DESTROYER 666 - Never Surrender
Season of Mist
A good friend of mine turned me onto DESTROYER 666 many years ago with their debut full length Unchain the Wolves. That was back in 1997 and I've been a constant fan of these extreme metal Aussie's ever since. Now while my appreciation for this band has not changed over the decades. Much about DESTROYER 666 has, with one exception and that's mainman/guitarist/vocalist K.K. Warslut.
K.K. Warslut has guided this act for almost three decades now and that's with a revolving door line-up of band members. He's weather all of that as well as subtle changes in style. DESTROYER 666 is still a blackened thrash act. But a few years ago they got, pardon me, accessible in their sound. Wildfire from 2016 became the band's new template to continue onward with.
On that album K.K. and his new line-up dropped a bit of the satanic shtick and went with a more catchy thrash attack with melody and memorable gang vocal choruses. Add to that you got better production. Fast forward six years later and K.K. is still following the Wildfire formula with a semi newer line-up. And I think this is damm good.
Joining K.K. on this the band's sixth full length is new drummer Kev Desecrator who joined in 2020. Add on bassist Felipe Plaza Kutzbach who has remained since Wildfire. So musically this is still hard hitting yet rough around the edges thrash. Of course the riffs are solid. The soloing flows to an almost NWOBHM tone.
On one song there's a death thrash feel "Grave Raiders" which reminds me of early DECEASED. Opener "Never Surrender" is a fist in the air heavy metal anthem for 2022. "Guillotine" is another strong cut with political / social references towards some of the crazy shit going on in Australia since the pandemic. With the chorus lyric "What's Happened to My Country" ah yeah I totally fuckin agree.
Most of the other tracks on here are mid-paced thrashers with plenty of shouted vocals plus gang backing shouts. Two of the tracks on this album do take you back a ways to the band's early more blackened days. Those cuts being "Pitch Black Night" and "Batavia's Graveyard".
So all in all K.K. Warslut, who's vocals are phenomenal on here, has once again breathed new life into something which was originally a side project decades ago. Of late whenever I'm in the mood for some DESTROYER 666 I've been playing Wildfire plus the 2018 Call of the Wild EP. This album surpasses those two releases. Never Surrender might be a late comer to 2022 but it is one of the best releases of the year.
https://www.season-of-mist.com/
LISTEN HERE:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQJEDR2G9M4
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