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Third release since Destruction returned in 1999, "Metal Discharge" improves at least on one point compared to its two predecessors: Gone is the Abyss Studio production. I always found that only very few bands really benefitted from recording at Abyss, and Destruction was not one of them. Thrash should be raw and "not too clean", something that can't be achieved at Abyss. So on that aspect, it is an improvement. The Antichrist's "major" flaw was the over polished production, and the album would have benefitted from being recorded elsewhere. Anyway, no point bitching about it now, but it had to be said... Production isn't everything.

There are at least two (maybe three) different versions of this album, the one I have has 7 bonus tracks (3 covers and 4 demos.) The actual album is the first 10 songs, totalling about 39 minutes of classic Destruction material, with the modern touch that has distinguished them since their return. There's a little problem however: While the 10 tracks here are undoubtedly very good quality thrash, there's no song that really stands out (remember "Nailed to the Cross" on "The Antichrist", to name only that one?) The only song that I find myself thinking of after listening to the album is "Fear of the Moment", but that's only because it reminds me of Hanker's "Madly Alive" (a bonus track on "In Our World - Revisited".) In fact, what really gets you hooked are the covers and demo versions of older tracks, but that doesn't count, they're bonus tracks. :) This is not to say that "Metal Discharge" is a failure - far from that, the album as a whole is very good but nothing really stands out - nothing in there to make you say "wow!" Despite this, I still recommend the album to those who liked Destruction's recent and not-so-recent material - but this album most likely won't bring much new fans on board. The return to a more raw, less polished sound and musicianship is commendable.. This is Thrash metal, after all! Destruction still know how to release a good quality album, and I'm looking forward to the next one.