Album Reviews : Kreator – Gods Of Violence
With world headlines being dominated with Trump’s ascension to power and the apparent incoming doom for the modern world, a feisty new Kreator album ‘Gods of Violence’, arrives at the perfect time. Their first in 5 years since 2012’s ‘Phantom Antichrist’. The Teutonic Titans still reigning supreme after 35 years and with the evidence on show in ‘Gods of Violence’, Mille Petrozza and the boys show no signs of slowing down.
Opening with the Imperial March sounding ‘Apocalypticon’, builds the atmosphere perfectly for opening track ‘World War Now’ which provides a ferocious opening bombardment of Old School Thrash, showing Kreator have lost none of their edge. ‘6 Billion Souls at the abyss. This is World War Now’! growls Petrozza. Drummer Jurgen Reils relentless energy is a particular highlight, and is an early example of the exemplary musicianship on show throughout the whole album.
Leading nicely into the ultra catchy, some could argue cheesy ‘Satan is Real’, which opens up with a church bell signalling the upcoming apocalypse. You can’t help but the feel the overwhelming urge to headbang as the opening riff kicks in and the chorus is guaranteed to be stuck in your head for days to come.
‘Totalitarian Terror’, opens with Petrozza’s unmistakable roar, and driven by Reils pounding drums, will fit seemingly into Kreators live set and leave chaos ensuing in the pit. The title track, ‘Gods of Violence’ and my personal favourite track on the album, gives a deceiving sense of calm to the listener with a somber acoustic intro. That is of course until Petrozza’s below of ‘We Shall Kill’ shatters any illusions of ambience. This is a stunning show of musicianship, the galloping bass of Christian Geesler complements the formidable double guitar attack of Mille Petrozza and Finnish virtuoso Sami Yli-Sirnio. The duel solo which breaks in at 3:20 into the track is a majestic display of melodic soloing.
‘Army of Storms’ has the feel of a revolutionary anthem: ‘Ride the winds broken Free. NOW REVOLT AND YOU WILL SEE’, say no more Mille, say no more! My particular highlight from this track is Kreators outstanding ability to keep their thrash core, while being able to bring in subtle but melodic elements into their trademark sound, most evident in the guitar work of Petrozza’s and Sami Yli-Sirnio.
It’s a hard task to find a poor moment in ‘Gods of Violence’ if there is one ‘Hail to the Hordes’ would be it. A Celtic inspired sing a long, which while not being particularly memorable for my ears at least, does provide the perfect soundtrack to raise the feeling of toasting a beer with good friends! ‘We are one, Hail to the Hordes!’ I’ll drink to that.
‘Lion with Eagle Wings’, opens with an eerie whisper from Petrozza, conveying the viewpoint of a deity looking down at the chaos of the modern world from above, before erupting into an upbeat, anthemic thrash attack. ‘Fallen Brother’ keeps things flowing nicely with a mid tempo number, with Petrozza’s raspy growls particularly haunting.
‘Side by Side’s once again provides a catchy fist raiser with more fantastic guitar work. You can’t help but feel slightly empowered by the positive lyrical message of unity.
Kreator’s closer, the emotional ‘Death becomes my Light’, showcases a deep and candid spoken work intro by Petrozza, before launching into a Maiden esque gallop. ‘Death becomes my Light’, really captures Kreator’s more melodic capabilities and captures four special talents at the top of their game and fittingly finishing with Petrozza’s final command of ‘Please don’t be afraid!’ a message that seems apt in these troubling times.
Kreator with the help of esteemed producer Jen’s Bogren have came out with a highly polished, hook laden modern thrash album in ‘God’s of Violence’. While retaining their viscous edge, which has served then so well for over three decades. Long may they reign supreme!
Band: Kreator
Album: Gods of Violence
Year: 2017
Genre: Tuetonic Thrash Metal
Label: Nuclear Blast Records
Origin: Germany
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