THIS WEEK I’M LISTENING TO…MORE – Destructor (Warhead Music)

London-based More were one the many NWOBHM acts who could have and should have but didn’t. Seemingly always the best man but never the groom they had some high profile support slots – opening for Ted Nugent at Hammersmith Odeon in 1981 they were on fire; and they went out with both Krokus and Iron Maiden – and a major label deal with Atlantic, delivering a highly acclaimed (and, let’s face it, stunning) debut album ‘Warhead’. And then it all unravelled. Before they started work on their 1982 follow-up LP guitarist Laurie Mansworth left, followed by frontman Paul Mario Day (who passed away last year), leaving lead guitarist Kenny Cox (who died in 2022), bassist Brian Day and drummer Andy John Burton (another rock casualty, who passed in 2021) to soldier on with new recruit Mick Stratton on vocals. ‘Blood And Thunder’ failed to hit the same heights and More called it a day.

Several attempts to reboot the band have come and gone, but 2026 sees the release of More’s third album. On one hand it’s a tad tenuous to call this band More: the roll-call here features vocalist Mike Freeland, guitarist David John Ross, bassist Barry ‘Baz’ Nicholls, drummer Steve Rix and producer Chris Tsangarides who also adds guitar (as he did on some of his Bitches Sin productions and, of course, who also passed away), and although all the members have a link to later incarnations only Nicholls played with the band back in the day, being the bassist on the 1982 7” ‘Trickster’ alongside Cox, Burton and Stratton.

But none of that really matters, because ‘Destructor’ is a noble addition to the band’s catalogue, and certainly has the edge over ‘Blood And Thunder’. It was, apparently, the last album Tsangarides – one of the truly great producers who really understood what a metal album should sound like – worked on, and after his death it slipped off the radar until Nicholls rediscovered it. And it’s a good job he did, because this album is no slouch. It does a really good job of capturing the original band’s vibe but gives it a twenty-first century twist as the likes of ‘My Obsession’ and self-referential album closer ‘More’ are happy to demonstrate. Honourable mentions go to ‘Wolf Behind Your Eyes’, which boasts some lovely guitar harmonies, and ‘Scream’ which is a great showcase for the leather-lunged Freeland. With ten exciting slabs of metal there’s no fillers here, and the band can be rightly proud of what is a dynamic collection of material. Welcome back, lads.

[As a postscript, note that since the album was completed Ross has been replaced by guitarist Peter Welsh.]

Video clip: ‘Spirits Of War’ - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPZhzOBFXS0

John Tucker May 2026