DESTRUCTION's SCHMIER: Heavy Metal Metal 'Should Stay Underground'

In a brand new interview with Anne Erickson of Audio Ink Radio, DESTRUCTION frontman Schmier was asked for his opinion on the state of heavy metal music in 2020. He responded: "I hear all those interviews with people saying heavy metal is dead and rock is dead. I've been in the scene for almost 40 years, and most of the time, people were talking like this about our music. When we started the music, there was no scene, and the scene was very little. Of course, there were some years in the '80s, metal was huge for a while, but I didn't like that so much, because it brought a lot of people into the scene that didn't belong there. Then in the '90s, the scene died again, because all the hipsters went to listen to grunge music and techno music. I think this whole discussion that heavy metal is kind of dying and rock is dying, for me, it's not true. I see a lot of heavy metal fans wherever we go. We play all over the world, and nowadays, it's possible to play a lot of crazy countries where you never through you could go back in the day. I think heavy metal doesn't need to be the super-hip stuff, and I don't want that to happen also. I think metal should stay underground, and the scene is healthy... I think we're in a really good position, actually. I think 20 years ago, it looked a lot worse than now."

Schmier also weighed in on heavy metal bands becoming very commercially successful and attracting a whole new audience in the process. "Yeah, I don't know if I really want that," he said. "I don't know if I really want that to happen, that the masses are listening to my favorite band. Because what usually happens is that the band gets more commercial and the band loses the edge, and then it's not my favorite band anymore. I used to be a big fan of METALLICA, and with 'The Black Album,' they became a new band, basically. They became much more successful. People always think successful means better, but for me, it's not all about the money. Sometimes it's also about integrity and honesty and not selling out just for the money. That's why I don't really want metal to become the new hipster thing, because what happens then would be that metal, at one point, would kind of fall apart again, because trends come and go. I thought that in the '80s little bit, at the end of the '80s, when metal was really big, and all my friends started to listen to metal all of a sudden. But they came quick and became metalheads and a couple of years later, were all gone again, and they cut their hair and listened to the next trend. I don't think metal needs that. I think, for me, it's good the way it is. It's okay that METALLICA became more commercial for them, I guess. It was their way of doing things. I think in a different way."

Last month, DESTRUCTION delivered a treat for fans stuck at home and unable to attend live shows: "Born To Thrash - Live In Germany", the band's first live album with the current lineup, is out now digitally on all streaming and download platforms.

DESTRUCTION's latest album, "Born To Perish", was released in August 2019 via Nuclear Blast. The disc was recorded in January and February 2019 with V.O. Pulver (PRO-PAIN, BURNING WITCHES, NERVOSA) at Little Creek Studios in Switzerland and is the first DESTRUCTION album to feature Randy Black on drums and second guitarist Damir Eskic.