Under The Influence #84: Idle Ruin on “Mayhemic Destruction” by Mortal Sin!

The first Australian Thrash act to tour internationally, Mortal Sin were one of the lesser lights of heaven during their run between 1985 and 2012. Hailing from Sydney, New South Wales, they were part of a small but well respected Speed Thrash scene with Slaughter Lord the other real band of note. As you might expect, self financed and self produced, the band recorded a demo album in three days in the summer of 1986, eight tracks of which would form their debut album “Mayhemic Destruction” something which would see Vertigo Records (Metallica, Black Sabbath, Dio) snap up and re-release Worldwide a year later.

Liam Anthony from Idle Ruin comments: “It was a hard decision, but I can safely say that Mortal Sin’s debut album “Mayhemic Destruction” is one of my biggest musical influences for many reasons. That album was my gateway drug into thrash and extreme metal (Mortal Sin were one of the first thrash bands I discovered that weren’t Metallica!), and as an Australian there’s a sense of pride that comes with the impact it had. Mayhemic Destruction was one of the big classic thrash albums of the 1980s and it put Australian metal on the world map. For me, I was a teenager when my first band was playing an all-ages show in Brisbane, and Mortal Sin were headlining as part of their reunion tour. I’d only been getting into Metallica, Iron Maiden, System of a Down, and whatever else was playing on the late-night radio show during high school. The night Mortal Sin came to Brisbane pretty much changed my trajectory as a musician. I immediately tracked down a copy of Mayhemic Destruction (which wasn’t easy as it was out of print at the time), and thus began my obsession with thrash and extreme metal which hasn’t died down since.”