ALBUM REVIEW: Kreator - "Gods of Violence"

By: Richard Maw

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 27/01/2017

Label: Nuclear Blast

There are so many great riffs, solos, hooks and vocals over the course of the record that there is absolutely nothing to complain about here. Kreator have produced another very worthy entry into their impressive back catalogue. Fans of their later work will love what is on offer here as it is a continuation of their most recent and very impressive albums.  This is a hooky, vicious, well produced thrash record which is every bit as good as anything which has come out of Americain recent times. Recommended.

“Gods of Violence” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1. Apocalypticon (1:06)

2. World War Now (4:28)

3. Satan Is Real (4:38)

4. Totalitarian Terror (4:45)

5. Gods of Violence (5:51)

6. Army Of Storms (5:09)

7. Hail to the Hordes (4:02)

8. Lion with Eagle Wings (5:22)

9. Fallen Brother (4:37)

10. Side By Side (4:19)

11. Death Becomes My Light (7:26)

The Review:

Kreator, as oft noted by me, are my favourite of the Teutonic Thrash Grosse Drei (oder Vier?!).. and I like the others a great deal too! It is with some excitement, then, that I pressed play to listen to the latest offering from these giants of the genre. If you have been following Kreator'srenaissance period (that is to say, after the 1990's) then you will know that gone is the uncontrolled violence of “Pleasure to Kill” and “Terrible Certainty” and in its place is a controlled aggression and, whisper it softly, elements of melody.

After the suitably apocalyptic intro, “World War Now” opens in a thrashing fury, tempered by the aforementioned elements and even a section involving acoustic guitars prior to a shredding solo. Essentially, then, this is a direct successor to “Phantom Antichrist” and “Hordes of Chaos” on first impressions. The production is state of the art, the band sound fired up and relentlessly vicious.

“Satan Is Real” is something of a hooky “single” (if such things were relevant these days) but is still very heavy indeed, just without the out and out speed that is often associated with the band. After this strong start, the record does not let up; the title track is anthemic, “Totalitarian Terror” is thrashy in the extreme, “Army of Storms” is one of those mid paced rockers that sounds faster than it actually is- nice lead work on this one- until it reaches thrash pace, that is. With that the record is over the half way point. There are eleven tracks here, of fairly uniform length (barring the closer) and the whole album demonstrates that Kreator are nothing less than masters of their chosen craft.

In all honesty, there is nothing weak here; you get prime latter day era Kreator. Tracks such as “Hail to the Hordes” (a nod to the fans) and “Lion With Eagle Wings” are as anthemic as they are punchy and well arranged. Kreatorhave essentially traded grit for polish in their advancing years and it is a smart move on the band's part. They have retained their credibility and retained their heaviness and elements of their aggressive approach without becoming a parody of their younger selves (no mean feat) and they remain the very best of the German thrash bands, in my view. Even though I have mentioned polish, hooks and melody here the band are never less than very heavy indeed. “Fallen Brother” may have a big chorus, but Mille delivers it in gratingly harsh style- no harmonies here.

“Side By Side”delivers the rather inclusive message that Kreator are known for, again in anthemic style, while the closing “Death Becomes My Light” reaches epic heights over the course of its close to seven and a half minutes. There are so many great riffs, solos, hooks and vocals over the course of the record that there is absolutely nothing to complain about here. Kreator have produced another very worthy entry into their impressive back catalogue. Fans of their later work will love what is on offer here as it is a continuation of their most recent and very impressive albums.  This is a hooky, vicious, well produced thrash record which is every bit as good as anything which has come out of Americain recent times. Recommended.

“Gods of Violence” is available now

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