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By JEFF MAKI
In 2006, Live-Metal.net featured The Destro in our New Noise feature (READ HERE) for new and upcoming acts. So it was somewhat rewarding when it was announced that the band had signed onto Unearth frontman Trevor Phipps' Ironclad Recordings, a division of Metal Blade. Their debut full-length, As the Coil Unwinds, is exactly what the band was signed for: No bullshit Texas thrash metal that will make Pantera fans salivate.
The Pantera comparisons are unavoidable, especially in the vocals of frontman Eric Daughtry, who sounds like Phil Anselmo's younger, but equally angry brother. Fierce vocals, heavy guitar groove and pummeling percussion—it's all here. They lack the commercial appeal that came with Pantera, but the band's songwriting skills should only improve in time. Songs like “Beast Burden” and “The Offering” would have fit in on Reinventing the Steel, while “Knife in Hand” changes the tempo with slower, chugging riffs and Daughtry sounding similar to Lamb of God's Randy Blythe. No clean vocals here. Listening to the raspy roar of Daughtry makes my throat fuckin' hurt.
So is anything original here? While The Destro proudly wear their influences on their sleeves, they are not clones by any means. The machine gun rhythm and strong shouted chorus of “Bridges Will Burn” is a strong sign of what The Destro is capable of in the future. Same goes for the nine-minute album closer, “Forever Embedded,” an almost doom metal, instrumental piece. What they lack in originality, The Destro makes up for with a true underground thrash metal album. The band will likely tour the hell out of it and make a name for themselves over the next few years. Experience and maturity should bring a more original and dynamic follow-up. In other words, The Destro could be really big in a few years. But for now, As the Coil Unwinds is, as Mr. Anselmo might say, “an arrogant, explosive, motherfuck” of an album. |
