Destruction - Cracked Brain (1990)

Artist: Destruction

Release Title: Cracked Brain

Release Type: Full Length Album

Release Year: 1990

Artist Genre: Thrash Metal

Artist Origin: Germany

Track Listing:
1. Cracked Brain 2. Frustrated 3. S.E.D. 4. Time Must End 5. My Sharona (The Knack cover) 6. Rippin' You Off Blind 7. Die A Day Before You're Born 8. No Need To Justify 9. When Your Mind Was Free
Total playing time 39:01

Ok so I thought I'd cover this album because why this album gets swept under the carpet and forgotten as much as it does must be one of life's great mysteries cos this is definitely Destruction's BEST release...yeah, that's right I went there. Better than the early Schmier albums ("ZOMG LOLZ I Can'T BuLeeV he seD thaT!11") and better than any of their comeback albums. This is the album that has their best riffs, most technical songwriting and as a whole is more enjoyable and rewarding than their other albums and you won't want to skip any of the tracks, which isn't the case with their other records.

So as Schmier parted ways with them, they recruited Andre Grieder from Poltergiest, a mediocre swiss thrash band and he puts in a rip roaring display. The riffs are also some of their best, "Die a Day Before You're Born" and "When Your Mind Was Free" are just packed with ones that make you want to go into a seizure....and the songs are just as catchy like the choruses of S.E.D. (Socialists Eternal DEATH! Socialists Eternal DEATH!) and "Frustrated" (I'm so f**king bored...FRUSTRATED!). Just a big barrel of fun. Even the cover of The Knack's "My Sharona" works really well and of course outdoes the original. 





The production and guitar tone here may not be as raw and heavy as on previous releases and the vocals are more conventional but they make up for it with better songwriting and technicality and the songs have more to offer. Don't get me wrong I bang my head like a woodpecker to their classics like "Mad Butcher" and "Confused Mind" but I tend to listen to individual songs more from their early albums rather than listen to an album all the way through like I do with "Cracked Brain". It's the band at their zenith and maturity and is one of the best examples of technical thrash. The only way you won't like this is if you hate thrash.