OXYGEN DESTROYER
OXYGEN DESTROYER “Guardian of the Universe”
By Dr. Abner Mality
The titanic tortoise GAMERA has always played second fiddle to Godzilla in the Kaiju Universe, but he sure has his fans. Among them are the monster-obsessed death-thrashers OXYGEN DESTROYER and oh my God, “Guardian of the Universe” may single-handedly elevate Gamera to the top with fans of crushing metallic overkill.
This son of a bitch STOMPS all over everything, including your brainpan, as well as Tokyo. I always liked these guys, but this is on a level way above anything they’ve done before. It is thrash-oriented death metal PERFECTION...the opening title track starts with narration and monster noises before your flesh is scorched from your bones by the sonic mayhem...it’s as if Gamera himself turned his atomic torch breath on you. Surely the band can’t keep this up? Like hell! “Drawing Power From the Empathetic Priestess of Tranquility” continues to blow doors off despite a long-winded title that promises relief. OXYGEN DESTROYER is out to prove they can keep this going as long as they feel like it. And the focus is definitely on riffs as well...no tuneless war metal garbage here! They remind me a lot of the mighty ENFORCED but mix in some of the death metal influence of the likes of BENEDICTION and OBITUARY as well.
The guys do finally ease up on the gas with “Awakening the Mysterious Destroyer of Heaven and Earth”, which has more of a mid-paced chunkiness to it. Even the biggest monsters have to take a breather...they just stomp around a little bit slower, but they still knock over buildings. Actually, the song is placed just right, because things do get to be a little samey. The album ends with a similar stomper, “Exterminating the Ravenous Horde of Perpetual Darkness and Annihilation”...if you’re looking for succinct one word song titles, you better look elsewhere.
Add extra points if you’re a fan of kaiju films...there are plenty of samples here to put some frosting on the cake. But even if you never watched a single Gamera film, this sucker will turn you inside out and kick you to the moon. Best death-thrash I’ve heard this year!