German thrashers Destruction released their first EP a few years before I was born (in 1984), and still they thrash very hard! They still manage to release fresh and well-qualified albums regularly and to give away many ass-kicking performances. Now they come up with a new live album to celebrate their 25^th anniversary: The Curse of the Antichrist: Life in Agony. About time to me that  they record another live album, since their last was 20 years ago.. (if you don’t count Alive Devastation, a Japan only and bonus CD of the limited edition of the Live Discharge DVD). 

Before I’ll start my review, I have to bring about some irritations about the download I got of this album; I was unable to listen to the tracks 'D.E.V.O.L.U.T.I.O.N.' and 'The Antichrist', since they weren’t on it. Instead, I got 'Nailed to the Cross' as a bonus it seems, since this song is not presented on the tracklists that are spread on the internet. Oh well, just so you know.

The Curse of the Antichrist: Life in Agony consists of 2 CDs; the first is a record of a gig at Wacken Open Air 2007, the second of a gig in Tokyo in 2008. With a total of 22 tracks, this live album offers you a lot, and is a fair sample of the many, many great songs Destruction has. As with many double-CD live albums, there is either a great overlap between the songs on the two albums, or one of the two albums has a less sound quality. In this case, neither of these facts apply: the sound quality of both CDs is very good and only 'Thrash Till Death' is recorded twice, but the second is a special extended version including a drum solo at the end. Therefore this live album is certainly a great contribution to the discography.

The album is really worth listening: it’s very well-produced and Destruction sounds awesomely energetic. Besides that, I just love Schmier’s vocals! I already loved them on CD but during these live concerts they sound even better. You can also hear that the other members still love to perform too, they sound very fresh and full of spirit. It just makes you wanna be at a live gig, this album!

The album could as well be named ‘Destruction’s Greatest Hits 1984-2008 Alive!’, since it’s a gathering of all their great songs, spread over all years. The 1^st CD consists of the usual songs you’d expect to hear, like oldies 'The Butcher Strikes Back', 'Mad Butcher', and 'Curse the Gods', and newer killers 'Nailed to the Cross', 'The Alliance of Hellhoundz', 'Metal Discharge', 'D.E.V.O.L.U.T.I.O.N.'  and of course 'Thrash Till Death'. The 2^nd CD focuses more on older songs, like 'Death Trap', 'Life Without Sense' and 'Bestial Invasion'. Unexpectedly, this album even starts out with Plasmatics cover 'The Damned'.

Well, I’m not going to bother you any longer with this review, just listen to this awesome live album! It’s a worthy celebration of their 25^th anniversary, since it represents Destruction’s past 25 years very well. They show that they still kick ass live and that they’re far from getting tired of it!