As a fan of Kreator I don’t think I could ever write anything negative about this band. And that is because Kreator have been one of the pillars of metal until this day. And I will dare say, that without a doubt ‘Gods Of Violence‘ is one of the best albums released this year. As guitarist Sami Yli-Sirniö told us in an interview in February, the band had been preparing for three years to come up with such an inspired album. In eleven tracks, Kreator deal with the worship of Gods, the fear of Satan, the oppressed and revolutionary masses, and homophobia.
The album opens with the instrumental ‘Apocalypticon‘ and as the second track ‘World War Now‘ kicks in, you understand you immediately entered in an evil world where you must follow your fate. Kreator like goddess Kali bring destruction and war and at the same time the rise and rebirth. ‘Satan Is Real‘ comes straight form Medieval times to convince us that evil is around. ‘Totalitarian Terror‘’s style and lyrical theme remind me of previous albums, though I found in this one more inspired riffs and guitar solos than before. Then comes the track ‘Gods Of Violence‘ which is the hit of the album. Heavy, thrash, and sinister, it is undoubtedly the darkest moment of the album. ‘Army Of Storms‘, ‘Hail To The Hordes‘, and ‘Lion With Eagle Wings‘ carry the classic Kreator recipe: fast, heavy and epic. Then comes ‘Fallen Brother‘ a very touching tribute to those who left us early from the metal and rock community. In the official video of the track among others Lemmy, Cliff Burton, Quorthon, Peter Steele, Prince, David Bowie, Leonard Cohen, are cited. And perhaps is the first song where Kreator use the German language in the lyrics as well. ‘Side By Side‘ is referring to homophobia, and personally I think is one of the proudest moments for the metal music. The album closes with ‘Death Becomes My Light‘ which opens slowly like a ballad with Mille singing in clear vocals to burst into another thrash song.
‘Gods Of Violence‘ follows the much more heavy thrash sound Kreator have adopted the latest years, experimenting this time with melodic techniques, without losing however their solid identity they have since day one. I would suggest not to be this nostalgic considering thrash metal as we knew it. Listening to this album loud and focusing on the lyrics which show that Kreator have more to say and testify than raw anger, we will understand that we have to do with a concretely mature thrash metal sound.
Mary Kalaitzidou