With the departure of founding member and unique frontman/bassist Schmier, things were not looking bright for the future of Destruction, but to their credit (and the dismay of many fans) the fluid, reconfigured, now five-man lineup (including three credited bassists - two of which also provided guitars, those being Mike and Harry) eventually managed to write and record another album and continue the release-a-year trend started in 1984.

'Cracked Brain' isn't as distinctly Destruction as any of its predecessors for obvious reasons, but it's still a very solid record. Not brilliant, but certainly worthy of baring the Destruction name. The title (and opening) track provides our first taste of new vocalist Andre' Grieder who does his best to replace Schmier atop menacing guitars, overly subtle bass and gushing drums. As is unfortunately the case with so many albums, the best chop is dished up as track one, leaving the remaining eight songs to do their best to attain the level of 'Cracked Brain', which none of them manage.

Something that has always bugged me is the inconsistent production of this album, most notably on 'Die A Day Before You're Born' which sticks out like a sore thumb, noticeably lacking the low-end punch the majority of the other tracks pack. However, I can almost overlook this fault as the album was recorded at a number of studios over some period of time... plus, there's a wickedly amusing cover of 'My Sharona' thrown in the middle to break things up and bring a smile to your face.

There are a few very good tracks on 'Cracked Brain' but plenty more so-so material. It's as if the album was released far before there was time to refine, improve and experiment. Ultimately, it's an album well worth owning if you're a Destruction fan but in my humble opinion, clearly the weakest Destruction release up to and including 1990. Nice cover art though.