CD reissue. Release from Agony is the third studio album by German thrash metal band Destruction, released in 1988. The album is mostly noted for it's usage of complexity and technicality in the songs. It was the first Destruction album to feature four members. Some of the album's lyrics narrate themes that deal with political topics, such as government and corruption. Others deal with horror themes, like murder and nightmares. Destruction formed in 1982. They are often credited as one of the Big 4 of the German thrash metal scene, the others being Kreator, Sodom and Tankard. In addition to helping pioneer black metal by containing several elements of what was to become the genre, Destruction was part of the second wave of thrash metal in the late 1980s, along with American bands Testament, Sacred Reich, Death Angel and Dark Angel.