Destroy Destroy Destroy is an American
heavy metal band formed in
Murfreesboro,
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
in late February 2003.
With a line-up of rhythm guitarist
Jeremiah Scott
Demon Hunter is an American Christian metal band from Seattle, Washington, started in 2000 by brothers Don Clark and Ryan Clark. Although the brothers created the band together, only Ryan remains, since Don left the band to take care of his ...
, vocalist Bryan Kemp and drummer Andrew Hall, they began writing songs; soon thereafter Destroy Destroy Destroy completed their outfit with lead guitarist Way Barrier, bassist Adam Phillips and keyboardist Brian Shorter. The group then started playing shows locally and recorded a self-financed EP entitled ''Kill or Be Killed''.
They have released two
studio albums, ''
Devour the Power'' (2006) and ''
Battle Sluts'' (2009), both through
Black Market Activities.
The band defines their sound as a blend of "elements from the early
thrash metal
Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...
and
glam metal
Glam metal (also known as hair metal or pop metal) is a subgenre of heavy metal that features pop-influenced hooks and guitar riffs, upbeat rock anthems, and slow power ballads. It borrows heavily from the fashion and image of 1970s glam ...
bands of the 1980s and 1990s, to the current sounds of Scandinavian
melodic death metal
Melodic death metal (also referred to as melodeath) is a subgenre of death metal that employs highly melodic guitar riffs, often borrowing from traditional heavy metal (including New Wave of British Heavy Metal). The genre features the heavine ...
and
viking metal
Viking metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by a lyrical and thematic focus on Norse mythology, Norse paganism, and the Viking Age. Viking metal is quite diverse as a musical style, to the point where some consider it more a cr ...
bands of today."
Destroy Destroy Destroy played their first show in a pizzeria as opening band for
Mastodon
A mastodon ( 'breast' + 'tooth') is any proboscidean belonging to the extinct genus ''Mammut'' (family Mammutidae). Mastodons inhabited North and Central America during the late Miocene or late Pliocene up to their extinction at the end of th ...
.
Musical style and influences
Destroy Destroy Destroy's musical style was described by critics with a variety of music genres, such as,
melodic death metal
Melodic death metal (also referred to as melodeath) is a subgenre of death metal that employs highly melodic guitar riffs, often borrowing from traditional heavy metal (including New Wave of British Heavy Metal). The genre features the heavine ...
,
power metal
Power metal is a subgenre of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional heavy metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. Generally, power metal is characterized by a faster, lighter, and more uplifting sound, in contra ...
,
symphonic black metal,
thrash metal
Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...
,
and
viking metal
Viking metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by a lyrical and thematic focus on Norse mythology, Norse paganism, and the Viking Age. Viking metal is quite diverse as a musical style, to the point where some consider it more a cr ...
.
Chad Bowar of
About.com
Dotdash Meredith (formerly About.com) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, home, food, finance, tech, beauty, ...
, defined Destroy Destroy Destroy as a "versatile band, which incorporates many genres into their sound"
and that "their songs are sometimes orchestral and majestic with lots of keyboards, and other times harsh and intense with
blast beats and
breakdowns."
Bowar noted Destroy Destroy Destroy's musical traits, stating, "The Viking influence comes with
spoken word
Spoken word refers to an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a late 20th century continuation of an ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetics of ...
interludes and lyrics talking about battles, mythical beasts and lost worlds. Destroy Destroy Destroy also has a lot of
Bay Area thrash influences along with European melodic death stylings. Power metal is another genre their music encompasses with frenetic guitar shredding, epic arrangements and atmospheric keyboards."
Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
writer Alex Henderson, stated that ''Devour the Power'' "would have been identified as a power metal-oriented disc with
progressive metal
Progressive metal (sometimes shortened to prog metal) is a broad fusion music genre melding heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified guitar-driven sound of the former with the more experimental, cerebral ...
influences, some thrash
etal
Etal ( )not is a small village in the far north of the county of Northumberland, England, in the civil parish of Ford. It lies on a bridging point of the River Till ten miles south west of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and includes the substantial ru ...
parts and some
black metal
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, a shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, raw (lo-fi) recording, unconventional song structures, and an emp ...
-style blast beats."
Even defining Destroy Destroy Destroy as a symphonic black metal act, Henderson observed, "''Battle Sluts'', like other symphonic black metal discs, was not recorded with black metal purists in mind; Destroy Destroy Destroy aren't pretending to be
Gorgoroth
Gorgoroth is a Norwegian black metal band based in Bergen. It was formed in 1992 by guitarist Infernus, who is also the only original member remaining, and the band have since released nine studio albums. Gorgoroth are a Satanic band and have ...
or
Marduk, and melody is a high priority throughout this Viking-themed outing."
Although the band is native of
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
, their music "employ the techniques and styles of metal made popular in Europe",
specifically the Scandinavian countries like Norway, Sweden, and/or Finland—with a "
Nordic-sound", blending "melody and aggression".
Destroy Destroy Destroy is compared to bands like
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...
,
Queensrÿche
Queensrÿche is an American heavy metal band. It formed in 1982 in Bellevue, Washington, out of the local band the Mob. The band has released 16 studio albums, one EP, and several DVDs, and continues to tour and record. The original lineup ...
,
Manowar,
Judas Priest, and
Dream Theater,
citing as influence
Metallica and
Pantera.
Discography
;Studio albums
*''
Devour the Power'' (2006)
*''
Battle Sluts'' (2009)
;EPs
*''Kill or Be Killed'' (2003)
Members
;Current
*
Jeremiah Scott
Demon Hunter is an American Christian metal band from Seattle, Washington, started in 2000 by brothers Don Clark and Ryan Clark. Although the brothers created the band together, only Ryan remains, since Don left the band to take care of his ...
-
rhythm guitar (2003–present)
*Way Barrier -
lead guitar
Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featu ...
(2003–present)
*
Adam Phillips -
bass (2003–present)
*Brian Shorter -
keyboard
Keyboard may refer to:
Text input
* Keyboard, part of a typewriter
* Computer keyboard
** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping
** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware
Music
* Musi ...
s (2007–present)
*Andrew Core -
drums (2009–present)
*Chris Bazor -
vocals
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...
(2009–present)
;Former
*
Eric W. Brown - drums (2004–2008)
*
Andrew Hall
Andrew James Hall (born 31 July 1975) is a former South African first-class cricketer who played from 1999 until 2011. He played as an all-rounder who bowled fast-medium pace and has been used as both an opening batsman and in the lower order. ...
- drums (2003-2004)
*David Shaw - drums (2008–2009)
*Jessica Lambert - keyboards (2006)
*Alex Gellette - keyboards (2003–2006)
*Keith Williams - keyboards (2006)
*Courtney Edwards - keyboards (2006–2008)
*Bryan Kemp - vocals (2003–2009)
;Timeline
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Destroy, Destroy Destroy
Musical groups established in 2003
Heavy metal musical groups from Tennessee
Black Market Activities artists
Viking metal musical groups
American melodic death metal musical groups
American thrash metal musical groups
Symphonic black metal musical groups
American power metal musical groups