Schmier, bassist and vocalist of German thrash metal veterans DESTRUCTION, has voiced sharp criticism of AI-generated music in a new interview with "Rock Talk," a newly launched podcast hosted by Serbian hard rock and heavy metal journalist Jadranka Janković Nešić.
Much of the conversation centered on why DESTRUCTION continues to build full-length albums around a consistent visual identity rather than leaning on standalone singles. Schmier explained that cover art still matters as a way of signaling a band's style, and that it needs to line up with a record's lyrics and overall mood rather than exist as decoration.
That led into a discussion of artificial intelligence's growing role in cover design. Schmier conceded that AI tools have gotten good enough to produce passable artwork for almost anyone. "A.I. can now create good covers for everybody or ... I mean, good covers, but it can create for sure stuff that is good enough," he said. Even so, he made clear DESTRUCTION has no interest in going that route, saying the band prefers working with traditional painters capable of translating its creative vision onto canvas.
His tone sharpened considerably when the topic turned to AI-generated music itself. "A.I. music is basically stolen because everything they do is to take the source, which is original music," Schmier said, arguing that AI systems are trained by pulling fragments and patterns from existing, human-made compositions without paying or crediting the artists behind them. He framed the practice as fundamentally exploitative rather than innovative, and said DESTRUCTION would never use AI to generate its own material, since doing so would effectively mean lifting from other musicians' work without consent — the exact practice he was condemning.
The interview also touched on the band's current chapter, including its 2025 album "Birth Of Malice," recorded at Little Creek Studio in Switzerland, and DESTRUCTION's ongoing tour schedule. Formed in 1982, DESTRUCTION remains one of the "Teutonic Big Three" of German thrash metal alongside KREATOR and SODOM, and Schmier has been a consistent, outspoken voice on the business side of the genre throughout the band's four-decade run.