Destruction

Destruction is a German thrash metal band, formed in 1982. They are often credited as one of the “Big Four” of the German thrash metal scene, the others being Kreator, Sodom, and Tankard. In addition to helping pioneer black metal by containing several elements of what was to become the genre, Destruction was part of the second wave of thrash metal in the late 80s.

Inspired by heavy metal bands like Iron Maiden, Mercyful Fate, Motörhead and Venom, their original name was Knight of Demon. With Mike Sifringer on guitars, Tommy Sandmann on drums and Marcel “Schmier” Schirmer on vocals and bass, they soon changed their name to Destruction. They released a demo titled Bestial Invasion of Hell and an EP titled Sentence of Death in 1984. Destruction released their first studio album titled Infernal Overkill in 1985, followed a year later by Eternal Devastation. Harry Wilkens joined the band as a second guitarist in 1987. The band released an EP titled Mad Butcher in 1987 and their third full-length album Release from Agony in 1988. During the session recordings of 1990’s Cracked Brain, Schmier was fired from the band and was replaced by Poltergeist frontman André Grieder. In 1999, Schmier rejoined Destruction.

Members

Current

Marcel “Schmier” Schirmer – bass (1982–1989, 1999–present), lead vocals (1984–1989, 1999–present)
Randy Black – drums (2018–present)
Damir Eskic – lead guitar (2019–present)
Martin Furia – rhythm guitar (2021–present)

Past

Mike Sifringer – rhythm guitar (1982–1989, 1990–2021), lead guitar (1982–1987, 1990–1993, 1999–2019), bass (1989–1993)
Tommy Sandmann – drums (1982–1987)
Ulf – vocals (1982–1984)
Oliver “Olly” Kaiser – drums (1987–1999)
Harry Wilkens – lead guitar (1987–1990), rhythm guitar (1989–1990)
André Grieder – lead vocals (1989–1990)
Thomas Rosenmerkel – vocals (1993–1999)
Michael “Ano” Piranio – lead guitar (1993–1999)
Christian Engler – bass (1993–1999)
Sven Vormann – drums (1999–2001)
Marc Reign – drums (2001–2010)
Wawrzyniec “Vaaver” Dramowicz – drums (2010–2018)