Kreator - Krushers of the World (2026)

I've been with Kreator for nearly 40 years at this point; no, not as a member, but as a fan of this institution that has swept the thrash metal genre for pretty much all its existence. The band has rarely stumbled, much less fallen, and even then they were at least trying to experiment within the dimensions of their own sound and not prime themselves as radio sellouts. But since their 1999 nadir Endorama, which really isn't that bad, there's been nothing but upside, consistent and professional quality which you can count on every time a new record is sitting on the shelves. There was a point where they modernized their production to keep with the times, and some melodic death metal influences crept into the sound tastefully (and continue to do so), but you also had some albums where they were returning to the structure of their later 80s stuff.

If you're still guarding the gates of old and never made it passed Pleasure to Kill or Terrible Certainly, two of their best albums to be fair, then Krushers of the World is probably not going to be for you. It's a modern marvel of production, busy yet accessible, but a pretty far cry from the savage Teutonic thrash of Endless Pain or Pleasure to Kill. That's okay, we still have those albums and can listen to them as long as we breath (hopefully beyond). This is more of an omnibus of the ideas they've implemented in the 21st century, from Violent Revolution to Hate über alles, and yeah, while few of the songs are going to be as stick as they once were back in the 80s when this was all so much more novel...this is still a pretty damn good album. In particular they manage to get these anthemic tunes like "Tränenpalast", "Krushers of the World" or "Satanic Anarchy" where you've got the strong melodies in the chorus that can contrast against Mille's barking. And yes, the guy still sounds much the same, but he's got that timeless, raving thrash vocal that works as well alongside the modern studio glitz as it did back in the flesh-peeling debut. Recognizable in an instant, charismatic and plays well with melody and harshness in equal measures.

The guitar playing is top shelf, with atmospheric chords running against semi-complex, dextrous riffing patterns, keeping the ears' attention throughout, and great leads whipping out on top of the refined German engineering. Mille and Sami are quite a duo by now, and they never let you down here. Ventor's drumming is spotless and Leclercq, the newest member (but quite a veteran himself from DragonForce, Loudblast and a metric ton of other bands) solidifies himself as the anchor to the sound. You even get a guest vocal growl from Britta of Cripper and Hiraes, which was a little unexpected. Not a weak song here, and even though it's not reshaping my life as the band did with Pleasure to Kill, Terrible Certainty, Coma of Souls, nor does it even have some of the throwback infectiousness of Hordes of Chaos and Enemy of God, I still love this arena-oriented modern Kreator sound, it's almost infused with a bit of Angela-era Arch Enemy. Young me, 40 years ago, would be totally blown away to think this band would even still exist! But to be doing it in style, that's just a testament to a band that loves what it is.

Verdict: Win [8.25/10]

https://www.kreator-terrorzone.de/

Kreator - Hate über alles (2022)

Kreator's another of our enduring, legendary thrash metal bands that took a few lumps during more their experimental self-exploration phase, which usually comes around a decade after their ascent through a slew of thrashing masterworks. All things considered, though, it was never really that bad...Cause for Conflict felt mediocre, although well within their realm of typical aggression, and Endorama's moody, melancholic tinge of Goth rock influence wasn't a total disaster. Their other, more industrial-driven records like Outcast and Renewal ranged from good to great for me, however. I bring this up, because the first track I heard off this latest album, "Strongest of the Strong", featured an interesting use of tasteful female vocals that led me to believe that they'd forayed off into a new direction...and not an unpleasant one.

But it turns out that particular song is an exception here, because this is just a heavy as fuck Teutonic thrashing which put my neck and numerous other limbs in braces. Don't get me wrong, this is richly produced, mature, modern Kreator, more atmospheric than their 80s classics, but it hits like a ton of bricks with some of the fastest pure riffing the band has ever manifest. All of the decades behind them have structured and informed this record, and the only real modernization is a matter of production and tighter musicianship. You've got the utter savagery of your Pleasure to Kill or Terrible Certainty filtered through the more melodic works of recent years like Phantom Antichrist, and then a few refreshing elements like the guest vocals above, which work amazingly well, like a shade hovering above the lightning tremolo picked riffs. Mille's raving bark sounds just as rich as you'd hope, and it still shocks me how the 'Big Four' German thrash frontmen (Mille, Schmier, Gerre and Tom) are still at the top of their game after all these years. This guy is 55 fucking years old...it's astonishing.

He's not the only shining star here, because Ventor still has his hustle behind the kit, and Sami's interplay with Mille's guitars provides a number of ecstatic, melodic moments that really help contrast and balance out the pure ferocity that the band are meting out on the lower end. These tracks sound like 30 years of evolution stacked on top of the ambition they showed with records like Terrible Certainty or Coma of Souls, and while individual riffs might not come across as distinctly catchy, or the chorus parts as obvious, Hate über alles has a lot to unpack, and all of it good. When I see people complaining about this modern Kreator, I have to wonder what they are even thinking. What more could you expect than this?!? It's advanced and interesting, moody and atmospheric, and STILL has the hostile undercurrent the group created in their youths. It's not full of hits that will challenge the Germans' Golden Oldies, you've still got your "Flag of Hate" and "Riot of Violence" available whenever you want to hear them, but they've used all of their experience to produce records with a lot of depth that will forever retain me as a card-carrying fan until I'm wormfood. Stellar record, my fave from them in over a decade.

Verdict: Win [8.75/10]

https://www.kreator-terrorzone.de/

Kreator - Under the Guillotine (2021)

Not to be confused with the Under the Guillotine vinyl box-set, which allowed rabid thrashers everywhere to get these oldies on their hallowed plastic format of choice, this is instead a new 2CD compilation put out through the Germans' alma mater Noise Records, and is largely comprised of remixes, rarities, and some reprinted tunes from stuff you might not be able to find like the Out of the Dark EP...initially I viewed this as kind of a grift, preying on the usual nostalgia, but it seems that at least some effort was placed into getting a bunch of odds and ends in one place for fans who might not have even been around to get them in the first place. That's not to say there is much value for me personally in this collection, it's mostly useless, but I've certainly come across far worse efforts.

Having said that, there comes with this a bit of inconsistency in terms of pure content, because you'll be getting rare versions of particular tunes, or remixes of others, but not for the entire albums, so it still comes across like a grab bag. For pure listening, it's not unlike pressing 'shuffle' on the Kreator discography you might have uploaded to your iPhone. Although tracks like "Terror Zone" and "Terrible Certainty" are remixed, the production alone doesn't help them meld in quite so fluidly with "Flag of Hate" or "Extreme Aggression", and the end result is that it wouldn't be so different than just a pure compilation of stuff jerked off various recordings, since that's what is basically is, only a mix of the original records and then the remasters this company did once they became active again. On the second disc you get more live cuts, and some of these like "When the Sun Burns Red" or "Riot of Violence" sound pretty awesome. There's an early demo version of "Bonebreaker" which sounds a bit shit, but at the same it totally captures the violence of the band's style that they'd later impress upon the superior sounding Endless Hate.

If you're new to Kreator and can find this around in a bargain bin for a couple bucks, it's probably worth the effort because let's face it, all the songs here are pretty awesome, yes even the stuff from the sadly underrated Renewal. But for full price, avoid it and just start picking up the first 5-6 full length albums, or even most of their newer records, because this is a band that has been tremendous for much of its career (Cause for Conflict and Endorama aside). If you're a hardcore follower, then you likely have all of this material and probably even the re-releases with the remasters, so this then downgrades to utter dogshit, make your own compilation and enjoy. But if nothing else, Under the Guillotine tries to provide a cross-section of quality material showing the band's strength through all its time on the label.

Verdict: Indifference [5/10]

https://www.kreator-terrorzone.de/

Kreator - Bootleg Revolution (2022)

If you take a look back at the last few year of Kreator's output, there have been more than a couple live offerings, one might even say an 'oversaturation' of such releases. But the Germans tend to avoid the heat on this since most of them are magazine exclusives or other rarities and not exactly proper curated live records. Such is also the case for this new Bootleg Revolution, a collection of international bootleg recordings that come alongside the new 20th Anniversary of the Violent Revolution album. Was that album such a big deal that it needs a 20th Anniversary Edition? I'll leave that for you to decide, I think it's a fine album but not high on the importance or influence ladder of their discography. But hey, if you don't own the original, here's your chance to get a deluxe version with a lot more material on it, on physical or digital media.

But how about these bootlegs? I was curious because some of them are recorded in Korea, and you don't often hear a live metal recording from that area. The rest are in Brazil, Turkey, the Netherlands, and Germany, so it's not like they're including a tune per country. This also includes material from across their career, whereas I would have figured it would be largely drawn from the album celebrating its 20th Anniversary, and a number of the tracks are repeated in several sets. That being said, the sound quality is pretty good, with the guitars forming a brigade of pulverizing clarity, and Mille sounding aggressive on top. It's also consistent across several of the countries, namely Korea and Wacken and Waldrock fests, so the vast majority of the tunes sound excellent. The exception is Istanbul, where it actually sounds a lot rougher and more like a proper bootleg recording from...years ago, but it's at least not totally awful or I'd imagine the band wouldn't have included it.

The live setting here is a nice equalizer for various phases of their career, so for instance a track like "Phobia" with its hardcore-inflected style sounds pretty good alongside standards like "People of the Lie", "Flag of Hate", or "Extreme Aggression". This is especially true of old tunes like "Tormentor" which seem to get a lot of benefit out of the performance, almost an on-stage modernization that feels a lot less crude than the original recordings. The notes and riffs haven't changed, it's just a matter of leveling it all out and sticking it in the set with more complex tracks. I can't say that Bootleg Revolution offers you as consistent as experience as 2020's London Apocalypticon - Live at the Roundhouse, but if you're getting it alongside the new version of the studio album, or as a cheap download, it's decent if plagued with the redundancies. So, hey, Kreator...it's been about five years since your last new album, about the same amount of time that passed between Phantom Antichrist and Gods of Violence. Now that you've gotten all these live releases and the kompilation out of your systems...can we has a new one?

Verdict: Win [7/10]

https://www.kreator-terrorzone.de/

Kreator: London Apocalypticon - Live at the Roundhouse (2020)

Kreator went quite some time without releasing any substantial live albums, fairly deep into their career, having already established themselves as one of the 'Big Three' of German thrash, while their two major neighbors had released Mortal Way of Live and Live Without Sense fairly early on. However, in the 21st century Mille and company have been quite active putting out such releases, from the more 'official' stuff like 2003's Live Kreation to a whole slew of limited edition, shorter live efforts that were often included with various metal magazines as exclusives. Where it counts, though, on their major live releases, like this one, they put quite a lot into the production and performance and it pays off once again with a high quality recording that spans a wide swath of their career.

This one is out in a bunch of formats, from the basic CD or download to double vinyls, multiple CD or vinyl and Blu Ray combos, the works, so Nuclear Blast is making a pretty big push for it. It's from a late 2018 performance in England, and it sounds really good, with 17 tracks ranging from classics like "Pleasure to Kill", "Flag of Hate" and "People of the Lie" to fare that was recent at the time for Gods of Violence touring, like "Satan is Real" or "Hail to the Hordes". Of course with such a massive range of albums to choose from as Kreator has, they're going to miss a few things here or there, with some phases neglected entirely and others over-represented, but I'd say the selection of songs here is very much killer assuming you're an older fan who has continued to follow and enjoy their material. It's also cool that you get to hear more of the intricate, melodic recent fare mixed in with the more primitive 80s thrashers from their first few releases, and it doesn't actually sound all that bad by contrast, they can build a cohesive live experience from all of this without it seeming lopsided or like they're pandering to any one component of their audience.

The drums sound loud and almost machine-like in precision, where the guitars have a satisfying crunch to them that thankfully doesn't drown out the more melodic lead-work. I'd say if there was a weaker point, maybe the bass lines don't quite thrum along potently enough to make a difference, and you'll notice, as he ages, the more flaws and imperfections in Petrozza's delivery. That's not always a bad thing, though, because he retains that barking torment he pioneered back on the older releases, but you can tell the guy doesn't always spit out everything in the exact pitch you might remember it, and sometimes seems as if he's got an amphibian caught in his throat or goes a little too atonal with particular lines, or that he's running out of breath. Still, for all that, he'll actually bark out a few more sustained snarls and shouts on some tunes that prove he's still got a lot of energy, and there is some stage banter included here which really helps stoke up the audience.

It's better to experience with the Blu Ray on than without, since they carry that one off pretty well and you'll get the kinetic elements of the performance, like background screens, pyrotechnics and audience banging heads that help smooth over some of the little quirks you'd notice in the audio only. All told, London Apocalypticon is no joke, possibly the best Kreator live stuff put to disc, and while I would personally prefer hearing more stuff (or any stuff) from albums like Coma of Souls, Terrible Certainty and Extreme Aggression, I can't really fault their choices, it pretty much all sounds good. Will this be the live album that is held up through history like Destruction or Sodom's classics that I mentioned above? Time will tell, but although Live Kreation has a fraction more vitality to the performance, I think this is a damn solid offering for fans who still support commercial live releases.

Verdict: Win [7.5/10]

https://kreator-terrorzone.de/

Kreator - For the Hordes EP (2019)

For the Hordes is another CD EP included with an issue of Legacy Magazine, which seems to have cornered the market on German thrash bands putting out exclusive audio souvenirs in the last decade. There isn't a whole lot to this one, just three live tracks, and a rarer studio cut that you can only find as a bonus track elsewhere. Even the lives aren't all that exclusive, since they're part of a more substantial release coming out in 2020, so at the best this is the sort of thing you might find while perusing and think was neat if you're into the band, but the process in putting it all together didn't demand much effort and neither should anyone but the most ardent Kreator fan put any effort into tracking it down for his or her collection.

Now the live songs do sound quite good here, plucked from dates in places as far abroad as Chile, the UK and the Masters of Rock festival in Czechia. Hellish, energetic and very clear sounding, they sound as aggressive as you want them to be, with "Hordes of Chaos" and the more melodic "Fallen Brothers" standouts, and then the legendary "Flag of Hate" finishing up the trifecta, and that one did not translate quite as well in some sections, partially because it's being broken up for crowd interface. The final track, "Earth Under the Sword", is actually really great, it was released as a bonus track on a bunch of versions of Gods of Violence, and even had a limited 7" single put out with Decibel, but in my opinion it should have probably been a main track on that album, it's energetic and has a little bit of cinematic atmosphere created through some sparse orchestration which manages to help it feel urgent and powerful without intruding on the core instruments or vocals whatsoever.

If you like collecting metal magazines, this EP is a nice little nudge in the right direction, even though all of its content will inevitably be made redundant. In that regards its very similar to the Chosen by the Grace of God of EP which also featured in this magazine, just a little lighter on the actual content. I certainly don't need it or recommend it beyond its nature as a collectible, but if you hadn't heard "Earth Under the Sword" somehow and you want quality live recordings you could do a lot worse, and at the very least it has me psyched that London Apocalypticon - Live at the Roundhouse should prove to be a potent enough live album come Valentine's Day, when you know all you want is to thrash. Partner optional.

Verdict: Indifference [5.25/10]

https://kreator-terrorzone.de/

Kreator - Violence Unleashed EP (2016)

Violence Unleashed was an EP pressed in both CD and vinyl formats which was to serve as a teaser for Kreator's great Gods of Violence album, released about a month after this one. A common practice for a lot of these larger reach, multi-decade veteran acts, although I can't tell you whether or not it's a successful one these days, since everything is just accessible online and a lot of folks have abandoned collecting physical media altogether. The Jan Meininghaus illustration is pretty basic but pretty good, tying in with the full-length, and for what it's worth you're getting nearly a half hour of content...none of which is particularly exclusive to this release, which as always, when you're looking for a hot new EP of content, a total fucking bummer.

You've got "Gods of Violence" itself leading this off, which I've already discussed elsewhere, and then the cover of Maiden's "Number of the Beast", which is pretty well done, but already available on Phantom Antichrist and the original Big Teutonic 4 split. "Wolfchild" is the one song I was not already familiar with, and it's a decent one, sort of a brisk heavy metal joint with Mille's distinct presence and a good flow to it all, erupting into the layered harmonies the band was sweet on for their last couple albums. Apparently this tune was also on the single for "Civilization Collapse", but new to me and the one thing here that doesn't feel too trite. "Iron Destiny" is another decent song, another Phantom Antichrist bonus cut, but probably unheard by many. It's a slower to mid-paced track, also with a heavy metal foundation, not terribly memorable riffs but if you're into this more glorious era of mature Kreator I can't imagine you wouldn't like it, especially the Maiden-like bridge.

Lastly, some live cuts of "Phobia" and "Violent Revolution" which are pretty useless to me since I've got the version of Gods of Violence which has the bonus live CD/DVD that includes them and more. Honestly the version of "Phobia" is a little silly, Mille sounds like he's losing his voice for part of it. But really, these are unnecessary editions to a fairly lame release that doesn't have much reason to exist other than as a promotional tool. Had Kreator maybe included an alternate version of "Gods of Violence", 3-4 unreleased studio tracks and then maybe "Wolfchild" for good measure, this might be a thing of beauty, but as it stands I have no reason whatsoever to revisit it beyond just that one song, and it's a hollow product that nobody's ever going to revere like they used to when bands put out EPs back in the earlier metal decades, where they were pretty important releases that built up their own cult followings and were often full of great original material.

Verdict: Fail [4/10]

https://kreator-terrorzone.de/

Destruction/Kreator/Sodom/Tankard - The Big Teutonic 4 - Part II EP (2015)

The original Big Teutonic 4 split was a fairly fun idea, so why not tap that well another time? That was Nuclear Blast's thinking as they rounded up the usual suspects for another go at some rousing NWOBHM covers. This time, each of the four thrash bands is taking on a different English forerunner, with only one of those bands (Maiden) being redundant with the original split. Raven, Saxon and Tank are all getting a turn to have some of their material in the spotlight. And once again, much of the material here has also been published elsewhere, so the value you're going to get out of it is pretty limited if you're not a long-term follower/collector of the German bands. As cool as it was to hear the slightly lesser known bands like Raven and Tank done justice, I was sadly less into this split than its predecessor.

Kind of like Sodom's cover on the earlier split, Kreator's version of Raven's "Lambs to the Slaughter" is one I've already been familiar with forever, since it came out on the Out of the Dark...Into the Light EP back in the 80s, and many represses of that with the Terrible Certainty album since. Sodom's contribution of Tank's "Don't Walk Away" is also an oldie that has been around since the days of the Agent Orange. Both are solid versions but they don't really change up the formula all that much, maybe in Mille's case but even he is trying to emulate some of the Raven screams with mixed success. I feel that Destruction's rendition of "Princess of the Night" is more of the transformation you want to hear when a thrash act is covering some trad metal, but it also comes off a little goofy with all the vocals and backing vocals going over it, cluttered where the original is just so elegant, perfectly written and executed. Bringing up the rear yet again, Tankard is the one band doing something exclusive here, with yet another Maiden cover, this one a somewhat exciting romp on their eponymous "Iron Maiden".

Part II sort of falters with the first two tracks being pretty obvious covers that aren't news to anyone, and Destruction's is once again a bonus track from various versions of Spiritual Genocide. Since these three were all pretty saturated in exposure and easy to acquire, I think this is less of a value than the first time around, which was already a debatable value. So once again, hardcore Tankard fans will benefit the most from having it. What's the most disappointing though is that the label and bands could have taken this idea and done something really special with it, like new original material...an 8 or 12 track 4-way Teutonic split with 2-3 new original cuts from each band would sell like hotcakes. But this just seems like a lazier followup to something that already generated a little cash flow and it shows in both the selection and the product.

Verdict: Indifference [5/10]

https://www.destruction.de/
https://kreator-terrorzone.de/
http://sodomized.info/
https://www.tankard.info/

Destruction/Kreator/Sodom/Tankard - The Big Teutonic 4 EP (2012)

Now here's an example of a split release between numerous thrash metal luminaries which, at least on the surface level, seems rather an interesting one. I agree completely with the designation of these four bands as 'The Big Teutonic 4', happy that Tankard was at last being counted among them (I'd been doing so since the 90s when it was clear they were persisting where others faltered). This was yet another CD being issued exclusively through the Legacy magazine out of Germany, but Nuclear Blast also released a version of it some months later, so...not so much. What's even more curious, is that this doesn't feature original songs, but rather covers of two titanic English bands in Iron Maiden and Motörhead, with two German bands taking on each of them. Unfortunately, most of these are NOT exclusive to this split, but taken from various other singles, past albums, or previously issued bonus tracks, by the respective artists.

The most obvious of these is going to be Sodom's handling of "Iron Fist", which we'd already heard as far back as Persecution Mania and even live on Mortal Way of Live. It's a classic, in the hands of either its originator or Tom Angelripper, and a natural cover from a band that draws so much of its own style DIRECTLY from those NWOBHM road-dogs, however at the same it was the inclusion I was least interested in, having heard it many times before. However, Destruction's cover of "The Hammer", which was only included with the Japanese version of Spiritual Genocide (that I had not heard), is quite nasty, Schmier plastering his version of the vocals all over the punk-fueled speed metal massacre. It's also a little messy in the right ways, not as tight as the original content those Germans were putting out, but that's fine in the context of this particular cover. Another of my favorites here is Kreator's "Number of the Beast", not the first time they've taken on Iron Maiden, but even though the music plays pretty close to the original, it sounds great with Mille's harsher vocals, and I loved the lead sequence. This one is also located on the later Violence Unleashed EP or the Phantom Antichrist single if you're trying to track it down elsewhere.

The thrashier version of "The Prisoner" that Tankard includes is also a good one, filthier guitar tone and filthier vocals via Gerre, but they still touch on some points of atmosphere that you wouldn't expect from the German drunkaholics. And as far as I know, this is the one cover that is only available on this particular split, at least for now, so if you're a Tankard collector, you've got the most motivation to snap this up. Now, if ALL of these songs were exclusives, then I'd say this was a CD or vinyl that almost anyone would want...the songs are all good, even if Sodom's contribution is a bit too redundant. And to be fair, many fans might not own most of the tunes elsewhere. It's a fun concept to round up these thrashers, legends themselves, and then watch as they don't toot their own horns, but cover even mightier legends of British heavy metal. If you can track one down, it's pretty sweet to have on your wall, even if the content isn't all that valuable. Not a necessary purchase, but neat if you've never run across these covers before. And to think, Nuke Blast and these same four bands would be doing it again in just a couple years...

Verdict: Indifference [6.75/10]

https://www.destruction.de/
https://kreator-terrorzone.de/
http://sodomized.info/
https://www.tankard.info/

Overkill & Kreator - Man in Black/ Warrior Heart (2017)

You've got to love how the metal press, particularly the metal press in Europe, finds a way to keep its subscriptions afloat in the digital age, and I think a key element of that is the inclusion of special live or unreleased material from popular bands that attract collectors. Germans Kreator have taken advantage of this exposure numerous times, especially in their homeland, recently with their Violence Unleashed EP in Legacy, Live Antichrist album in Metal Hammer, and now another bonus vignette in Rock Hard, who they've teamed up with before for the Terror Prevails live album in 2010. This time, however, they've got New York's Overkill on board, and both are offering something we might not have heard before. Is that enough to pick up (or import) a copy of the Rock Hard #358?

Overkill are no stranger to paying homage to their influences, what with their decent 1999 release Coverkill and various tunes added to other releases, like their rendition of Edgar Winter's "Frankenstein" on Horrorscope, or more recently Thin Lizzy's "Emerald" on The Grinding Wheel. That said, I can't recall hearing them perform a country cover, and what's more, playing the song IN that style, rather than metalizing it. And so they have done here with Johnny Cash's "Man in Black", spun out with Bobby Ellsworth's unhinged screams in a duet with more a straightforward voice. The lyrics aside, this has never been one of my favorite Cash tracks, and so I can't say I was thoroughly impressed by the band playing it close to the original, when a heavier injection might have at least proven interesting, but overall it's a passable version and it's nice to hear Blitz at least try to apply his own distinctness to a pretty mundane musical exercise.

I was far more interested to hear "Warrior Heart", a new Kreator track with a driving melodic death metal feel to it that would not have been out of place on the recent Gods of Violence, or perhaps on some comparable excursions like 2001' Violent Revolution. Granted, there's nothing exceptional here either, and you feel like you've encountered the melodies before across a number of Swedish bands, but it's wholly competent and never a detriment to hear Mille's voice grating over the grace of those airier harmonies, or the straight heavy metal thrust of the bridge and its substantial leads. So this is the side of the split which ended up appealing to me a lot more, it's at least on par with some of the other recent tracks and one could get some value out of ripping an .mp3 of it and tossing it on his or her Gods of Violence playlist.

Overall, it's a decent gimmick that rewards the integral symbiosis of musicians and press, even if the content is rather scant and not all that great. Nothing on the level of Sabbat's brilliant "Blood for the Blood God" flexi in that old issue of White Dwarf, but Rock Hard isn't leaving you with nothing.

Verdict: Indifference [5.75/10]

http://wreckingcrew.com/Ironbound/
http://www.kreator-terrorzone.de/

Kreator - Gods of Violence (2017)

Gods of Violence reminds me a whole lot of Sodom's latest record in how it tries pretty effectively to be everything for nearly every generation or tier of the band's audience, and it does so with a close approximation of success. Granted, if you're pining for a tip of the hat to Endorama, Outcast, Renewal or Cause for Conflict then you might be largely left out in the cold, but that would at best comprise only a literal handful of listeners on this entire planet, and Kreator would be wise to do so if they want to pump up their base. They also don't delve back into the primacy of their demos or debut. However, if you're interested in hearing an amalgam of their later 80s, involved riffing patterns with the melodic overtures of records like Phantom Antichrist and Violent Revolution, all wrapped up in the accessible thrashing echo chamber of an Enemy of God, then this should fit rather snugly to your interests. Hell, even the TITLE here is drawn from some of those...

Yes, there are a handful of riff progressions here which certainly reflect back upon records like Terrible Certainty, Extreme Aggression and Coma of Souls, but they're all trussed up in an elegant penchant for melody which alleviates some of the sinister evocations of Mille's raving, barking vocals, giving a more uplifting, anthemic feel to even the harshes thrashing. This is actually most prominent in the architecture of the leads, which are generally pretty feel-good to the point that even some of the rhythm guitars backing them shift to a more accessible direction than the verse riffing. There's no question a level of nerdy progressive metal has infiltrated the band's sense for extremity, much like it did on Phantom Antichrist, but one could make a strong case that the band has reached 'peak proficiency' here, since the sheer number of notes and leads flitting around the 11 tracks and 52 minutes seems to exceed anything that has come before it. Bound up in the elegant, slick production values which make it effortless to experience every individual breath or note, Gods of Violence might not live up to its title in terms of the expected brutality, but it's one frenetic record with plenty to take in across a good number of listens.

Personal favorites here included "Army of Storms" and "Lion With Eagle Wings", just for striking that perfect balance of aggression and melody, and in the latter case even providing me with something that felt fresh and new in the Kreator lexicon. And Gods does that quite a lot...for every callback riff there's another here which simply has never existed before in their catalog, and while it's not going to prove very welcome for folks who feel like the band died off or sold out after Pleasure to Kill, I'm not ready to give up on the notion that these veterans have something left to give us as they continue to forge on through another decade. For a band over 30 years into its existence, this material doesn't entirely rest entirely on its laurels, lazily subsisting on nostalgia alone. Rather, it's inspired. Mille still sounds great, and the clarity with which his vocals can adhere to the more melodic guitars behind them is a real stunner. Drumming is efficient, and the bass is fine, but really this is ALL about those intricate, harried guitar lines, and how you feel about that will make or break your experience. So far, the songs don't rank among the most memorable in their canon, and no amount of busyness or proficiency can really make up for that, but Gods of Violence is enjoyable from fore to aft while I wait for whatever they summon up next.

Verdict: Win [8.25/10] (these battles can be won)

http://www.kreator-terrorzone.de/

Kreator - Phantom Antichrist (2012)

There's little better wed to the sweat-inducing vortex of a preemptive New England summer than a new studio statement from one of your favorite German thrash bands, and Kreator have seen fit to unleash Phantom Antichrist just in time to familiarize a surprisingly stable audience of both new and old for their upcoming tours and festival appearances. Placed on the group's chronological spectrum, I wouldn't say there's much new to this album that one mightn't have heard before in the past 25 years, but credit belongs to Mille Petrozza and his unstoppable armada for maintaining such a huge sense for scale after three decades of exhaustion, and for their ability to produce an album which is intelligent, contemporary and frankly competitive, making most of the youngsters invested in this genre seem pathetic by comparison.

With the exception of earlier records like Endless Pain and Pleasure to Kill, Phantom Antichrist draws upon a broad range of aesthetics from the band's backlog. You'll experience a lot of the emotion and melody that fueled efforts like Violent Revolution or the ill met Endorama. The surgical, manic, meticulous riffing that thrust Extreme Aggression and Coma of Souls into the spotlight. The political, lyrical unrest which saturated the more industrial-charged works Renewal and Outcast. And, perhaps most dominant, the refined production values which lent such a bright, bold punch to their most recent full-lengths Hordes of Chaos and Enemy of God, both of which were excellent in bringing the band back to the relevance that had been lacking since the early 90s. No one of these traits seems to supercede the others here, all are wrought impressively into a well paced and balanced record that shines in nearly every technical spec imaginable, with but a single caveat: this time around, the music doesn't quite stick with me like it has even on the album's direct predecessors.

There are some detailed, impeccable thrash hymns woven throughout the album which certainly catch the ear for a few spins, if not much more than that. "Phantom Antichrist" itself, and the following "Death to the World" were those I felt most drawn too, fiber optic aggressive precision anchored by loaded riffing sequences that reward both speed and variation, built for both moshing and reflection. Mille's vocals are incredibly well mixed to carry his volatile emotions, even when the actual prose seems rather weak or dabbles with the lyrical fixations of ethnic hostility and dystopian collapse that the band have admittedly delved into many times in the past. A few acoustic passages are spread throughout the track list, over which Petrozza manages not to entirely flub up some clean vocals, but I never felt like they added much to the album as a whole, not nearly so effective as, say, "When the Sun Burns Red", though clearly they were trying to reclaim that aesthetic on "United in Hate".

In fact, there seems a great deal of familiarity in the songwriting here, not so much that the band are directly aping themselves, but clearly were trying to reproduce the riffing architecture found in older compositions, to mixed results. Hordes of Chaos was indeed a divisive record, with some loving and others despising its direction, yet I felt like it took more chances than what I'm hearing on Phantom Antichrist; almost as if the band wanted to play it mildly safe and incestuous this time out. The melodies and leads are hardly cheap, all are effective and processed with the due competence of Sami and Mille, but they clearly adopt a more accessible tone with a broader appeal towards fans of Swedish melodeath (in this the album recalls Violent Revolution quite a lot). That said, this delirious balance of controlled bursts of brutality and melodic resonance is also a sign of the band's maturity, and hardly something to be scoffed upon.

Those with a particular, prehistoric hesitation towards anything the band has released post-Pleasure to Kill will remain alienated by the sound of this, and likely anything the band ever records again, but as a gateway for newer listeners, I think Phantom Antichrist will turn quite a few heads due to the high standards in engineering and the group's continued competence. At their heart, Kreator are still writing lyrics that will matter to some in this world, and they still place an enormous emphasis on the construction of their guitar progressions, a quality lacking in so many modern thrash acts. They've got little if anything to prove, after such a staunch and interesting career, and this is a scrupulous, dependable record, if not so stirring as many of their past experiences. About on par with Violent Revolution (with better production).

Verdict: Win [7.75/10] (far beyond the lies)

http://kreator-terrorzone.de/

Kreator - Terror Prevails (2010)

Terror Prevails is quite different from Kreator's prior live offering Live Kreation, because where that was drawn from a number of performances to get the best sounding versions of each song on the track list, this is all recorded from a single set at the Rock Hard Festival in May 2010 at the Gelsenkirchen Amphitheater. What's also unique is that this was not sold in stores independently, but included as a digi pak with Rock Hard's December 2010 issue. Terror Prevails is only half of the set, with a second disc being reserved for a future magazine, and thus it does feel mildly incomplete. But what's not in question is the excellent sound quality here and the solid, brief set you'll get, and in fact I much prefer it to Live Kreation when all is said and done.

In just 40 minutes here, Mille and crew manage to capture an amazing energy which spans a number of their excellent albums. It opens with "Choir of the Damned/The Pestilence" and it sounds as fresh as if it had been recorded for one of their recent studio albums! Petrozza does sound a little fainter than his usual bark, but it works really well, and the guitars are absolutely perfect. After this the band breaks into more modern territory with "Hordes of Chaos" from their most recent full-length, "Phobia" from Outcast, and then the knockout combo of "Enemy of God" and "Impossible Brutality" from Enemy of God, all of which likewise sound superb and get the crowd going apeshit hogwild insane. I know I would be! The rest of this first offering is made up of another stroll through classic territory, with "Endless Pain", "Pleasure to Kill" and then "Terrible Certainty", all of which honor their original incarnations with pride.

If only all live albums were this quaint and deserving of your money, we'd be in paradise, but the kicker is you can get it for the price of the damn magazine (which, admittedly, is not that cheap). I mean, outside of Destruction's epic Live Without Sense from 1989, this is the best live German thrash albums I've ever heard, ripping with clean and powerful tones, nice atmosphere and a good sense for the crowd reaction, not to mention the incredibly professional performances of the individual lineup, even if we have to listen to Mille shout 'mosh pit' in his German accent numerous times. I feel a little irate that the whole performance wasn't included together, but it's just a ploy to get you to subscribe or pick up both issues. Capitalist scum! Fortunately, the CD is worth hearing if you can get your hands on it.

Verdict: Win [7.75/10]

http://www.kreator-terrorzone.de/

Kreator - Enemy of God (2005)

Long have I debated to myself which of the 'Big Three' German thrash bands, at least in the currently adopted trinity (I would personally replace Sodom with Tankard, but the masses would not seem to agree), is the most deserving of the mythological crown. All of them had faltered to an extent in the 90s, Sodom the least, but if I'm to take into account the overall quality of their studio efforts, from the 80s rise to prominence through the 21st century revival, then the answer can only be: Kreator. Enemy of God, their 11th album, sees not only a band return to the form previously established in the prime of their existence, but instantly supplant any doubts on their sincerity with combat boots to the neck.

This is, in essence, what a thrash album is all about. Anger. Relevance. Social awareness. And most importantly, a crop of bloody songs that you can remember long after first hearing them, and that you can always turn towards when in dire need of a rush or adrenaline or just good sense. Enemy of God is all these things, and while it might not cross the threshold set by their masterworks Coma of Souls, Terrible Certainty, and Pleasure to Kill many years before, it absolutely dwindles there, hangs out for an ice cream and makes its presence known. But Mille Petrozza and his squad mates have not simply repeated themselves, for this album is basked in a deeper, violent, modern tonality that is mildly less technically inclined than the riffing of Coma of Souls, but produces the same barking holocaust. Sami Yli-Sirniö has by this point become fully integrated with the band, and what they produce is dominance of the sort that the last album Violent Revolution, wildly hailed as their 'comeback', could only dream of.

It always helps, of course, when you put GOOD songs at the beginning of your album, a practice that many bands in numerous metal genres seem to forget, and Kreator has certainly done so here, placing two of the very best up front. The rampant "Enemy of God" itself provides nearly 6 minutes of belief smashing intensity, with a chorus that, while predictable, cannot fail. How many true metalheads don't want to shake their spiked fist at the empty sky and decry the divine, howling "Enemy of God" when they look upon the fallacy of the flawed creation upon which they stand? Add to this great solos, great lyrics and a mechanistic, punishing breakdown and try to sit still. Then we're treated to the "Terror Zone"-like intro and percussion of "Impossible Brutality", another instant classic due to the swaggering power of the verse guitars and another easy to guess but perfectly executed chorus.

That's the best one-two knockout punch since The Antichrist, but Kreator are not content to just shit out two hits and run with them. The rest of the album is just about, if not as good as its opening numbers. Highlights include the surgical smiting of "Suicide Terrorist", nihilistic drag strip of "World Anarchy" and the desperate melodic rush of "Murder Fantasies" and "One Evil Comes - A Million Follow", but there is also no denying the force of "Under a Total Blackened Sky" or the sorrow-charged glaze of "The Ancient Plague". In fact, probably the one track I don't love is "Dying Race Apocalypse", which has a heavy dose of melodic death influence similar to some of the tracks on Violent Revolution, but it's still potent enough Kreator and doesn't interrupt the flow of the album (and has a pretty thrifty melody in the bridge).

It's simply another superb album, and while it initially gave me the impression it would wear off, I still find the time to listen to it with nearly as regular a rotation as the 80s classics (along with Hordes of Chaos, which is even more mind blowing for so late in their career). That these Germans have weathered the lashings of time and change so mercilessly is a wonder, and while they might have stumble through their second decade, Enemy of God is proof of their dominance, never pandering to negligent trends, never insulting the listener's intelligence, and storming with the menace that this genre deserves.

Verdict: Epic Win [9/10] (malevolence ingrained)

http://www.kreator-terrorzone.de/

Kreator - Live Kreation (2003)

Sodom was not the only major German thrash act to release a double live disc in 2003, but in Kreator's case, this was something the fans had anticipated for a very long time. In the past, you could only experience their live audio from bootlegs or various cuts scattered about compilations, EPs and VHS tapes, but Live Kreator is the real deal, over 100 minutes of music that spans the band's complete career, from the barbarian roots to their divisive experimentation through the 90s. The first real live album. But similar to One Night in Bangkok, the quality of the selection varies greatly. There are a few cuts here that really just don't belong among their more exciting peers, and the overall effect of the performance definitely suffers some lulls. However, the tracks were recorded from various sets on their 2001-2002 tour, so the overall audio is simply better, and they were able to capture versions that they found the most consistent.

It doesn't really start off all that well, with "Violent Revolution" and then "Reconquering the Throne". I realize that this is an aggregate collection from multiple gigs, and the band were touring off this new album at the time, but let's be blunt: people attending a Kreator concert want the good stuff. People buying a live Kreator album, even one of this nature, to play out like an actual performance. Violent Revolution is a good album, a welcome return to what the band do best, but it would have been a better idea to open this with with "Riot of Violence", "When the Sun Burns Red", or some other timeless wonder. The newer material is executed well, but it would have been more effective if consigned to deeper in the playlist.

That said, the band do actually incorporate a lot of their earlier material: "Extreme Aggression", "People of the Lie", "Pleasure to Kill", "Terrible Certainty", "Riot of Violence", "Coma of Souls", "Terror Zone", "Betrayer", "Under the Guillotine", "Awakening the Gods", "Flag of Hate" and "Tormentor" all show up here, and almost without exception, they represent the more virile and energetic portion of the set, with the crowds getting wild in response. "Flag of Hate" and "Riot of Violence" are particularly awesome. But they also tour their later discography, beginning with "Renewal" from the album of the same title, which is fun enough here. "Lost" from Cause for Conflict also generates a positive response, and Outcast is given good representation through "Phobia", "Leave This World Behind", and the subdued "Black Sunrise", which offers the listener and the original audience some breathing room.

Only "Golden Age" has been included from Endorama, and that's probably for the best, with two more Violent Revolution tracks rounding out the affair: "Servant in Heaven - King in Hell" and "All of the Same Blood". The audio throughout is incredibly clear, with punchy guitars and Mille sounding like a pro regardless if he's barking or singing, and it serves to equalize the vast mix of dynamics in the material. There is certainly the feel of something 'missing' here, which is always to be expected when you're wishing certain tracks to be included, and I would have definitely appreciated more Terrible Certainty music and "When the Sun Burns Red", but as the closing of a chapter (far brighter things were to come with Enemy of God and Hordes of Chaos), it does its duty. I would also point out that the limited edition of this release is the better format, it includes the Revisioned Glory DVD, which I was foolish enough to miss out on. So if you can find that, and it's affordable, there would be more impetus to actually make the purchase. As it stands, Live Kreation is a truly solid live album, but nothing exceedingly special.

Verdict: Win [7/10]

http://www.kreator-terrorzone.de/

Kreator - Violent Revolution (2001)

It's very amusing to imagine a Frankenstein scenario after the letdown of 1999's Endorama, with a village of crazed and belligerent thrash folk pursuing Mille Petrozza and his gang into a castle on the Bavarian landscape, pitchforks and torches calling out the death of the once-mighty Kreator. However, they were soon to get to work, set up the lightning attractors and kick some life into the patchwork corpse of ideas that brought them to prominence in the first place. Amusingly, there is still a lot of Endorama within Violent Revolution, a number of the songs incorporating the same pensive melodies, but they're cast in a more explosive thrash context that summoned some of that 1989-1990 technical riffing bliss and was also bound to appeal to the melodic death starved audience that was quite wide at the turn of the century.

With Tommy Vetterli (Coroner) departing the team, Sami Yli-Sirniö of the Finnish weirdos Waltari was brought in as replacement, and he's remained ever since (with both bands). I had always wanted to hear his guitars in a more straightforward metal context, and it turns out he's more than fluent, an excellent companion to Mille's composition. "Reconquering the Throne" spends a few minutes in a Coma of Souls but flexes its mellowed, melodic muscle during the bridge. I can't say it's the best opener, or the best song here, but at the very least it's a vortex of energetic and depressive riffing that smelled of better, younger days. "The Patriarch" is a dual guitar instrumental, and a catchy lead-in to the title track, which features stronger guitars that swerve about a solid emotional course and pure mid-paced thrashing verse. The chorus is predictable but it still makes you bang your head, and "All of the Same Blood" returns to the clinical, cynical speed of Coma of Souls, fairly close in composition to a "Hidden Dictator" or "Material World Paranoia".

A few of the tracks strike out on a more original course, like the warlike march of "Servant in Heaven - King in Hell" with its grueling verses and eruptions of glorious melody, or the morose and twisting river of "Bitter Sweet Revenge". However, almost without exception, I found all the album's best moments to come straight in the center of the disc. "Second Awakening" and "Ghetto War" are particularly well written, meshing together the classic Kreator staples of bombast and aggression with the emotional force that was so prevalent on their 1990 master work. Deeper in, "Mind on Fire" also deserves credit, its opening volley my favorite individual riff here, both swagger and mystique colliding with the brief insertions of leads. "Replicas of Life" serves as the "When the Surn Burns Red" of this album, clean guitars ceding into a slugfest of dire and melodic riffs, a decent if familiar concoction.

Violent Revolution was produced by Andy Sneap (ex-Sabbat), a man that knows a thing or two about speed and thrash metal, despite his less desirable credits, and it's incredibly professional sounding, with the same workmanlike clarity of their 1989-90 material, if not more vibrant. Unlike the last two albums, which were far simpler in structure, Mille Petrozza proves that he still has a fire lit under him, and the guitars are in particular the star of this show, both in tone and delivery, which has always been the modus operandi of this band. I actually enjoyed this album quite a lot when it was released, but in retrospect I believe this was largely due to the fact that the band had returned to the style I most wanted to hear them play. I still feel like Violent Revolution has 3-4 excellent tracks, but there are a number here that have no lasting impact whatsoever, and I cannot number it among their better career works. But it's a no-brainer that this is several steps above Endorama in quality.

Verdict: Win [7.75/10] (reason for the people to destroy)

http://www.kreator-terrorzone.de/

Kreator - 1985-1992: Past Life Trauma (2000)

Though Kreator hadn't been an in-house band with Noise Records for several years, they nonetheless found the inspiration to release yet another compilation CD to pad their quickly emptying pockets. It's a fucking shame, truly, both that something like this exists, and that Noise Records doesn't exist, because that was by far the best individual metal label of the 80s, putting out entire swaths of classic material by some of my favorite bands. Alas, it turns out their business practices were not on par with their ear or talent. To be honest, I was quite hopeful when I first saw this, because it has a great cover art and the fact that it was 1985-1992 gave me hope that it would consist largely of demos, outtakes and rare tracks.

But these are few and far between on Past Life Trauma, and 14/18 tracks are a mere recycling of material from the band's first six albums. There are obvious choices made, like "When the Sun Burns Red", "Pleasure to Kill", "Extreme Aggressions", "Terrible Certainty", "Tormentor" and so forth, and they're fairly evenly distributed, but let's get serious: anyone who matters will already have purchased these in their original incarnations, whether that be by cassette, LP or CD, and it's entirely redundant to recommend this to any newcomer. Just head straight for the oldies, kids, there is NOTHING to see here. The 'rare' tracks included are nothing more than some live material from Renewal, which sounds mediocre, a demo of the track "Trauma" which was on the Renewal demo, but obviously deemed too purely thrash for that album, and "After the Attack", a B-side from the Behind the Mirror single off the Terrible Certainty album. This last addition is perhaps the one thing anyone would be interested in, but despite some decent, feral riffing and a mean breakdown, it's easy to tell why this wasn't deemed good enough for the album.

Translation: Do not waste a dime on this.

Past Life Trauma comes hard on the heels of two other compilations, both of which are likewise weak, but offer marginally more of value than this one. Considering that Noise already hammered us with Scenarios of Violence a few years prior, and the 90s sampler Voices of Transgression one year prior, this feels infinitely more like someone applying a rod & reel to your wallet and less about appreciating one of the greatest German bands out there. Noise might have done right by us, perhaps by issuing a cool box set of the old albums, with enhanced artwork, rare/live tracks and demos added to each, and other perks. That would have grabbed the interest of both new and old fans alike. But instead, this is yet another waste of space, with 1-2 rare tracks that might briefly pique the hardcore devotees interest for a matter of minutes before they are consigned to the potty of perdition.

Verdict: Epic Fail [2/10]

http://www.kreator-terrorzone.de/

Kreator - Endorama (1999)

St. Anger. Cold Lake. The Least Successful Human Cannonball. Risk. Diabolus in Musica. Almost all thrash metal artists of note, with extensive careers, have a black mark against them. At least one. So it says a lot for Kreator that their black mark is really not all that bad in the grand scheme of things. Not to say that this is an album worth hearing, but of all the band's 90s experimental fare, it is Endorama which deviates the furthest from the band's incredible evolution of the 80s. It is Endorama which is the 'least' thrash of anything the band would record, and yet there is still a trace of that aggression where it's needed in these compositions. Complicated this album isn't, but essentially Mille Petrozza flossing his emotional muse across the far sharper bite of the past.

Endorama places Kreator in an accessible, Gothic metal context with simple chugging guitar riffs, droves of melodies and overt rock-influenced verse chorus structures. The writing is a lot slower than one would even be accustomed to from Renewal or Outcast, but those albums do certainly hint at what's to be found here, with their minor industrial tweaks that have here been translated into subtle synthesizers. It's definitely an interesting listen, but I feel that of all their efforts, this is the one that might have better fared if branded a Mille Petrozza 'solo' album or some other project. It seems largely a waste of the talents of several of its players, in particular Tommy Vetterli of Coroner who stayed on for this, but also the rhythm section of Reil and Giesler. The mix is clean but subdued, and to tell the truth there are a few chorus elements of note here, but it's an entire different ballgame than the band's legendary beasts Coma of Souls and Terrible Certainty.

First, I'd point out the good. "Golden Age" is the opener, with a verse structure reminiscent of Megadeth's "Symphony of Destruction"; simple chugging well executed below the narrative vocal tone, erupting in a barked, but melodic chorus. Even better is "Shadowland" for its sunny but sad melodies, with some grooving outbreaks in the bridge, and a great lead which utilizes Vetterli at his strength, fluid and precise shredding. As much as it pushes the 'Gothic' on this disc to its maximum, I also rather enjoyed "Passage to Babylon", which might as well be the product of some other German band like Crematory, Dreadful Shadows or Lacrimosa (in fact, Tilo Wolff guests on this album). "Soul Eraser" produces walls of bristling harmonics and is perhaps the most thrashing, aggressive on the album, but I don't exactly love the chorus, and there are a few more pieces like "Willing Spirit" that carry the flame of "Golden Age" and "Shadowland", creating a similar effect of sweeping sunset that is married very well to the cover image. The title track, "Endorama" is half-decent, but basically feels like "Golden Age II" with a guitar line that is eerily reminiscent of Sisters of Mercy's "Temple of Love".

Outside of this, though, there's not a lot of glaring promise on this album. Some of the softer tracks like "Everlasting Flame" and the "Chosen Few" are all too forgettable, despite their uplifting atmosphere and lilting emotions. "Future King" and "Pandemonium" each have one good riff, and the latter even packs an Artillery-like punch in the verse guitar, but I just can't stand the vocal breaks, which seem too corny coming from Mille. "Tyranny" is just altogether bland, since we'd already heard the same formula executed a few times already, and it feels like something Pyogenesis might have written during their Unpop and beyond phase. Also, in general, I've found that through the years I simply never even feel the urge to visit this album, even its stronger tracks, whereas Renewal really grew on me, and Outcast has 2-3 tracks that I am often compelled to hear, despite their hardcore embellishments. Endorama might have become some lost classic, some anomaly, had its content been superior to this, but it was not and never will be strong enough.

Obviously those who could not give two shits about this German mainstay outside of their 80s period will want to stay far and wide of this album, even if they're overcoming their obstinacy to explore the band's evolution. But at least some credit must be given that Kreator, so far from home, are stilling being guided by something of a voice. You could probably share this album with your girlfriend, or your grandmother, and they might find a few of the tracks catchy, despite Petrozza's tendency back towards his barking vitriol. And the metallic components have not been abandoned, merely molded into some cross-genre tinkering. The reaction to Endorama was not one of hell and brimstone being breathed upon the band, but understandably it was not a good one, so the follow-up: Violent Revolution would steer the band back on its thrashing course, though not entirely devoid of this album's melodic charms. I would probably rank this below Cause for Conflict as the band's least impressive full-length, but unlike so many other career missteps, it's not completely deserving of anyone's chagrin.

Verdict: Indifference [5.75/10] (in a land where no love can be born)

http://www.kreator-terrorzone.de/

Kreator - Voices of Transgression: A 90s Retrospective (1999)

Kreator's previous collection, Scenarios of Violence, had been a fairly week offering released through Noise Records, involving some remixed and live material and a few unreleased studio cuts, but Voices of Transgression, through G.U.N. Records, is at best an asinine cash grab that should be melted into slag. I mean, who in their right mind would come up with the idea to try and capitalize on some of a band's least successful material? This was actually released prior to Endorama, and yet almost the entire track-list consists of material from that album and the previous three. Compilations can occasionally be worth their time when they assemble demos, rare recordings, and even covers and live material, but this is nothing more than a sampler from recent studio albums with a couple bonus carrots at the end of the stick. A half-rotten carrot.

If you despised the 90s Kreator, from Renewal through Endorama, then obviously you won't even blink an eye as you skip this recording, but for those who accepted the band's migration through various climates, there are a couple of bones being thrown. The first is a techno metal cover of the Sisters of Mercy's "Lucretia" with Mille serving both his trademark barks and a deeper clean not unlike Tiamat's Johan Edlund. It's not bad at all, if you're into this sort of thing, and further affirms the direction the band had taken with Endorama. "As We Watch the West" is another melodic piece which feels like it could have just been placed on that album, but despite the glistening atmosphere and subdued samples, I thought it was fairly forgettable, possibly best heard by those that like Pink Floyd influenced Gothic/doom metal bands like Tiamat (again) or Lake of Tears. "Inferno" is considerably heavier, with Mille's vocals taking control again, and this is perhaps the most valuable of the three, but it's not great. The cover of Raw Power's "State Oppression" is not news, it was released as a bonus track on the Cause for Conflict CD.

Aside from this, though, and an edit of "Isolation", the remainder of the content here is just lifted from the band's past and future albums. "Chosen Few", "Golden Age" and "Endorama" were from the forthcoming Endorama; "Leave This World Behind", "Phobia", "Black Sunrise" and "Whatever It May Take" from the previous Outcast, from which the paint had still yet to dry; Renewal is represented only with "Renewal" itself; and Cause for Conflict has "Bomb Threat", "Lost" and "Hate Inside Your Head". It's not a heinous selection, and it represents the band's 90s maneuvers well enough, but it's just a waste of coin. The entire effort reeks of something that is needed to fill out a record contract. It'd be far better for Kreator to just have found some way to include the Sisters of Mercy cover, "Inferno" and "As We Watch the West" with the CD release of Endorama, where they might have offered some value. A '90s retrospective' was not needed, as the 90s were not yet out of session. Avoid this at all costs, or just YouTube the unreleased tracks.

Verdict: Fail [2.25/10]

http://www.kreator-terrorzone.de/

Kreator - Scenarios of Violence (1996)

Considering the German band's swift ascent into the elite of European metal through the mid to late 80s, I'm surprised it took as long as it did for a fan package like Scenarios of Violence to arrive. Perhaps the band had been adamant that such a release not be put forth as an empty accumulation of material lifted as is from the prior full-lengths and EPs, because Mille Petrozza himself was involved in some of what when into this Kreator collection. There are 16 tracks and 67 minutes of music here, and almost every track included has at least been remixed or remastered by Petrozza and Siggi Bemm, while there are also live inclusions, and a few previously released pieces that might spark the fan's interest.

Are they worth hearing? No, not really, and there is a good reason they'd be included here and not on some future full-length. "Suicide in Swamps" sounds like a mix of Renewal and Cause for Conflict era-material with groove, mystique and ultimately not a damned thing catchy, and "Limits of Liberty" is another hardcore/punk infused track, fun while it lasts for 1:38 but just as forgettable as most of their other indulgences down this path from Cause for Conflict. The live tracks "Ripping Corpse" an "Tormentor" are quite violent, vibrant and old school, but neither are they enormously valuable. If anything, they pose the question of why Kreator hadn't released a full-length live effort yet, only VHS and a few tracks scattered on EPs and this.

The remainder of the Scenarios of Violence consist of those cuts remixed by Siggi and Mille, most of which are taken from Renewal: "Renewal", "Brainseed", "Europe After the Rain" and "Karmic Wheel", none of which I prefer to the original mixes despite their newfound cleanliness; a few others are culled from Terrible Certainty: "Toxic Trace" and "Terrible Certainty", and it's more prudent to hear these polished since the production of that album was all that held it back from perfection. There are also some tracks digitally refurbished by Bemm: "Extreme Aggression", "Some Pain Will Last", "People of the Lie", and "Coma of Souls", none of which really needed the treatment in my opinion. Otherwise, there is nothing new to be had here, and the alternate US version features other tracks that are likewise previously released.

Scenarios of Violence doesn't have much to offer the fan, I'll be honest, and if you're new to the band then you need to just hunt down all their albums up to Coma of Souls and possibly give Renewal a chance. This is not a band one ever needs to 'ease into' through a greatest hits package. That's really all I need say. The unreleased material here would have better been served as bonus tracks on Cause for Conflict, and the remixes could have waited for full LP remasters. So, in the end, even though more thought was put into this collection than similar cash grabs which feature nothing more than pre-released songs, it's still not worth the money you would spend on it.

Verdict: Fail [3/10]

http://www.kreator-terrorzone.de/