Austin based doom band Destroyer of Light has kept a steady pace of releases and touring since their 2012 formation, putting out four full lengths and several EPs in that span of time. Unlike a lot of their peers, the group also opted to stay independent but managed to gain quite a bit of traction thanks to their combination of darker grooves and harsher riffs/vocals. 2024 brings their fifth album Degradation Years, and it’s also their last for the time being. Work on Degradation Years stretches back to the same sessions that produced 2022’s Panic, but it finds Destroyer of Light opting to explore very different textures. There are still some heavy grooves and denser riffs, but the overall sound moves more towards grunge and the more somber alternative rock variants of the 90s, making for a different but just as engaging listen.
There may be much softer melodies at play throughout Degradation Years, but don’t think that Destroyer of Light has completely lost their edge. Opener “Cruel World” has a big, booming groove and a swagger that reminds me of 90s era Corrosion of Conformity and tie back to some of the heavier moments on the band’s past discography. But as the song continues the melodies take over a bit more and bring the melancholy and darker tones of grunge and 90s alternative rock into the spotlight. This shouldn’t necessarily be a surprise if you’ve followed Destroyer of Light for any period of time, as there was always an underlying rock component to their sound, but the pivot over to it being the foundation of the songwriting makes Degradation Year feel different. Songs like “Waiting for the End” still revel in gloom and despair, but there’s a catchiness to the melodies and the airier textures bridge the gap between what psychedelic and desert rock was doing in the 90s and what alternative rock was on the radio. Sometimes there’s a bit more Alice in Chains or Soundgarden, while other moments bring in a bit more of that sweeping and crunchy heavy rock/doom sound. The longer, sprawling numbers are where Destroyer of Light really finds their rhythm on this album, as “Man With No Name” and “Where I Cannot Follow” stand out thanks to some leads that really get under your skin. Admittedly a few of the tracks are a bit too similar and don’t quite reach that same level of hook, but Degradation Years is still consistently engaging from start to finish.
Steve Colca has utilized singing and growling throughout Destroyer of Light’s discography, but on Degradation Years he’s shifted completely over to singing. Given the rock foundations this approach makes sense, and this is also one of the areas where more of the grunge sound comes into play. Colca shines on songs like “Waiting for the End” with softer, reflective singing that is hiding some darker lyrics underneath. It reminds me a bit of Hangman’s Chair, as the vocals have this warm and inviting feel but the subject matter of the songs is anything but happy. A lot of the singing approaches draw in a wide range of classic 90s artists, and depending on which bands you spent the most time with from that era will determine what Colca’s singing reminds you of.
With Degradation Years now out in the wild, Destroyer of Light is preparing for an indefinite hiatus as its members move onto other projects. It isn’t quite my favorite out of their discography, but it’s still a strong note to go out on and showcases the melancholic and alternative rock/grunge influences expanded out to an entirely new level. As someone that came up on 90s radio the mixture the band was going for clicked with me, and even if some moments started to run together a bit the peaks have kept me coming back for more. I’ll be interested to see where the other bands the members of Destroyer of Light are in choose to go, and maybe down the road they’ll return when we least expect it.
-Review by Chris Dahlberg