Delicious, alluring, enhanced, improved and refined. With a big step up in production over its two predecessors, musicianship leaps and bounds ahead and a perfect mix of aggression, pace, restraint, guitar wankery and defiant lyrics, album number two from the now great Destruction goes down in history as one of German Thrash's greatest full-length accomplishments.

'Curse The Gods' is given the honour of opening the album and does so in singular style. Pungent bass, razor-sharp, striking riffs, vastly improved vocals and ameliorated drumming combined with the experience gained from past releases fuse together to forge a track that is seldom absent from a Destruction performance, 20 years after its release. Why? It's so damn good. Gently opening, then hitting top gear, one moment the track is speedily thrashing, seconds later it'll burst into a excellent solo then meld into a chugging beat before repeating the process. Not to be outdone by the opener, 'Confound Games' puts up an amicable fight, from beginning to end it's nothing but a relentless riff fest with one of my favourite of the 36 minute album coming around 40 seconds in).

As the distinctive sound of Destruction continue to gallop forward at full speed, we're treated to the likes of 'Life Without Sense', 'United By Hatred' and 'Eternal Band', which further showcases a band whose music has really come into its own. Unmistakable guitars and vocals are accentuated by strong production, great percussion and clearly audible bass lines which not only thicken up the sound but add their own groovy overtones. The only downside of their brief but fulfilling record is that the first half stands a tad stronger overall than the latter. Regardless, 'Eternal Devastation' is classic.