“Thrash Anthems”, the 2007 re-recorded compilation album by Destruction is a two handed horned salute to all that is classic ’80’s thrash metal. All of the tracks exemplify two things – one, that making thrash metal was paramount to the band’s overall direction, and two – that throughout all of the highlighted tracks from the featured albums, that this direction never deviated from its course. The feelings evoked from listening to this best-of compilation is akin to a breath of fresh, metallic air, exhaling in the faces of other thrash bands who have erroneously changed their tune for the worse. This is the strength of the record – to remark how through the years the attitude and style still remains the same. Even songs like “Cracked Brain” and “Reject Emotions”, which feature slow introductions, still manage to rip and rock through the rest of the track – the very idea for all “slow” thrash songs. This holds true even for the two new songs on the album, “Profanity” and “Deposition (Your Heads Will Roll)”. Although “Deposition” features an extra helping of melody (most notable in the background vocal line) and an accoustic outro, it can be argued that both these songs fit comfortably around the earlier offerings and stand up to the level of heaviness previously set. One point should be made – these are all quality songs, but in terms of popularity Destruction is not a first tier band. Why? One guess as evidenced by “Thrash Anthems” is that there are no memorable guitar solos, although “Death Trap” displays an awesome exception. That could be due to the three man line-up, especially considering that the band didn’t become a whole lot stronger when they added a second guitarist later on. Of course, when they had one guitar the music was very strong to begin with, and perhaps this is the greatest aspect of Destruction’s music. For those familiar and not, Destruction’s “Thrash Anthems” delivers loud and proud all that is righteous in heavy metal.