My last time seeing Destruction was way back in 2014 (Sound Control in Manchester), and while I probably would have gone to see them here at KKs Steel Mill, what initially attracted me to this gig was the fact that Razor were supposed to support them. Unfortuantely, between me buying a ticket and the date of the event Razor's singer had heart problems and their guitarist hurt his hand, so... instead Whiplash were drafted in as a replacement. Not a terrible change, but I would have 1000% preferred to see Razor again... oh well.
Arriving at the venue, it was immediately impressive. KK really did a fantastic job setting up this venue, it's the perfect size, the perfect layout, ample toilets... if only this could be replicated around the country. Incredible! Even Schmier commented on the venue, saying it was the best venue they'd ever played in the UK. I couldn't agree more.
Rich and I arrived after the first support band and we didn't have too long to wait until Enforcer took the stage. This is a band I know very little about, I certainly haven't heard any of their albums, but they were tremendously entertaining albeit there was something slightly parodyish about their performance. Maybe it's because they are so 'pretty' looking, somehow I can't take them quite seriously. But if you want to experience the glory of 80s metal in a live sitting performed with tons of energy and enthusiasm you couldn't do any better than to catch an Enforcer gig.
During the interval we headed to the merch stall and I finally got my hands on the 'Infernal Overkill' T shirt I've been after FOREVER - it even has the photos of the band from the album on the back. Perfect. And after a quick trip to the aforementioned 'functional' but plentiful toilets we headed back inside to see Whiplash soundchecking. People being people they tend to walk into the venue (the entrance is to the right) and just stop, so just by walking a few metres to the left you can find a big empty space to stand in - perfect.
I was cautiously looking forward to seeing Whiplash again, but to be honest it was a bit of a disappointment. In the mayhem of the Underworld I could excuse some of their sloppy playing, especially since twice the punters pulled the cord out of Tony Portaro's guitar... but here in an extremely professional setting Whiplash were exposed as under-rehearsed (again). Honestly, I can't remember a band who fuck up their timing so badly so often. It's like it's the first time they've played the songs... I'm sure Razor would have been a million times better.
By contrast Destruction were a well oiled machine and put on a great show of crowd pleasers (Solar Fake take note). This was the band's 40th anniversary tour so the post reunion songs were kept to a minimum (Nailed to the Cross, The Butcher Strikes Back and Diabolical) leaving plenty of set time for tracks like Mad Butcher, Thrash Attack, Curse the Gods, Tormentor, Release from Agony, Life Without Sense, Eternal Ban, Antichrist and even Total Desaster from the 'Sentence of Death' EP.
My only minor quibble really was with the guitar solos which deviated quite a lot from the recordings (admittedly neither of these guys played on any of the old albums) which is something I find slightly distracting, but still it was a powerful show and Schmier looked and sounded like a man half his age.
VIDEOS: DESTRUCTION - NAILED TO THE CROSS/MAD BUTCHER WHIPLASH - RED BOMB
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