Alright so up next on the chopping block is the band Kreator. Now I haven’t heard much of their music just maybe one or two albums so I’m curious as to how the rest of their music is. I’ve also heard them being referred to as the Metallica of Germany so with that let’s take a look…..
Endless Pain- let’s see. Well it sounds like pretty much any other early 80’s thrash record in terms of production. I mean this came out in 1985 so they were probably only like 18 when they made it. I will say though that the guitar work is pretty good for such an older album and Mille Petrozza has a Tom Araya thing going on with his voice. Not bad but not really special. I’ll give this 7/10
Standouts: Total Death, Bonebreaker, Son Of Evil
Pleasure To Kill- well what can I say? I mean seriously this is such an iconic record and there are many people who love this record. I mean try to find someone who has a bad thing to say about his record. It’s fast, has that rawness, and is just overall a great record. It makes sense that this would come out in 1986 as that’s when there were great records from Megadeth, Slayer, and Destruction. I absolutely have to give this 10/10
Standouts: Ripping Corpse, Carrion, Take Their Lives
Terrible Certainty- not quite as strong as the last one but I mean really how do you top such an iconic record? Now while this one may not be as memorable as the last one, it’s still a worthy follow up. In my opinion it’s not quite as good as Pleasure but still worth your time. I’ll give it 8/10
Standouts: As The World Burns, One Of Us, Behind The Mirror
Extreme Aggression- ok so this was my introduction to Kreator. I remember downloading a thrash metal documentary from Germany where they were interviewing a bunch of metal bands and it showed clips from live shows and the song Betrayer was on it. I went and listened to the whole album and while there are some songs that I couldn’t get into as much as others, it’s still a great record. I’ll give this 9.5/10
Standouts: Extreme Aggression, Betrayer, Bringer Of Torture
Coma Of Souls- I swear there are some years where a bunch of metal bands will release great records and 1990 is certainly one of those years. I mean we had Slayer put out Seasons In The Abyss, Anthrax with Persistence Of Time, Megadeth with Rust In Peace, and Kreator with Coma Of Souls. Now pretty much most Kreator fans will say that Pleasure To Kill is their favorite but I’ll take this album over it every time. There is something about this one that I like more. The songs seem more polished and cohesive. I mean the riffs on here are also fantastic. If you haven’t heard this one definitely stop reading and listen to this (then finish reading). Definitely a 10/10
Standouts: Coma Of Souls, World Beyond, Twisted Urges
Renewal- ok so now we’re getting into what some would call the experimental phase of Kreator. There are some industrial influences on this record, the songs are slower, and Mille’s vocals are cleaner on this one too. I would say that he kinda sounds a little bit like an angrier James Hetfield. Now this isn’t a bad record by any means it’s just different. I’ll give this one 7/10
Standouts: Renewal, Zero To None, Trauma
Cause For Conflict- so continuing with the same trend as the last record, the songs on here are actually sped up. In fact, I also get a punk vibe from this one as well. The vocals are still cleaner as they were on Renewal. It’s a step up from the last record so I’ll give it 8/10
Standouts: Progressive Proletarians, Hate Inside Your Head, Catholic Despot
Outcast- I get a gothic vibe from this one. The songs on here aren’t very thrashy and overall, this one is just mediocre at best. Not to say it’s a bad record but I just didn’t like it as much as the others. I will give them props for trying something different but as a whole, this record is just meh. I’ll give it 5/10
Standouts: Enemy Unseen, Phobia, Alive Again
Endorama- I’d say that of all the records on this review this far, the gothic elements standout the most. Like this is probably their slowest record by far. Again I’ll give them props for trying something new but overall, I just couldn’t get into it so I’ll give this one 4/10
Standouts: Endorama, Soul Eraser, Future King
Violent Revolution- finally, we are back to thrash metal. The early 2000s saw a resurgence of thrash metal and I firmly believe that this record helped. I actually remember hearing songs off of it from their MySpace page. The album is definitely one of those where most thrash fans like and I can’t blame them. This is definitely a step up from the last few albums and to say that they went back to their roots is an understatement. I’ll definitely give this 10/10
Standouts: Ghetto War, Reconquering The Throne, All Of The Same Blood
Enemy Of God- I guess you could say the album name alone is enough to trigger some people. Kinda like Slayer’s God Hates Us All. It’s just one of those badass record names. Now how’s the album? Well it definitely continues the thrash trend. And like I said earlier there are some years where bands put out killer records, 2005 was also one of those years. This album is just like the last one. It’s badass all the way through. Definitely give this one a listen. Another 10/10
Standouts: Enemy Of God, Dystopia, Dying Race Apocalypse
Hordes Of Chaos- At first I wasn’t really a huge fan of this one but after another listen, I actually really like this record. It’s right up there with Enemy and Violent. At this point I think it’s safe to say that Kreator are back. I’ll give this one 9/10
Standouts: Warcurse, Destroy What Destroys You, To The Afterborn
Phantom Antichrist- I really wanted to like this one more but for some reason I couldn’t. Not so say it’s not good but something seems to be lacking on this one. A lot of the songs were just ok. It’s good but not great. 7/10
Standouts: Phantom Antichrist, United In Hate, Victory Will Come
Gods Of Violence- ok so this one is a step up from before. Like to me this sounds like classic Kreator. The guitar work is awesome. After a brief grand intro, this thing comes out swinging. I honestly didn’t even know about this when it came out. I will say there are a couple songs that are skipable but overall, a great record. 9/10
Another band with a big discography. These guys have been on my bucket list of bands to see live and fro the live albums I’ve heard, they sound great. Now while they do have a lot of albums, it is nice to see that they tried different things. It would be pretty boring if it was the same 14 albums. So that being said definitely check them out or if it has been awhile then jump back in.
Album Rankings:
- Coma Of Souls
- Enemy Of God
- Pleasure To Kill
- Violent Revolution
- Extreme Aggression
- Gods Of Violence
- Hordes Of Chaos
- Cause For Conflict
- Terrible Certainty
- Renewal
- Endless Pain
- Phantom Antichrist
- Outcast
- Endorama
Sinister Reviews 