The group was founded by Louis Robinson in 2006 in the area of Speedwell Road, Birmingham,[2] and features a line-up that typically includes c. 13-15 members, comprising brass, string, wind, percussion and gong sections.

[4] From 2006 to 2012 the poet and musician Paul Murphy, who was known for his signature fez and being the founder of the Songwriter's Cafe in Birmingham, was the lead singer of the group.

[5] The band have been called "“doom-pah” folk-punk legends", and their sound compared to that of Bellowhead, Gogol Bordello, and Loose Tubes.

[2] Their similarly named first album, Out of Babel, was released the same year and according to the music website The Line of Best Fit it "positively enlightened the British press with its originality and energy", though in their own review Daniel Offen stated that while the Destroyers are "insane and we love them", the novelty did tend to "wear off".

Journalist Sid Smith stated that, while an "album probably isn’t the best medium through which to experience their brand of wryly manufactured mayhem", that Paul Murphy's "gravel-voiced insights are both humorous and thought-provoking".