Anyhow, you can not take away the fact that the band is very skilled at what they are doing. Mike is riffing his ass off and he does it good. Too bad that most of the riffs on this album is pretty similar but I think it is the production that should be the blame for that. Vaaver is blasting his way through the tracks behind his drum kit and Schmier's voice is as thrashy as ever. Great stuff. Unfortunately, the bands sounds somewhat dull. That is because the production is not what it should have been. I am sorry, but the producer did not suceed of unleashing the full potential of the band. I mean, the music on "Spiritual Genocide" is great but the semi-poor production drags the music down. It is truly a shame since this album could have been one of Destructions best albums up to date. I am, however, not surprised that the production is substandard because the band started recording this album as late as in August this year. You can really feel that the finished product has been rushed to make the dead line.
But let us set the production a side for a moment and instead focus on the music itself. Just like in "Day of Reckoning", the best songs on "Spiritual Genocide" are those songs that has speed, innovative riffs and striking choruses. There are a couple of them on this record but I felt that there could have been at least two more songs of that kind on this album. In other words, we got fillers on this album. One filler is "Renegades", a songs that seems to be going nowhere. There is no stable ground for this song to stand on and even though the solos are sweet they are way too short. Another filler is the pretty slow and predictable "Carnivore". But there are songs that is rising to the occasion like the ending song, "Under Violent Sledge". A perfect example on how Destruction's music should sound like. Fast, heavy and so thrashy so you feel it in to the bone. Without a doubt the best song on the entire album. Other fine moments are the title track whcih delivers a knockout of a chorus and the tempo shifting "To Dust You Will Decay".
So yeah, Destruction keeps on rolling after 30 years of loyal hard work. Even though I would not consider "Spiritual Genocide" as the band's finest moment, this album is probably one of the best the band has released during the 21st century. A solid pack of heavy and thrashy songs. But next time I would appriciate that the band took its time to complete their next album. "Spiritual Genocide" could have been better if the band took at least another two or three months to develope the production and the mixing. Oh well, here's for the next 30 years!!!
Songs worthy of recognition: Under Violent Sledge, To Dust You Will Decay, Spiritual Genocide
Rating: 7,5/10 Carnivores
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