Album Review: Oxygen Destroyer – Guardian of the Universe (Redefining Darkness Records)

Seattle’s Oxygen Destroyer return with their 3rd full length album, Guardian of the Universe, set for release on the 9th of August via Redefining Darkness Records.

Named after the weapon that killed Godzilla in the original 1954 movie, Oxygen Destroyer deliver blackened death/thrash metal or, as they describe it, “Brutal Thrashing Kaiju Metal”. As well as bringing some serious heaviness, the band are clearly a fan of long titles, as you will see by some of the song names on Guardian of the Universe, but also in the title of their first two albums Bestial Manifestations of Malevolence and Death and the follow-up, Sinister Monstrosities Spawned by the Unfathomable Ignorance of Humankind. Two albums that really left a lasting impression giving the band a strong reputation where they are known for their monstrous energy. 

Guardian of the Universe was specifically written to pay homage to the Heisei Gamera trilogy, which is considered by many to be the pinnacle of the Kaiju film genre. Their music is designed to be an auditory embodiment of the chaos and power depicted in classic Kaiju films, bringing these mythical battles to life.

Oxygen Destroyer started off 2024 strong already having toured supporting Skeletal Remains along with Morta Skuld this past March and most recently with death metal underground darlings Undergang and Ascended Dead. This August they will be embarking on their Thy Tour Is Legion tour across the US in support of the release of Guardian of the Universe.

Oxygen Destroyer is Lord Kaiju on guitar and vocals, Joey Walker on guitar, Chris Craven on drums and Paul Wright on bass.

Guardian of the Universe comes with 9 tracks and around 34 minutes of ferocious metal on it. We get underway with the title track, Guardian Of The Universe (The Final Hope) which also happens to be the longest track on the album at 5 and half minutes long. For those new to Oxygen Destroyer, this track will certainly get you into their zone. Starting off with backing samples of war, destruction and screaming, it then transforms into a ferocious track of high octane thrashy riffs and insane drumming. It’s fast and furious but has plenty of rhythm and will get your head banging along before you even realise you are moving.

It’s over 3 minutes into the song before the vocals join in as we are just treated to an absolute banquet of heavy thrashing riffs and rhythms, all fast, but constantly tweaking and evolving. When the vocals join in, they are harsh and heavy but in a higher tone – not guttural at first but full of aggression and powerful. The vocals come quick, in bursts like gunfire and are completely surrounded by the fiery riffing. To add some variety, the vocals do drop down to a more guttural sound, before jumping back up again. As the song nears it’s conclusion, the band decide to raise the tempo even further and chuck a speedy solo into the mix too. A breathless start that continues across the album.

Long title time, but the under 2 minute long Drawing Power From The Empathetic Priestess Of Tranquility in a monster of a track. Really ramming home their high energy style as the drums rain chaos, the riffs fly out and the vocals rip and snarl. Shadow of Evil and They Name Is Legion don’t drop the pace for even a second. Despite it being non stop, intense riffing and drumming, the songs do manage to offer plenty of variety within the carnage. Different rhythms and plenty of transitions, change ups in the tempo and the flow of lyrics still give each song their moments to stand out and be remembered. The same goes for the use of film sampling, which just ties the concept together nicely.

Back to the long titles with Eradicating The Symbiotic Hive Mind Entity From Beyond The Void and no surprises for guessing by now that it’s fast and fiery. If you are waiting for a ballad, you have come to the wrong place. Expect 3 and a half minutes of blinding intensity with manic drumming and furious riffing. A touch of sampling leads into snarling vocals that give a nice mix of growl and guttural while the speed of lyrics lean us much closer to an extreme metal sound. Nightmarish Visions Of The Devil’s Envoy brings a darker and moodier tone, while still maintaining Oxygen Destroyer’s signature speed and fire as we get blasted in a flurry of maniacal riffs, vocals and drums for just less than two minutes.

Awaking The Malevolent Destroyer Of The Heavens and Earth and Banishing The Iris Of Sempiternal Tenebrosity are the next two up and are still really going for it with those song titles. The former having a longer sampled intro before leading in with a threatening riff and drum beat. There is a touch of speed dropped off for a bit as we head into supreme headbanging territory. Even the drummer can have a moment as the rhythm drops down into groove, crunch and a thrashier sound. Sample heavy, packing a huge solo, it’s a banger. The latter brings an insanely catchy in and ensures the drummer is no longer on a break as the speed ramps back up to ridiculous levels. Fast, furious with vicious vocals that flip back and forth in tone, it’s a damn fine death metal track with probably my favourite solo too.

Guardian of the Universe closes out with the king of song titles with Exterminating The Ravenous Horde Of Perpetual Darkness And Annihilation. Oxygen Destroyer make sure they leave a lasting memory by just combining all of the best of everything we have heard across the album. Catchy as heel riffs, intense drumming, concept driving sampling and vocals that are spat out furiously with real venom. It’s not exactly anything different to what has been heard already across Guardian of the Universe, but it’s still really strong and makes sure the album stays at the same high standard throughout.

Oxygen Destroyer certainly don’t mess about. Guardian of the Universe is a non stop beast dripping in fire and fury. It’s consistently aggressive, constantly intense and exciting throughout, with a collection of songs that are well written, flow well and with the use of the samples, deliver their concept firmly. When you have an album with so many tracks that are fiery and of a similar pace and tone, you could easily find yourself bored but the mix of vocal tones, the differing solos and slight pace changes means it stays fresh throughout. Having said that, there is definite track bleed by the end of it, where it becomes harder to pick out which one of the carnal tracks was which. Strong album though from a talented band.

Preorder your copy of Oxygen Destroyer’s Guardian of the Universe from their labels Bandcamp page, here.

Oxygen Destroyer Links

Bandcamp – Facebook – Instagram – YouTube – Spotify – Apple Music – Redefining Darkness Records