas EP, and I'm juggling which of the two that I find superior; this one is slightly more atmospheric, and the cleaner vocal barks are more pronounced, but I think in terms of the production I'd go with the old one. The other three tracks are all pretty solid, especially "Violence is Golden" and "Call of the Wild" itself, which sound like outtakes from Wildfire but with that denser, cramped production I mentioned above. I don't know that they would have fared better on the full-length, they're actually a little redundant with better tracks, but they are certainly the highlights for me when I'm spinning through this, and the latter has that droned chorus part where the little guitars and counter-vocals spike out and it's pretty much the high point of the 20 minutes, an idea that I hadn't quite heard from them before. The mix is fine, the vocals standout but the instruments often seem to muddle together a little...drums, bass and rhythm guitars. That does help distinguish the leads, but I just think it felt a little more rushed and less impressive than Wildfire.

And I keep repeating that title, but hey, that's what you get when you've set my expectations so high and then tempered them a bit! Call of the Wild is decent, but other than Terror Abraxas, Deströyer 666 does not have a high success rate for me with their shorter releases. They are, to me, a full-length sort of band where I want to be blown over by that full 40-ish minute experience, sure I can lean into certain tracks on a playlist, but they put a lot more effort into the albums (obviously) and so I'd rather put my own effort into listening to them.

Verdict: Win [7/10]

https://www.destroyer666.uk/

Deströyer 666 - Wildfire (2016)

Wildfire might lean a lot more heavily into the band's thrash/speed metal side than any of the other Deströyer 666 albums, but it also feels to me like the album I had been awaiting from them for a quarter century. The most memorable and resonant production, the best songwriting, the strongest riffs, and for my money, the best K. K. Warslut vocals across their entire discography. In fact, this album is so fucking good that I was quite surprised it had any sort of divisive reaction at all; this is the once in a lifetime sort of effort that I spend endless time spinning, replaying individual tracks to hear the cool bits but also able to run through the whole 40 minutes. There's no fat to trim, it's one of the most distinct records in this whole blackened speed/thrash trend that's been the rage for the last 20 years, and it was my top heavy record of 2017.

It's got a fairly uniform style to it, but enough variation within to entertain endlessly. All performances sound amazing, but I think where this album differs slightly is in how the higher-pitched guitars are so prominent in the writing. Between the trilly speed metal lines and the bleeding tremolo picked melodies, this album reaches for the stratosphere like no other in their backlog. Bash in some bluesy, burning leads, loads of gang shouts and a diabolical, raving and barking vocal delivery that is K.K.'s best, and then a few twists and turns back into a more traditional black metal territory and you've got a real beast. Most of the cuts are instantly catchy, with a few like "White Line Fever", "Die You Fucking Pig!", "Artiglio del diavolo" and the title track which shot up to my favorite Deströyer 666 tunes within minutes of hearing them. Those brighter and yet still threatening guitar lines burrow themselves directly into your spikes & leather psyche, and the balance of the mix against the vocals is perfectly effective. The drums are crashing and splashing and yet the bottom end also thunders all over the place, with all manner of interesting beats and fills that keep your attention whenever you can break away from those riffs.

There is a hurried intensity to the whole record that's beyond engaging, and it hasn't aged a day in almost a decade since I've heard it. A few of the lyrics to songs like "Hounds at Ya Back" and "Live and Burn" are a little more cliche or straightforward, less scathing than others they've written before, but that's a minor complaint when the music itself and the EXECUTION of those lyrics is spot on. There's also a cleaner singing/guitar section in "Tamama Shud" the closer which will come out of nowhere, but it's a tribute to a fallen friend and shows the band is still capable of a surprise, not that any more surprise is needed than a nearly perfect record kicking back after seven years with a slightly modified style that feels fresh but not wholly novel since you heard traces of this on at least three of the prior full-lengths. It's the chef's kiss, if that chef just cooked your meal with a blowtorch. I mean I enjoy thousands, but this is one of those hundred or so metal records I'd be proud to be buried with.

Verdict: Epic Win [9.75/10]

https://www.destroyer666.uk/

Deströyer 666 - Defiance (2009)

Defiance might have arrived after a six-year gap in releases, the longest Deströyer 666 had gone since their inception, but when it did arrive, it was like a crushing tank phalanx committed to destruction, one of the heaviest albums they've ever done while still retaining a lot of those core aesthetics. It's almost like if Phoenix Rising were forced, Alex from Clockwork Orange-style, into a chair and forced to listen to the Bolt Thrower catalogue from 1989-1995, to the point that it threaded that more warlike aspect back into their style, but in a different way than the reckless black/death of the early years. Obviously it's got a lot more dynamic range than that band, not to mention speed, but there's a similar grim purpose to tracks like "Weapons of Conquest" and "Path to Conflict", especially on the mid-paced, double-bass driven sequences.

That said, they've also got a lot of melody and airiness rising to the top here which continue to set up the material to follow, and there's a great deal of musicality here while simultaneously sounding much more muscular than Cold Steel...for an Iron Age. This is where those upper-range guitars, especially the leads really shine, with just enough flange or other effects spun onto them to make them scream out across the hellish battlescape. There are bolder, louder production aesthetics, after all the needle had moved in this regard for most of the genre, but it still sounds brazen and fiery and pissed off, just not as nasty and raw as the prior full-length because the hammering volume and intensity won't allow for it. Chris Menning aka Mersus, returning from Cold Steel..., has a great performance here, not just of technicality, but how thunderous and potent his drumming comes across in the mix, creating a foundation for the great rhythm guitar and Warslut's noxious, nihilistic vocals which also resemble Phoenix Rising to me.

I realize some folks had dropped off Deströyer 666 by this point, perhaps by the slight stylistic shifts, production standards, controversy, or geographical relocation (they'd since moved from Australia to Europe and London), but I have to admit I'm in the opposite direction, because these last couple decades have really ramped up my appreciation of the band. I already enjoyed the other full-lengths, some quite so, but Defiance just ushered in an entire new era which is never far from my stereo...not only do they check the black metal boxes I require, but this record gives me a little more of a death metal fix than I'd have expected, the sound is enormous and atmospheric, they're always willing to embellish their more predictable rhythm riffs with just a minimalistic but memorable level of melody, and lyrics that live up to the record title for sure. The longer pauses between albums would also continue, but this well worth the wait, and so too its successor.

Verdict: Win [8.5/10]

https://www.destroyer666.uk/

Deströyer 666 - Terror Abraxas EP (2003)

Terror Abraxas is a shorter release than the albums before it, an EP released through Iron Pegasus Records in Germany, which more or less continues the style expressed on Cold Steel... for an Iron Age, with a similar commitment to that raw production, although at points I think the vocals here are a little louder and the instrumentals a little less balanced. It's charmingly crude, however, so you can still make out everything well enough and nothing can detract from the hellish energy that their hybrid of black and thrash metal creates. But the best thing I can say is that all of the originals her are full-length worthy, had they written and released these alongside Cold Steel... then I think they'd have blended in with only a little rhythmic redundancy.

I really like the pacing here, with some faster, more volatile tunes to lead things off, especially "Those Who Dare Beyond" which has a great rhythm and riffs, plus I like K.K.'s barking over this one as those more burning, melodic lead-lines erupt. "Trialed by Fire" is another standout, a longer and more epic rack where they play around with some cleaner chanted vocals and bring back a lot of that Blood Fire Death/Hammerheart vibe, perhaps to an extent that they'd never gone before. I was also very impressed with the band's cover of Wendy Rule's "Prometheus". I had never heard of the woman, nor the song, I guess it's some sort of neofolk/pop from Australia, and I went back to listen to the original and really enjoyed it with her voice, the percussion, the bass, strings, etc. That said, it's just as awesome in the hands of Deströyer 666, they totally adapt it to their own style, with little walls of melody that connect it to the original. Pretty much the best tribute you can pay when doing a cover song, transforming it rather than copying it, showing how timeless its ideas are across numerous genres.

Ultimately, this is great stuff, the idea being to tide over the fans for a follow-up to Cold Steel..., but that would end up taking a lot longer than anyone probably thought.

Verdict: Win [8/10]

https://www.destroyer666.uk/

Deströyer 666 - Cold Steel...for an Iron Age (2002)

Cold Steel... was an interesting album because it almost does a 180 spin back from the polished Phoenix Rising back to the more feral appeals of the Violence EP. The cover art is quite primitive and forgettable (and don't get me wrong, I much prefer the black white artwork on the reissue). The production is a little more raw and searing, although not in a bad way whatsoever, because the musicianship and songwriting are still on the save level of the previous album, and for my money, there's a lot more personality here. Regardless of whatever tweaks the band has made to its musical formula throughout the decades, and whichever of its fundamental styles becomes the focus, K.K. Warslut and Deströyer 666 are full on-board the underground.

This record is great. I liked the two before it well enough, but this one just has a certain pulse of charming vitriol coursing throughout it that draws me in. Warslut's vocals are definitely more natural and devilish, with a little more versatility than on Phoenix, perhaps they've leaned a little more into the carnal, traditional black metal rasp, but something about them appeals, and I'm saying that even after praising how well-implemented they were the last time out. The writing here is definitely black with little threads of speed and thrash metal running through it, a portent of later records for sure, but also tying them back to the beginning. The guitar tone here is more incendiary and ear-piercing, but you still have a fine balance with lots of the tremolo-picking and melodies and then those thicker walls of Bathory chords wrestling with the attention beneath. You get a couple little licks that remind me of stuff like vintage Slayer, but there's also a lot of material where the Marduk blast-fests take off ("Sons of Perdition").

Similar to Phoenix Rising, I feel like the deeper you go into the track list, the more interesting and atmospheric the material becomes, so a lot of my favored tunes like "The Calling" and "Witch Hunter" thrive back there. You definitely want to track down a reissued version, not only for the superior cover artwork but also a couple extra tunes like "The Dragon" that fit right in and are also pretty good. Some of the production and riffing here serves as yet another foreshadow to Wildfire (I'll explain why that is important to me later), and while it's not as clear and technically proficient sounding as the album before it, I'll take the more sinister sincerity of this one just because it's more memorable and resonant. In fact, this might be the first album where I went past 'liking' the band's output to actively being more interested in following them.

Verdict: Win [8.25/10]

https://www.destroyer666.uk/

Deströyer 666 - Phoenix Rising (2000)

It's only a matter of moments into Phoenix Rising until you realize that Deströyer 666 has raised its intensity level by a considerable degree. New drummer Jarro/Deceiver metes out some hyper-blasting akin to faster European bands as a hallmark of the opener "Rise of the Predator", but to the Australians' they don't focus on this entirely, using it only as a weapon to create contrasts with the more middle paced rhythms; consistently throughout the entire album. There's still a lot of Bathory vibe here with the tempos, with a lot of very straightforward riffs in a Marduk mold (especially those blasted parts), but they've got a ratio of about 1:1 for some memorable rhythm guitars and then others you'd heard before and would quickly forget.

Altogether, the album has pretty great production, with no muddling or imbalance to the levels of the instruments, and a clear delivery which highlights all of them. The guitar tone isn't anything too striking, but it's got a good balance where the tremolo-picked melodies and lower rhythms feel evenly distributed, with the bass poking through all the time on its own crusade. The drums are a pretty noticeable technical improvement and these also sit evenly, while the vocals are at the fore, but not enough to smother any of the playing. I think this was K.K.'s best performance to date, especially his sustained rasps, they just seem a little more in tune with the music and slice a little harder when you pay attention to the diabolic details. The songs are all solid, though some of my favorites are nestled deeper into the track-list like the swaggering, almost folkish black metal of "Ride the Solar Winds" and "The Birth of Tragedy", or "Lone Wolf Winter" with its urgent sense of melodies and an atmospheric vibe that foreshadows records like Wildfire.

Also, that song's title and lyrics seem like a callback to the cover art for the first full-length; and speaking of callbacks, they have a new version of "The Eternal Glory of War" from the Violence EP and it's quite tidied up. This will please some, and piss off others, but I think this is the more effective incarnation. However, I'd say that about 5 of the tunes here are top notch, while others are held back by a few generic riffs that don't do much for the imagination, but at least have the production to maximize their impact. And there isn't that much of a gulf in the quality, I can definitely sit through all 40 minutes without any impatience; Phoenix Rising is consistent and well-balanced enough to get its points across and catapult the band into more of a contender against their Scandinavian and American peers.

Verdict: Win [8/10]

https://www.destroyer666.uk/ 

Deströyer 666 - Unchain the Wolves (1997)

Unchain the Wolves is an improvement on the EP in several ways, as the band converts more directly into a black metal sound with influences from others like Bathory or Hellhammer/Celtic Frost, and creates a much more immersive, structural and atmospheric sound. Still, it retains a little of the savagery from the earlier years, at any moment willing to bust out into some great speed/thrash rhythms and there are parts here that only separate themselves from the EP via the cleaner production aesthetics. I always thought this one had a super cheesy look to the cover, having still found their band name silly back in the 90s and then the wolf on the cover reminds me of something I'd get on a T-shirt at some smoke shop in the mall when I was a teenager.

With age, though, I can start to appreciate these things, I love the white wolf and the simplistic and menacing nature, and have even warmed up to the name. So too has the music grown on me over the years; again, this is not a favorite in their catalogue, but it's absolutely a solid listen for some more straightforward black metal. They almost overwhelm you with the opening track, "Genesis to Genocide", 10+ minutes long with this cool, frosty extended intro that features low pianos, brooding ambiance and sets up a surge of sea-storm riffs that wouldn't have sounded out of place on Blood Fire Death. This is not the only 'epic' on the album, the title track will take you by surprise with its great, majestic atmospheric sequences with a little bit of droning feedback, reverbed clean vocal lines, and a nice escalation into some thundering riffs and melodies, truly if Quorthon had written a record while touring the outback, this is what it may have ended up sounding like...although the production K.K. Warslut and crew get here is a lot more current with the 90s standards.

Otherwise, the album is full of straightforward ragers like "Australian and Anti-Christ" (great title) that convey a lot more of the hybrid of black, speed and thrash metal that the band will eventually revert to almost exclusively in later decades. K.K.s vocals are the same barking holocaust as the EP, though he will also turn in a few more decrepit rasps. I love some of the sped-up Celtic Frost style riffs and the punkish, hellish energy. This record has a few more standouts that I'd usually include on a D666 playlist like "Damnation's Pride" and "Six Curses from a Spiritual Wasteland", and again I'd compliment the production; the leads spike out from the rhythm sections, nothing's too complicated, just devastating, and the drumming and vocals really breathe throughout the record. I'm sure some of their original audience rued this transformation here, but there's still enough primacy that it doesn't feel like any sort of sell-out or anything. Good record, if not great, one I still break out from time to time.

Verdict: Win [7.75/10]

https://www.destroyer666.uk/