Tulsa’s Beggars Whisky have been building a reputation for high-energy live rock – they played the Rocklahoma festival last year, which is the kind of thing that earns you some credibility in the hard rock world. “Destroyer of Worlds” was released on March 2nd and is being positioned as the opening move of a new, heavier chapter for the band. The comparisons between Breaking Benjamin and Shinedown in the press kit are accurate and honest – this sits squarely in the emotionally charged, anthemic modern hard rock lane, recorded for big speakers and bigger stages.
Thematically, the song derives its title from the infamous video of J. Robert Oppenheimer reciting the verses of the Bhagavad Gita, which were originally spoken by Lord Vishnu. In the context of the song, however, the stakes are much lower as they relate to one singular life and the self-destructive tendencies that one often falls into. The lyrics acknowledge that such tendencies are no one’s fault, except the person exhibiting them, as such habits need to be broken and resolved internally. It’s a mature message, and it doesn’t play the old victim card as we see done in some many stories being told about self-destruction.
The production quality on this song is great – you can hear all the detail in the piercing lead guitar sound, and the rhythm section is mixed tightly with a level of polish that lands the song more in the pop-rock arena than classic rock. But that doesn’t reduce the song’s impact or aggression; it’s just a different and more modern kind of aggression, very much in the vein of Breaking Benjamin and the hard rock sound of the 2000s.
The chorus is built to be big, and it delivers on that. There’s a cinematic build from the atmospheric intro that gives the track a sense of scale without leaning on empty theatrics. Beggars Whisky describe this as the beginning of a series of upcoming releases pushing into darker territory. If “Destroyer of Worlds” is the floor for where they’re headed, the ceiling should be interesting.
