Sataniac: Vocals
Infernal: Guitar
Odin: Bass
Hont: Drums
Since 1989 Germany’s Desaster have been churning out their unique and unholy blend of extreme metal, and in 2025 they return with their 10th studio album, the programmatically entitled Kill All Idols. “While Churches Without Saints was a rather typical Desaster old school black-death-thrash metal album, the new one is a bit more diverse” enthuses guitarist and founder member Infernal. “Of course, Kll All Idols embodies our classical Black/Thrash Metal approach and the epic parts Desaster is well known for are there as well. But on the other hand there’s parts on the album where our punk roots shine clearer than possibly ever before.“
With a four-year gap elapsing since they dropped their last album Churches Without Saints, fans have had to be patient again, but will find the results more than worth the wait. “It does seem to be every four or five years that we release albums now, but I won’t say that’s because of a lack of creativity, rather the obligations the members have outside of the band have grown over the years. But, when the forces come together there’s always magic in the air, which is needed to write strong new songs.” This extended gap did not lead to the band feeling extra pressure when it came time to work on new music. “We never feel any pressure, this would kill creativity and the joy of playing music. We always meet to have fun and celebrate the music, it’s not a business for us. We enjoy writing new songs and when we think it’s time for a new album we just do it.” Never having to push themselves particularly hard, they discard anything that does not sound good to all eight ears and enjoy themselves whenever they’re together. “It’s always great to meet the other guys, drink some beer, play some old stuff to warm up and then start with some new shit, working on it step by step.”
Kill All Idols is the second album in the same line-up and it shows “As some have already experienced live, our drummer Hont is a real maniac. In contrast to his heart-warming way of stirring the kettles live, he is actually a very calm, nice and even-tempered contemporary. As some of you may know, the four of us are friends, and not just because of the music. This is particularly noticeable in the live situation and all its trappings. Technically, he’s a bit superior to the rest of us, which is why we considered breaking a finger on each of his hands before recording. I think in the end he “had” to pump himself full of anaesthetics so as not to fall out of line too much“, jokes the singer.
The title of Kill All Idols seems rather unusual for a band like Desaster, singer Sataniac elaborates “All “role models”, regardless of whether they are politically, religiously, socially, economically or otherwise motivated, only have their own agenda and their own “retention of power” in mind. The album title is nothing more than an invitation to think for yourself. Or at least to try. Realistically speaking, money is the last remaining deity and the great “role model” for at least large parts of our secular societies. This fact is profound. Money and linear greed are not good, goal-oriented or even sustainable “role models”. But what can you expect? After all, ALL of this was produced and churned out in just 7 days. Perhaps the almighty creator should have taken a little more time“, laughs the singer sarcastically.
The crushing album opener “Great Repulsive Force” has a somewhat philosophical lyrical level. “There are many things between “heaven, hell, and earth” that we don’t understand. Everything we don’t understand, therefore, “must” be of “divine” origin. The real reason for this probably lies in the limitations of our minds. This originally “divine” perspective probably also prevents us from making major advances in physics. We should generally place more trust in chaos“, states the singer who is also addressing humanity’s mental limits in the album’s first single, “Towards Oblivion“. “A general song of praise for homo sapiens, who leave no stone unturned in their quest to be “forgotten” by destroying their own foundations. But we must not forget. We are not in a position to destroy the earth. We can only make this fine habitable zone uninhabitable for ourselves. Isn’t this arrogance that comes before the fall just wonderful?“
Guitarist Infernal taking over: ““Throne of Ecstasy” is again a traditional Desaster Black /Thrash song, which immediately encourages headbanging and fistraising in the middle part! The riffs were created spontaneously in the rehearsal room during one of the legendary sessions with lots of (of course legal) stimulants and only had to be arranged a little. It was an easy birth! The songs that emerged from jams are usually our best.”
The record was again tracked in the band’s rehearsal room together with their live mixer Jan “Janosch” Gensheimer. “Well, we have a huge rehearsal room. It’s not only used for songwriting, laughing, drinking, smoking, crying, playing darts, but also, at the end of the day, for recording an album. It’s cheaper and easier, because the familiar surroundings are less stressful. Janosch Gensheimer, who has already made a name for himself for doing our sound live was forced to record our misdeeds on the hard disk.” Kill All Idols was mixed and mastered by none other than Greg Wilkinson of Autopsy at his Earhammer studio in Oakland, California. Infernal explains further: “This time we started an experiment to decide which producer could best realize the DESASTER sound in the year 2025. In the end, all four test mixes were very good and there were some heated discussions internally, as of course every band member has their own sound ideas and, despite all objectivity, individual taste is always the deciding factor. In the end, we gave Greg the nod because he created a sound that was perhaps a little atypical for DESASTER, but which we really wanted for the 10th studio album. Nothing is more boring than all these album productions that all sound the same. Almost all DESASTER albums have a different sound and Greg managed to give our sound a new guise. The collaboration with him was absolutely perfect and we have rarely been so satisfied after an album production.”
