Customer Reviews

Destroyer

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have read many reviews and heard many comments by the "true" black metal fans on various websites totally belittling this album. So having heard this I didn't purchase it right away. Man, am I ashamed. This is one fine slab of black metal that will be in my CD player for days on end. The music is superb (I would expect nothing less of the band.) And sure, they experiment around here and there, but that doesn't detract from the sheer listening pleasure that this album provides. The vocals are sick as all hell, the production is a great blend (good enough to blast at extreme volume levels, but still holds that necro-tinny sound that Gorgoroth is known for.) Don't be fooled by what many say, this album is definitely worth every penny. My favorite track at this point is song 2, Open the Gates.

This is the epitome of black metal, despite what others think. The production is violent and harsh and hectic, and the vocals spew pure venom. The hatred is here, and so is the extremely overwashed guitars. Sure, there are a few slow songs here and there (The Virginborn, Open the Gates) but they are good slow songs. Songs like "The Devil, The Sinner, And His Journey" and "Slottet I Det Fjerne" are pure pieces of nuclear speed chaos (though not as fast as Mayhem), and "Destroyer" and "Pa Slagmark Langt Mod Nordt" are pure demonic mayhem, as if the demons of hell are speaking through your speakers. It is no surprise, then, that those two are my favorites on this album.

And by the way, Telnes, Tiegs, and Kronenes are Tormentor, Infernus, and Pest. Did it ever occur to any of you that their real names aren't Tormentor, Infernus, and Pest? Yes, they all have civil names that they use to sign their checks and other stuff like that.

Either way, this album blows about 90% of all black metal albums away. And it doesn't do it with all that schmaltzy symphonic crap; they do it with pure rage and emotion and chaos. This album is a pinnacle of Gorgoroth, I think. I like it much better than Antichrist, Pentagram, and Incipit Satan.

As a guitarist catching up on my Metal, these guys are a recent suprise. This album manages to follow the strict rules of Black while including enough variation and detail work to make tracks distinguishable from one another (a problem with some artists). The vocals have much more personality than most recent Metal acts - who cares if you can scream for forty minutes, dude?! The sound is amazingly filthy, lo res and harsh, another requirement of pure Black Metal. The drums don't fall into those alternating snare-bass spazzouts that are so unimpressive. You also get the kind of scary chord progressions one expects. In short, I think this is a great Black album, maybe the best I've ever heard (better even than Transylvanian Hunger). So if you prefer Immortal to Mastodon, this is where you need to drop your cash.

I would say that this album from Gorgoroth was pretty good and decent, if I hadn't recently listened to Twilight of the idols which I thought was a better album then I would have rated this higher than four stars. Anyway Gorgoroth is a very interesting and talented black metal group and unlike Darkthrone they can actually play thier instruments, this album has a very harsh and raw sound to it and has many blast beats like in the first song Destroyer which just blasts of with riffs that start soaring to incredible heights and has an almost piercing sound, this track is very heavy it's like having your ears bleed. Open the gates was also a great song and you could tell that there is an industrial element to the song however its not over the top like Dimmu Borgir. Also check out the long and epic track Virginborn this is a very good song which has some great drumming, I was very impressed with this group even though I'm not a huge fan of black metal these guys somehow changed my mind about this subgenre of extreme metal music.

Wow. That's the first thing I could think to say when I first heard this bestial raid upon humanity. This is different from the three previous albums. While they retain much of their old style, new things begin to creep in here. First of all the production. It is industrial sounding to a point. By that I mean it sounds very dirty, chaotic and generally unpleasant. Also you will notice the use of more distinct melodies being brought into the forefront. Gorgoroth has always used highly original and beautiful melodies, but these are anything but beautiful. They are apocalyptic and just downright nasty. Everything just sounds so disjointed on this album. But that's where the real charm of this lies. It doesn't require linear sounding music for it to be brilliant. I'll be honest. This music is savage. It is barbaric and I wouldn't have it any other way! Black Metal is not supposed to be pretty. BM is hatred and that is exactly what is presented here.

New guitarist Tormentor is introduced here, as is vocalist Gaahl of Trelldom and Gaahlskagg fame (pick up their records too, they are just as good,) though he only sings on the first song (the title track, which also features a drum machine.) Infernus does guitar and bass on some songs, Frost provides drums on some as does Vrolok, and longtime vocalist Pest does the remainder of the vocals. This album was recorded during a period of four years (1994-1998.) The constant though is mastermind Infernus, founder, guitarist and primary songwriter of Gorgoroth. His riff work is still as stunning as ever I might add. Just for the record, here is the lineup for this record.

Vocals: Pest, Gaahl
Guitars: Infernus, Tormentor
Bass: Ares, T. Reaper
Keyboards: Daimonion
Drums: Frost, Vrolok

Anyway, enough of me rambling on about how great this is. Find out for yourself and buy this record. Help support Gorgoroth and all REAL Black Metal. Hail Satan!

Man, I love everything Gorgoroth puts out. There are always different elements used, but overall the effect is brilliant. Fast and slow, this CD is raw as hell. I love the production of this album. Seems like it was recorded in someone's garage. Usually I hate underproduced albums, but it's so effective with Gorgoroth as everything still comes across. For them to have a clean production, such as in parts of "Incipit Satan", it takes away some of the raw emotion raging inside. Pest's and Gaahl's vocals are to kill for. Scathing, raw, and angry as hell. I'd say Pest and Gaahl are probably the best vocalists in black metal today. Great melodic guitar riffs, blasting drums, and loads of feedback make this a black metal classic. Their 'hidden track' "Slottet I Det Fjerne", originally recorded by Dark Throne is one of my favorites. This track is drenched in feedback and distortion and the vocals will tear you in half. At the end of the track is the sound of breaking glass, which for some reason is the perfect way to end it. Total chaos. Essential.

ok when i first listened to this i thought that it wasnt thatinteresting...but then after listening to it a couple of times irealized that this album is insane! yes it is different than all other gorgoroths albums...but then again none of them sound the same...all i can say is turn this up all the way and listen to it over and over again....its like theres subliminal messages of evil...maybe this album is just to complex for the ... reveiwers...if you waht a gorgoroth album to hate..incipit sathanas.. horrible.horrible.horrible..only a few good tracks on that whole album... bye destroyer.

Buy all Gorgoroth albums to start with. I can't choose a favorite, but the one I seem to listen to most is this one. While the band remains the product of Infernus, various respected musicians within the Norwegian black metal scene from bands such as Satyricon, Trelldom, and Aeturnus contribute. DESTROYER assaults with its sheer rawness, initially seeming incoherent on songs like "The Devil...," "Destroyer," and "Blodofer." Initially; with repeated listenings it will make sense. It's such sheer extremity that makes this a real gem. The all out speed of tracks like "Devil" is balanced out by slower and subliminally melodic songs like "Open the Gates." This album intimidates many, but those who get acquainted with it will find that it destroys indeed.

One thing you can count on when putting on Destroyer is that it will wake you up. I've considered buying an alarm clock that plays music just to I could put the beginning of the title track on it to get my butt out of bed in the morning; it's just a lot of noise and screaming before, at about 30 seconds in, it becomes recognizable as a song. This is also the only track that Gaahl does the vocals for here, and he uses his brief appearance well.

"Open the Gates" is one of my favorite Gorgoroth songs ever. I probably say that about too many songs, but I mean it here. This, and a few songs on Under the Sign of Hell, especially, are the reason I think Pest is so awesome. The scream at 2:46 is just about the coolest thing I've ever heard. The guitars have always stood out for me as particularly excellent in this song also. They're quite fuzzy but there are some interesting melodies going on. The production is not exactly great but it doesn't really bother me at all here.

The sound effect on "The Devil, the Sinner and his Journey" strike me as somewhat goofy. T. Reaper does the vocals on this, which are interesting, but just sort of add to how chaotic and disjointed this album feels. It starts off really well, and they're nothing here I dislike, but it just doesn't feel like a coherent whole in the way that other Gorgoroth albums do. The fact of having four different vocalists on only a handful of songs doesn't help matters in this sense. I like all the songs though, especially the first two and "The Virginborn," which is slower and manages to be awesome for over 8 minutes. And have I mentioned yet in this paragraph how much I love Pest's vocals? I can't say anything really bad about this album, I like it, but it just doesn't feel cohesive to me as a whole, which is probably why I don't listen to it very often. Still, I don't think you can go wrong with any of Gorgoroth's albums, and it is definitely a worthwhile purchase, even if I like their other albums better.

Before I even began listenning to black metal, I heard the song Destroyer and it absolutely blew me away. Sheer blinding brutality followed by great musicianship-perhaps it is no understatement I would never be the same again.
This album marks the transformation of Gorgoroth from the more old school black metal to a new more innovative mode. Accented with odd effects here and there, intense guitars and Ghaal's vocals make this album both heavy and dark.
It has been criticized by fans somewhat as not being linear and all over the place. But it is still a fine work from a great band.