Destruction is a German
thrash metal band. They are considered one of the "The Big Four" of the
German thrash metal scene, the others being
Kreator,
Sodom and
Tankard.
Three of those four (Tankard being the exception) are often credited with helping pioneer black metal, by containing several elements of what was to become the genre. Destruction were originally named
Knight of Demon, but changed their name in 1984. For most of the 1990s, Destruction were not signed to a record label and were forced to self-produce their albums until they signed a contract with
Nuclear Blast in the 2000s.