Desaster-The Arts of Destruction

Metal Blade Records
2012

Time to dust off a few promos that have been left untouched here at Heavy Metal Time Machine. Or at least that is my goal in the next few days. With the kids back to school after spring break and the house a little more quiet than usual I thought I would sort through some of the "interesting" releases that have not been reviewed by either Metal Mark or myself. Now with that we take a look at and listen to the band Desaster. German metal act Desaster can trace their history back to 1988 when a couple of teens took inspiration from bands like Venom, Hellhammer and Destruction in order to form a band. Incidentally it would be Destruction who would provide the band with their name by way of "Total Desaster". Following a set of demos and a split with Ungod the band released their debut album "...A Touch of Medieval Darkness" in 1996. Fast forward to 2012 (and more albums, splits and live material then you could toss a dead rat at) and we get to the band's latest album, "The Arts of Destruction". My first impression was shock. That is shock that this band isn't on the label Hell's Headbangers because this band would be a perfect fit. Blackened thrash is the word and the word is good...well, actually evil..very evil, twisted, dark and dreary. This is right along the lines of Destroyer 666. In other words this is the sound of black metal all crusty and deformed getting a serious beat down thanks to the German thrash scene of the eighties. Sodom, Kreator and Destruction never sound this sick though or vicious. This is like a rabid dog getting shot-up with speed. The end result is something truly wicked and brutal. This one is not for the everyday masses. Rather this is the sort of band that walks that line between black metal and heavy thrash and as such should appeal to those who like their metal to be bloody, brutal and crusty.