Deströyer 666

Hailing from Melbourne, Australia, the unsubtle Deströyer 666 started out as a solo black metal venture conceived by the colorfully monikered K.K. Warslut, also known as Keith Destroyer and formerly a member of the groundbreaking local Satanists Bestial Warlust. After the 1995 self-recorded debut Violence Is the Prince of This World, the lineup expanded with the addition of guitarist Shrapnel, bassist Bullet Eater (otherwise recognized as Phil Gresik from Hobbs' Angel of Death and Bestial Warlust), and drummer Ballistic Howitzer, enabling the 1997 follow-up Unchain the Wolves, around the same period the group embraced the tagline "Australian and Antichrist." Another three years elapsed before the trio completed their third full-length, Phoenix Rising, which infused sharper thrash and death metal components into the sound while elevating their visibility through its status as the first release issued abroad on Season of Mist. The same label handled 2002's Cold Steel...for an Iron Age, yet momentum appeared to wane following the subsequent Terror Abraxas EP in 2003. Emerging from a lengthy and unexplained break, Deströyer 666 staged a strong comeback in 2009 with the widely praised fourth album Defiance. Two years later came To the Devil His Due, a collection assembling every track previously exclusive to 7" vinyl EPs, and in 2016 the band delivered their long-awaited fifth studio album, Wildfire.