Kreator Albums (14)
What The Critics Say
You know what lays ahead whenever you embark on listening to a new Kreator studio album, and 2009's Hordes of Chaos is certainly no different. And that isn't meant as a knock on the band -- heck, Kreator should be commended for sticking to their guns and continuing on in the same "thrash-happy" style since pretty much their inception (without bowing down to musical trends). So, that said, you can make up your own "Kreator checklist": growled vocals and intense riffing (the album-opening title track), lightning-fast tempos ("Warcurse"), tasty dual-guitar work ("Destroy What Destroys You") -- it's all represented here, folks. It's been nearly four long years since Mille Petrozza and friends issued an all-new studio album, and Hordes of Chaos should most definitely meet the needs of Kreator diehards worldwide. ~ Greg Prato, All Music Guide
'Enemy of God'
Release Date 1/11/2005
Tracks 13
Label Steamhammer/SPV
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
"Never underestimate the heart of a champion" may as well have been the unspoken moral behind Kreator's astounding return to form via 2001's Violent Revolution, following over a decade of "wilderness study" in non-thrash terrain. As well as revitalizing the band's career the album clearly helped main man Mille Petrozza make peace with his past, and set the stage for his band's wisely retro-minded direction going forward into the new millennium. Cue 2005's Enemy of God: not only Kreator's next shot at revitalizing old-school thrash metal for modern generations, but a necessary building block to sustaining their unexpected renaissance. And as the pummeling opening title track's timeless thrashing proceeds to detonate everything in sight, indeed all appears to be well and good in the Kreator camp's future. Of course, no matter how forceful and successful this initial assault, the inevitable irony of Kreator's decision to stay the course on Enemy of God is that it invariably doesn't sound quite as fresh as its direct predecessor. But in terms of those other, all-important attributes: intensity of attack and quality songwriting -- the results are almost identically inspired, more often than not. Simply witness the blinding solos and masterful twin harmonies that pepper instant neo-thrash classics "World Anarchy" and "When Death Takes Its Dominion" for proof that this is Kreator at their tightest, devastating best. Not to be outdone, additional speed-fests such as "Impossible Brutality" and "Suicide Terrorist" basically speak for themselves, and even the more sedate acoustic guitar twangs introducing "Voices of the Dead," "Dying Race Apocalypse," and "The Ancient Plague" offer but small relief from the album's decapitating onslaught. And, all things considered, it's a testament to Petrozza and company's creative acumen that such savagery never descends into repetitive overkill. In short, although Kreator remain staunch Enem[ies] of God, it's nice to see they are still faithful friends to thrash metal fans everywhere. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia, All Music Guide
'Live Kreation'
Release Date 9/3/2002
Tracks 24
Label Steamhammer/SPV
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
This classy, limited-edition, two-CD set not only serves to point out that English is Kreator's second language ("Revisioned" Glory, anyone?), but also offers a stunningly comprehensive 20-year retrospective for one of thrash metal's more compelling and influential acts. First and foremost is the double-disc audio live show, which stitches together 24 tracks recorded at various points during the German thrashers' ludicrously extensive 2001-2002 tour. It carefully spans the band's ten-album back catalog, from early speed metal freakouts ("Awakening of the Gods," "Tormentor") to classic, mature mid-period thrash ("Extreme Aggression," "People of the Lie") through the band's mid-'90s experimental period ("Lost," "Golden Age"), as well as a large chunk of 2001's return-to-form record, Violent Revolution, all recorded cleanly (maybe a bit too cleanly) and given a nice, hot mix by noted engineer Andy Sneap, who helps accentuate the formidable prowess of vocalist/guitarist Mille Petrozza's crew as a live act. It's obvious that Live Kreation/Revisioned Glory was lovingly and meticulously assembled -- the packaging and booklet are excellent, chock-full of colorful photos and art, and the live recordings sound inspired. ~ John Serba, All Music Guide
'Violent Revolution'
Release Date 9/24/2001
Tracks 12
Label Steamhammer
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
One of the legendary thrash bands of the '80s, Kreator is back in fine fashion with Violent Revolution. So strong is the album that it not only reclaims their previous glory, but even sets about to show a bit of one-upmanship on it. The album utilizes much of Kreator's earlier musical leanings while moving the group forward into a new age. In fact, in many ways it seems as if Kreator has taken lessons from recent releases that, while experimenting with new styles, left the band's old ways somewhat forgotten. By combining those experimental ideas with the old character, Kreator has basically reinvented itself. What you have is something that should please all of Kreator's old-time fans who may have felt a bit disenfranchised by the band's later works, while still creating a fresh sound. ~ Gary Hill, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Not content with his Kreator's already-established reputation as perhaps Germany's top thrash metal band of the 1980s, group mastermind Mille Petrozza spent much of the 1990s attempting to reinvent and diversify their sound, most obviously by pushing the industrial metal envelope. Alas, all to no avail, as the majority of fans were not impressed with the mostly mediocre results heard on confused albums like Renewal and Cause for Conflict. Even the welcome addition of guitar ace Tommy Vetterli (ex-Coroner) lent more consistency than actual sparks to 1997's Outcast, and 1999's similarly dependable but hardly impressive Endorama eventually followed suit. Initial highlights such as "Golden Age," the title track, and "Chosen Few" are heavy on mid-paced grooves and gothic atmospherics, but still offer little songwriting redemption. For all their studiously constructed lyrics and supposed compositional maturity, they absolutely scream for some sign, any sign, of deeper emotion to snap them out of their glazed state of performed automation. Not even the keyboards that pervade the highly unorthodox "Passage to Babylon," nor the more energetic riffing contained in "Willing Sprit" can ultimately jolt the album into a higher plane of achievement, but then, Endorama still qualifies among Kreator's most cohesive statements from this under-achieving decade. And for what it's worth, Endorama would also become the final chapter of the group's experimental phase, which was emphatically obliterated two years later by Kreator's gloriously thrashing rebirth via their magnificent tenth album, Violent Revolution. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
The unexpected arrival of former Coroner six-string genius Tommy Vetterli into the Kreator fold, there to spar with founding mastermind and resident blazing thrash guitar specialist Mille Petrozza, seemed like one of the oddest stylistic pairings in metal history. Needless to say, observers expected one of two options: absolute fireworks, or a complete and utter failure to communicate. Ironically, they didn't really get either one, for not only was 1997's Outcast conspicuously scarce on virtuoso guitar solos, but it also stuck with recent Kreator history in exploring sonic territories far beyond the legendary German group's once dependably strict diet of pure thrash metal. In fact, though it thankfully coalesced the chaotic ideas scattered all over 1995's Cause for Conflict into a more cohesive whole, the album resurrected some of the industrial elements first heard on 1992's Renewal, and focused predominantly on mid-paced arrangements that hardly approached the hyper speed of yore. Outcast does, however, offer some quality songwriting via first-half highlights like "Leave This World Behind," the pounding "Phobia," and the slower "Black Sunrise." ~ Eduardo Rivadavia, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Cause for Conflict may just qualify as the most confused and perplexing album of Kreator's long career -- it's certainly one of the least popular. The band's previous effort, 1992's industrial-tinged Renewal, had not been well-received by the majority of fans and critics, and its mixed fortunes also led to serious dissent within the group's ranks, culminating in the departure of bassist Rob Fioretti and drummer Jürgen "Ventor" Reil -- both of whom had been with the band almost since its inception. Reeling from this development, as well as heavy metal's general unpopularity at the time, three years would pass before Kreator main man Mille Petrozza found it in himself to make another go of it. Therefore, not only did 1995's troubled Cause for Conflict require the breaking in of a new lineup, it also found Petrozza at a creative crossroads, attempting to reconcile recent experiments with the very popular, yet more limited speed metal glories of old. But for all of their instant familiarity, jagged, old-school thrashers like "Hate Inside Your Head" and the furious burst of "Bomb Threat" seem forced and unconvincing, as if the band recorded them under duress to appease the fans, but didn't really "feel" it for themselves. On the other hand, slower, more ambitious compositions like "Lost" and the nine-minute "Isolation," with their greater use of melody and riffing dynamics, have aged quite well. Despite possessing little in common with Kreator's past legacy, these songs would nevertheless establish the sonic aesthetic, which the group would pursue with greater confidence and conviction for the rest of the '90s, albeit still with controversial results. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Kreator would eventually become one of the dominant European thrash outfits of the late '80s, but their 1985 debut, Endless Pain, wasn't much more than a musical starting point from which the band sorely needed to grow. Promising moments during numbers like "Total Death," "Storm of the Beast," and "Living in Fear" hint at the group's eventual development into hard music pioneers. Putting all the pieces together into a single cohesive track -- much less a full-length record -- was a skill the German act had yet to acquire. This release is hardly an embarrassment, and it should satisfy any fan of the group looking to complete his or her collection, but new listeners searching for Kreator's best '80s material are encouraged to check out the follow-up, Pleasure to Kill, or the exquisite Terrible Certainty before considering Endless Pain. ~ Vincent Jeffries, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Renewal was the album that saw German thrash metal kings Kreator attempt to broaden their sound, relinquishing much of their legendary velocity in order to enter previously undreamed of industrial realms. Long-time Kreator fans will know that change is in the air simply by hearing Ventor's drums as they introduce opener "Winter Martyrium" with a very dry, somewhat hollow, and wholly unfamiliar snare sound. The guitars, when they kick in, also come across slightly muted, lacking the distinctive thrash metal bite characteristic of previous albums, while Mille Petrozza's vocals are pushed higher in the mix than usual, having magically reverse-mutated from his trademark shriek to a clearer, though arguably less effective shouted style. If they can get over these unexpected developments, which are all the more shocking coming from a band that had hardly progressed an iota since its inception (to the undisguised delight of many hardcore fans), listeners will find a decent set of songs in the likes of "Brainseed," "Karmic Wheel" and "Europe After the Rain." Many of these, especially the title track, explore slower tempos in a way you'd never expect from Kreator, and sure enough, most fans were not impressed, turning their backs on the band as they persisted in their sonic experimentation over the next decade. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia, All Music Guide
