A… Read Full Bio ↴Destructor is an American power/thrash band from Cleveland, Ohio.
Auburn president Bill Peters' first encounter with Destructor was seeing the band perform their very first 'live' show in 1984 at The Pop Shop, a club managed by Chris Andrews and located beneath the historic Cleveland Agora. Already working with bands such as Breaker and Shok Paris at the time, Peters fell in love with the band's untamed energy, great songwriting, wild spirit and charismatic stage presence. The Cleveland metal scene was dominated at the time with 'technically' great sounding bands. Many questioned why Peters would choose to work with a band such as Destructor and how he could possibly record and capture the band's energy in the studio. After all, Destructor were considered to be one of the area's most 'anti-technical' of bands at the time. Despite the rough edges and regardless of the criticisms, Peters had a vision that Destructor could develop into something special and saw something in them most of his industry peers did not. He took a chance and moved forward, signing Destructor to his Auburn label in 1984. The band entered Suma Recording Studios to begin recording their debut album with engineer Paul Hamann at the helm. Destructor's "Maximum Destruction" album, released the following year in 1985 on Auburn Records, is considered by many to be an underground metal classic and quickly silenced the critics. It became Auburn's biggest seller and catapulted the band to international success in the metal underground. The album was licensed to Roadrunner Records in Europe several months after the initial release and later reissued by Listenable Records in 1999. Destructor's crushing 'live' performances in the area, both headlining and opening for national acts such as Anthrax, Slayer and Megadeth, became legendary. The band received rave reviews and full features in prestigious metal publications like Metal Forces, Kerrang!, Hit Parader and Metal Hammer. In 1987, Destructor entered Beachwood Studios with engineer Jim DeMain to begin recording their second album "Decibel Casualties". The album, along with Jag Panzer's "Chain Of Command", was going to help launch a joint venture between Auburn and major label Island Records. Unfortunately, both projects never saw the light of day. Several months into the Destructor recording sessions, bass player Dave Iannicca was innocently murdered on January 1, 1988. The incident devastated both the band and Auburn president Bill Peters, who had been a good friend of Dave's over the years. Coping with losing a 'family' member was very difficult for everyone to overcome. Destructor needed time to recover from the tragedy and were in no condition to begin playing music again. Peters struggled with his emotions and his dealings with Island Records, who took more of a business stance on the whole situation. Peters eventually decided to walk away from the entire 3-year label deal. It was a tough decision but the right one he felt to make at the time.
Over the next several years, Destructor struggled to keep things going. They went through several bass players trying to move forward but the chemistry continued to be missing. During these years of uncertainty, the band did manage to go into the studio and finish one song from the "Decibel Casualties" sessions, "Storm Of Steel", for Auburn's 1990 "Heavy Artillery" compilation. The compilation was dedicated to Dave Iannicca. Unfortunately, the revolving door of bass players continued to take its toll, forcing the band into hiatus in the early 90's. Destructor resurfaced in 1999 when Listenable Records reissued the "Maximum Destruction" album. Inspired by the rejuvenated interest from the reissue, Destructor entered the studio in 2000 to begin recording new material. After hearing the final mixes, Listenable expressed no interest in releasing the album and decided to drop the band from the label. Bass player frustrations continued to haunt the band and the album was never released. A song from those sessions, "The Triangle", appeared on the Heavy, oder was!? "Metal Crusade-Vol. IV" compilation.
Finally in 2002, Destructor connected with Boulder bass player Jamie Walters. Although several years younger than the band members, Jamie had been a long time Destructor fan and had seen the band on a number of occasions over the years. Both parties hit it off immediately and Destructor were back on track. Jamie was the missing piece to the puzzle the band had searched for so long and hard. Then in January of 2003, Destructor and Auburn officially reunited. The two parties had been talking for nearly a year and had been unofficially working together since the summer of 2002. Peters challenged the band to write new material and the band delivered with an amazing batch of originals that followed in the same tradition as the "Maximum Destruction" album.
Destructor entered 609 Recording with engineer Don Depew (Breaker) in the Spring of 2003 to record "Sonic Bullet". The EP, released in the Summer, includes 5 new recordings ("Sonic Bullet", "Heavy Artillery", "Silent Enemy", "Blackest Night", "Master Of The Universe"), two tracks from the previously unreleased 2000 sessions ("G-Force", "The Triangle") and two 'live' tracks recorded in 2002 at the Classic Metal Festival ("Pounding Evil") and at the band's opening set for Slayer in Cleveland ("Iron Curtain"). The Summer of 2003 has seen a lot of activity from Destructor on the concert front. They performed at two major festivals, the BW&BK "6-Pack Weekend" in Cleveland (headlined by Candlemass and Trouble) and the Bang Your Head in Balingen, Germany (headlined by Twisted Sister and Dio), and opened the Iron Maiden/Dio/Motörhead Cleveland tour date. The band are currently finishing up writing new material and plan to enter the studio next year to begin recording a new full-length.
Pat Rabid - guitar
Jamie Boulder - bass
Dave Overkill - guitar/vocals
Matt Flammable - drums
Overdose
Destructor Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Feels like fire
Metallic buzz
Pounding convulsions
Stoned with steel
Powerful surge drives us on
Time is wasting
Inject it in
Pull away from death
Overload the circuits
Metal spike deep
Feel alive with overdose
You got a need
Metal rush
We're the pusher
Come to us
High energy drives you on
Through your veins
To your brain
Time is wasting
Gasp for breath
Inject it in
Pull away from death
Overload the circuits
Metal spike deep
Feel alive with overdose
There is no doubt
We are wasted
Faithful living
Our own drug
Heavy metal that
We're alive for
Party every night
Until death
Time is wasting
Gasp for breath
Inject it in
Pull away from death
Overload the circuits
Metal spike deep
Feel alive with overdose
Overdose –
Destructor's song "Overdose" speaks about the addiction of drugs, particularly injecting drugs, and the high it brings. The lyrics convey the feeling of fire and metallic buzz that courses through one's veins with the rush of power and surge that comes with the overdose. The song speaks about how the addiction consumes one's life, and there is no turning back. Each line of the song is in detail about the high and how it takes over your entire being, leaving nothing but a lifeless body.
The lyrics also emphasize that the need to consume more drugs is an overpowering force, leading to a quick drag into the powerful effects of the steel. The lyrics of Overdose are featured in a heavy metal style that the band is well-known for, as they have been one of Ohio's premier underground metal groups. The lyrics say it all - "There is no doubt, we are wasted, faithful living our own drug, heavy metal that we're alive for, party every night until death." It is like an exhilarating drive that takes them further and further away from reality, leaving them lifeless and lost to the world.
Line by Line Meaning
I can feel it in my veins
The singer is physically feeling the effects of the drug in their bloodstream.
Feels like fire
The sensation of the drug is intense, almost like being burned from the inside out.
Metallic buzz
The drug causes a buzzing sensation in the body, possibly due to its chemical makeup or method of ingestion.
Pounding convulsions
The drug causes intense muscle spasms or convulsions in the user's body, possibly due to its stimulant properties.
Stoned with steel
The drug makes the user feel both numb and invincible, as if their body is made of steel.
Powerful surge drives us on
The drug provides an intense burst of energy, motivating the user to keep using.
Time is wasting
The singer is aware that their addiction is negatively impacting their life, including wasting their time.
Gasp for breath
The drug is causing physical distress, possibly leading to difficulty breathing.
Inject it in
The drug is being injected, likely leading to a quicker and more intense high.
Pull away from death
The artist is using the drug to temporarily escape from the reality of their own mortality or the negative impact of their addiction.
Overload the circuits
The user is taking more of the drug than their body can handle, overwhelming their system in the process.
Metal spike deep
The drug is affecting the user on a deep, physical level, demonstrated by the comparison to a metal spike.
Feel alive with overdose
The singer feels most alive when they have overdosed on the drug, indicating the extent of their addiction.
You got a need
The singer is addressing someone who they believe is also addicted or in need of the drug.
Metal rush
The high from the drug is compared to a rush of heavy metal music, further emphasizing its intensity.
We're the pusher
The artist is admitting to being a drug dealer or supplier, contributing to the addiction of others in order to fuel their own habit.
Come to us
The artist is actively recruiting others to buy from them and become part of their drug culture.
High energy drives you on
The singer is convincing the listener that the energy and motivation provided by the drug is worth the potential consequences.
Through your veins
The drug is being injected directly into the listener's bloodstream, causing a more immediate and intense high.
To your brain
The drug quickly reaches the listener's brain, leading to altered perceptions and increased risk of addiction.
There is no doubt
The artist is firm in their conviction that the drug and addiction lifestyle is worth pursuing, despite its dangers.
We are wasted
The artist and their peers are frequently high or intoxicated, leading to a diminished quality of life and potential legal consequences.
Faithful living
The singer and their peers have essentially dedicated their lives to drug use, which has become a central part of their identity.
Our own drug
The drug has become a crutch or coping mechanism for the artist, who cannot envision a life without it.
Heavy metal that
The singer is alluding to the fact that the drug culture is heavily influenced by rock music, which promotes a lifestyle of excess and rebellion.
We're alive for
The singer lives for the feeling of being high, which has become their primary motivation for waking up each day.
Party every night
The drug culture involves frequent partying and hedonistic behavior, which can lead to further drug use and addiction.
Until death
The artist and their peers are essentially on a path of self-destruction, pursuing addiction and substance abuse until it takes their lives.
Contributed by Zoe S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
lmr641
i was thinking about this song a while ago, and i thought i'd give it a try at finding it, and wow! there it was!! fuck yeah. i cannot thank you enough for posting this. i used to listen to this stuff back in the heydays of the death/thrash metal scene, and i still do. Destructor was one of those great american thrash bands that never got the attention they deserved. i love this kind of music. hell yes! thrash 'til death, as we used to say.
Branden Grijalva
Really digging this band
Lena Hambardzumyan
Killer 🔥
metalheadedtothemax
Awahile ago, I was gonna name my band Destructor but then i found this =( ... =)
Martin Carrillo
this shit is like if exciter stayed cool!
Yuan Ping
Ok
mrmott44
Euclid Rocks !