Destruction
Explore the band's historical lineups, musicians, and studio albums.
Active9 formations16 studio albums
Formation chronology
Newest first
Formation 9 of 9
2021 – Present
Members
- SchmierBass, VocalsFrom Jan 2021
- Martin FuriaGuitarsFrom Jan 2021
- Damir EskićGuitarsFrom Jan 2021
- Randy BlackDrumsFrom Jan 2021
Formation facts
- Martin Furia spent years as Destruction's sound engineer and tour manager before anyone asked him to pick up a guitar. When Sifringer vanished from the process, Furia stepped in on the already-moving Diabolical sessions — late enough that the overdubs were his, not a from-scratch rewrite. The person who had been behind the mixing desk and running the road operation was suddenly Destruction's guitarist.
- Schmier later said he had spent the last ten years trying to put Germany's thrash giants on one bill — convincing people, building bridges among the camps. Mexico brought the four together; then the German night followed. Klash of the Ruhrpott sold out 7,000 tickets in three days. He remained hopeful for more shows like it, while being clear that every camp has to agree.
Studio albums
- Birth of Malice (Mar 2025)
- Diabolical (Apr 2022)
Formation 8 of 9
Jan 2019 – Aug 19, 2021
Members
- SchmierBass, VocalsJan 2019 – Aug 2021
- Mike SifringerGuitarsJan 2019 – Aug 2021
- Damir EskićGuitarsJan 2019 – Aug 2021
- Randy BlackDrumsJan 2019 – Aug 2021
Formation facts
- Damir Eskić first appeared as a guest soloist on Under Attack. By Born to Perish, Destruction was a two-guitar studio band again: the album was already composed and recorded that way in January and February 2019, before Nuclear Blast introduced him on February 28.
- By 2021 Mike Sifringer had gone quiet. Schmier later said communication had dried up for months, that Mike was no longer in the writing or studio process, and that Destruction had already been playing shows without him. After decades as the other guitar, the public break on August 19 was painful. Schmier said the band had not closed the door on him and that the next move was Mike's.
Studio albums
- Born to Perish (Aug 2019)
Formation 7 of 9
2010 – Mar 2018
Members
- SchmierBass, VocalsJan 2010 – Mar 2018
- Mike SifringerGuitarsJan 2010 – Mar 2018
- VaaverDrumsJan 2010 – Mar 2018
Formation facts
- Schmier later said Day of Reckoning was the moment the trio had to prove it could still be a speed machine. Vaaver's double-bass work was the test: the songs were written to be tight, aggressive, and almost punishingly fast.
- On Spiritual Genocide, Destruction asked Tom Angelripper and Gerre to guest because they were old friends from the German thrash scene — not hired names from a list.
- In January 2018 Vaaver said he was leaving to put family first, and that he would still play with Destruction through March. Randy Black, who had already sat in before, covered the kit. On July 19 the band made him permanent; his Wacken debut followed that August.
Studio albums
- Under Attack (May 2016)
- Spiritual Genocide (Nov 2012)
- Day of Reckoning (Feb 2011)
Formation 6 of 9
Nov 2001 – Mar 2010
Members
- SchmierBass, VocalsNov 2001 – Mar 2010
- Mike SifringerGuitarsNov 2001 – Mar 2010
- Marc ReignDrumsNov 2001 – Mar 2010
Formation facts
- After a Brescia show in May 2004, Italian customs at Milan airport detained Marc Reign over Destruction's chrome bullet belts — stage props the officers treated like a bomb scare. Endless argument followed; the belts were confiscated and Reign was let go. The band likened it to Spinal Tap and noted it was only the second airport-outfit mess in twenty years, after Peru.
- For Inventor of Evil, Destruction packed one song, "The Alliance of Hellhoundz," with guest voices from across metal — Biff Byford, Doro, Paul Di'Anno, Messiah Marcolin, and more. Schmier bragged they were putting the best metal singers into one track.
- Destruction kept inviting its own past back into the studio without restoring old lineups. Harry Wilkens returned for guest leads. André Grieder sang extras. Kaiser, Sandmann, and Vormann shouted backing parts. At Wacken 2007 the family even shared a stage. They were guests and memories — not those old lineups coming back.
Studio albums
- D.E.V.O.L.U.T.I.O.N. (Aug 2008)
- Inventor of Evil (Aug 2005)
- Metal Discharge (Sep 2003)
Formation 5 of 9
1999 – Oct 2001
Members
- SchmierBass, VocalsJan 1999 – Oct 2001
- Mike SifringerGuitarsJan 1999 – Oct 2001
- Sven VormannDrumsJan 1999 – Oct 2001
Formation facts
- When Schmier and Mike reunited, Sven Vormann walked into the audition already knowing the songs — he was a Destruction fan and a Headhunter fan. He beat older hands for the chair and became the drummer on All Hell Breaks Loose and The Antichrist.
Studio albums
- The Antichrist (Aug 2001)
- All Hell Breaks Loose (Apr 2000)
Formation 4 of 9
1993 – 1999
Members
- Thomas RosenmerkelVocalsJan 1993 – Jan 1999
- Michael PiranioLead GuitarJan 1993 – Jan 1999
- Mike SifringerRhythm GuitarJan 1993 – Jan 1999
- Christian EnglerBassJan 1993 – Jan 1999
- Olly KaiserDrumsJan 1993 – Jan 1999
Formation facts
- In the 1990s Mike Sifringer kept Destruction alive without a record deal, putting the band's own money into the Brain Butcher releases. He later said he was still proud they had managed to write, record and tour under those conditions. Schmier saw the same period very differently: he later called The Least Successful Human Cannonball music that simply was not Destruction and said it should have carried another name.
Studio albums
- The Least Successful Human Cannonball (Oct 1998)
Formation 3 of 9
1989 – 1990
Members
- André GriederVocalsJan 1989 – Jan 1990
- Mike SifringerGuitarsJan 1989 – Jan 1990
- Harry WilkensGuitarsJan 1989 – Jan 1990
- Olly KaiserDrumsJan 1989 – Jan 1990
Formation facts
- With Schmier gone, they asked André Grieder of Poltergeist — a friend — to finish the vocals. Kaiser had already sung the songs as guides. When Grieder flew to Berlin, Kaiser walked him through the parts and Grieder nailed them quickly.
- After the split Schmier built a life outside Destruction. He formed Headhunter and later said the years away taught him more than he expected — including how little a young band understands about lawyers and the music business. When he came back, it was as someone who had already survived without the name.
Studio albums
- Cracked Brain (May 1990)
Formation 2 of 9
1986 – 1989
Members
- SchmierBass, VocalsJan 1986 – Jan 1989
- Mike SifringerGuitarsJan 1986 – Jan 1989
- Harry WilkensGuitarsJan 1986 – Jan 1989
- Olly KaiserDrumsJan 1986 – Jan 1989
Formation facts
- Schmier was fired while Destruction was already in the studio for Cracked Brain. Basics at expensive Union-Studios in Munich stopped; everybody went home angry. He remembered the other three pushing toward a more melodic, progressive sound while he wanted thrash. Years later Sifringer said they simply did not talk enough. Kaiser later shrugged off the idea that a Celtic Frost package tour caused the split — the nights were awkward, not the firing.
Studio albums
- Release from Agony (Dec 1987)
Formation 1 of 9
1984 – 1986
Members
- SchmierBass, VocalsJan 1984 – Jan 1986
- Mike SifringerGuitarsJan 1984 – Jan 1986
- Tommy SandmannDrumsJan 1984 – Jan 1986
Formation facts
- Mike Sifringer, Tommy Sandmann, and a friend named Ulf Kühne started Knight of Demon in Weil am Rhein in 1983. They still needed a bassist. One night a stranger in heavy-metal clothes walked into a local club; they struck up a conversation and, a few weeks later, asked him to join. That stranger was Schmier.
- Knight of Demon was only a working name. Sandmann proposed Destruction because it sounded like the raw power they wanted, and they were already using it while Kühne was still the singer. They stenciled the new logo onto jean vests; Schmier smeared the paint, so they called him Schmier-Maxe — "smudgy dude" — and the nickname stuck.
- Kühne preferred Twisted Sister and Tygers of Pan Tang. The others were racing toward Venom and Motörhead. After he left, they did not hunt for another singer. Sandmann could not drum and scream at that tempo; Mike refused the microphone. Schmier took the vocals.
- Their first tape, Bestial Invasion of Hell, was cut in early 1984 in a small studio south of Freiburg — one day, instruments live, vocals overdubbed afterward. They paid for it themselves while still in school.
- Magazines later said Sandmann quit over musical differences. He said that was not true. German military or civil service would have taken him off the road, and at nineteen he asked whether he could still make a living if the band failed. He stepped aside so Olly Kaiser could take the drum chair — a hard call for a kid who still loved the music.
Studio albums
- Eternal Devastation (Jul 1986)
- Infernal Overkill (May 1985)