German thrash metal veterans DESTRUCTION will not only will celebrate their 40th anniversary by dropping their mind-blowing grenade of a new album, "Diabolical" (out April 8, 2022 via Napalm Records), they will also hit the road in North America on a 26-date headline tour this spring.
Featuring direct support from prime thrash metal force and labelmates NERVOSA, the tour will also feature special guests SUNLORD and VX36. The run will kick off on April 28 in Brooklyn, New York and hit a slew of cities before coming to a close with a DESTRUCTION-only performance at Maryland Deathfest in Baltimore, Maryland on May 29. Tickets are on sale now via individual venues.
DESTRUCTION bassist/vocalist Schmier says: "Yes — we are super thrilled: the first tour of the new record, 'Diabolical', will kick off in North America. We could not tour there on the last album because of the pandemic, so we made it a top priority to return as soon as the circumstances would allow us, to play for our American fans again!
"We are bringing our friends NERVOSA along — they are a perfect match! We toured together before and the pits were smoking! They also haven't toured in the USA or Canada in a long while. This is a killer package and we are super excited! See you all for a serious beating!!!"
NERVOSA guitarist Prika Amaral adds: "This will be a super fun tour with legends and friends — NERVOSA with DESTRUCTION touring for the third time together, but this time in North America, and NERVOSA with the new lineup. Be prepared for a thrash massacre! We can't wait!"
"Diabolical" North American tour dates:
Apr. 28 - Brooklyn, NY @ Elsewhere
Apr. 29 - Boston, MA @ Middle East / Downstairs
Apr. 30 - Montréal, QC @ Les Foufounes Électriques
May 01 - Toronto, ON @ Lee's Palace
May 03 - Millersville, PA @ Phantom Power
May 04 - Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop
May 05 - Detroit, MI @ Sanctuary
May 06 - Chicago, IL @ Reggies
May 07 - St Paul, MN @ Turf Club
May 08 - Iowa City, IA @ Wildwood
May 09 - Lawrence, KS @ Bottleneck
May 10 - Denver, CO @ The Oriental Theater
May 12 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Metro Music Hall
May 14 - Seattle, WA @ El Corazon
May 15 - Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theater
May 17 - San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall
May 18 - Los Angeles, CA @ 1720
May 19 - Garden Grove, CA @ Garden Amp
May 20 - San Diego, CA @ Brick By Brick
May 22 - Albuquerque, NM @ Launchpad
May 23 - El Paso, TX @ Rockhouse
May 24 - Austin, TX @ Come And Take It Live
May 25 - Houston, TX @ White Oak
May 27 - Atlanta, GA @ Center Stage (The Vinyl)
May 28 - Spartanburg, SC @ Ground Zero
May 29 - Baltimore, MD @ Maryland Deathfest
Last August, DESTRUCTION officially parted ways with founding guitarist Michael "Mike" Sifringer and replaced him with Martin Furia. The Argentinian-born, Belgian-based Furia is best known for his work as sound engineer and producer for such bands as NERVOSA and EVIL INVADERS.
Sifringer was the only member of DESTRUCTION to have remained constant throughout the band's career. Schmier appeared on DESTRUCTION's first three albums before exiting the band and being replaced by POLTERGEIST vocalist André Grieder. André's sole recorded appearance with DESTRUCTION was on the "Cracked Brain" album, which came out in 1990. Schmier rejoined DESTRUCTION in 1999.
DESTRUCTION's last studio album, "Born To Perish", was released in August 2019 via Nuclear Blast. The disc was DESTRUCTION's first to feature Randy Black on drums and second guitarist Damir Eskić.
Damir is a Swiss guitar player of Bosnian decent who works as a guitar teacher, himself being a former pupil of Tommy Vetterli (CORONER). He also plays in a heavy metal band called GOMORRA and previously contributed three solos to DESTRUCTION's 2016 album "Under Attack".
DESTRUCTION 2022 is:
Schmier - Bass, Vocals
Martin Furia - Guitars
Randy Black - Drums
Damir Eskić - Guitars
Photo credit: Gyula Havancsák
