In a new interview with Jorge Botas of Portugal’s Metal Global, DESTRUCTION bassist/vocalist Schmier was asked if he is surprised that the band is still going strong, more than four decades after DESTRUCTION’s formation, even though he and his bandmates are not playing “pop” music. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “Yeah, that’s true. It’s underground music and it’s not commercial metal. It’s thrash metal. It’s underground, basically. So, of course, it’s surprising. And we also had ups and downs and our difficulties, but we’ve always been working hard — at least the last 24, 25 years — I’ve been working hard for keeping the band alive. And it wasn’t always easy — lineup changes, record label changes. And also in the metal scene, the trends come and go. One day the press likes thrash metal; the next year they’re writing, ‘Oh, DESTRUCTION is writing the same album again and again.’ And you have to fight for it. But the great thing is the fans been very faithful with us, sticking with us, and that’s very motivating at the end, that the fans have been there supporting us for so many years. And that always kept us alive. And I think once you’re a musician for so long, it’s easy to be motivated because it’s a great gift. Playing music for so long, we never thought we could do that. So after some years, you appreciate it a lot, what you do. And then the effort you put is just automatically there because you love what you do.”When Botas noted that part of the appeal of bands like DESTRUCTION is that they are “honest” with the music that they make and they don’t try to change their sound to fit in with the trends, Schmier concurred. “Yeah, of course,” he said. “I mean, ‘stick to your guns’ is an important rule I would give every band — even though some bands changed and they’ve been more successful afterwards. But we do what we can do best. And people sometimes ask, ‘Don’t you get bored of your music?’ But I’m still excited to write, and I think the new [DESTRUCTION] album [‘Birth Of Malice’] also proves that it’s not boring to play thrash; it’s still exciting. And we still love to write new music. Some bands, when they get older, they’re, like, ‘Ah, fuck writing.’ And then it takes them five years or 10 years to write a new album. Not with us, because I think writing is still a fantastic experience. It’s still exciting. And also when you get older, you still wanna prove that you can compete with the youngsters. Yeah, it’s great. That’s why we also wrote the song ‘Destruction’ on this new album as appreciation for the fans, because I wanna hear the fans sing live, when we play live, ‘We are DESTRUCTION,’ because they are DESTRUCTION as much as we are DESTRUCTION.”DESTRUCTION’s 16th studio album, “Birth Of Malice” will be released on March 7 via Napalm Records.Schmier is joined in DESTRUCTION’s current lineup by guitarists Martin Furia and Damir Eskić, along with drummer Randy Black.”Birth Of Malice” was recorded at Switzerland’s Little Creek Studio by V.O. Pulver. Guitarist Martin Furia mixed and mastered the masterpiece at The Black Mancave in Hannover, Germany.DESTRUCTION’s massive career has seen many successes, with the band hitting stages at the world’s biggest festivals around the world like Hellfest, Wacken Open Air, Graspop Metal Meeting and México Metal Fest.DESTRUCTION, known as one of the “Teutonic Four”, alongside KREATOR, SODOM and TANKARD, were reunited with the other three acts at the “Klash Of The Ruhrpott” concert on July 20, 2024 in Gelsenkirchen, Germany.In August 2021, DESTRUCTION officially parted ways with founding guitarist Michael “Mike” Sifringer and replaced him with Martin Furia. The Argentinian-born, Belgian-based Furia is best known for his work as sound engineer and producer for such bands as NERVOSA and EVIL INVADERS.Sifringer was the only member of DESTRUCTION to have remained constant throughout the band’s career. Schmier appeared on DESTRUCTION’s first three albums before exiting the band and being replaced by POLTERGEIST vocalist André Grieder. André’s sole recorded appearance with DESTRUCTION was on the “Cracked Brain” album, which came out in 1990. Schmier rejoined DESTRUCTION in 1999.DESTRUCTION 2025 is:Schmier – Bass, VocalsMartin Furia – GuitarsRandy Black – DrumsDamir Eskić – Guitars[embedded content][embedded content][embedded content][embedded content][embedded content][embedded content]