Destructor

Cleveland, Ohio's Destructor was a secondary 1980s thrash metal band whose brief career was curtailed by tragedy. Formed in 1983 by spectacularly renamed members Dave Overkill (vocals/guitar), Pat Rabid (guitar), Paul Warhead (bass), and perhaps best of all, Matt Flammable (drums), Destructor jumped the thrash metal bandwagon hot on the heels of pioneers like Metallica and Slayer. They were handed a record contract by local independent Auburn Records after their very first show in 1984, and new bassist Dave Holocaust (nee Janieca) joined in time for their first studio sessions. These were initially slated to produce an EP, but it quickly expanded into a full-length album called Maximum Destruction, released in 1985. Although pretty rough around the edges, the album was big on promise and well received by the metal underground, eventually leading to a joint venture being struck between Auburn and major label Island for Destructor's next effort. Work on said album -- tentatively entitled Decibel Casualties -- began in late 1987, but, tragically, Dave Holocaust was stabbed to death on January 1, 1988; and when their Island deal fell through, Destructor decided to call it a day rather than carry on without their slain friend. No more was heard from the band until 1999, when, amazingly, the re-release of Maximum Destruction by Listenable Records (featuring portions of the aborted second LP sessions) sparked the surviving members back into action. 2002's Sonic Bullet album (rehashing plenty of unreleased- '80s material) was the result, and counted on the help of bassist Jamie Boulder (aka Jamie Walters) of the band Boulder. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia