Kreator - Gods of Violence: Album Review

Kreator releases another album. 

I know the phrase “Kreator releases another album” may be the most dismissive thing I have said in years, but lots of modern thrash albums just haven’t been doing anything for me lately. And, with the possible exception of Tankard, I’ve never been as infatuated with the Teutonic Thrash scene as other fans. Couple that with the lukewarm singles “Gods of Violence” premiered with, and I was not quite thrilled with Kreator’s new work. But something happened when I was listening to “Gods of Violence”... I actually started to like Kreator.

The album starts with the intro “Apocalypticon” which has this imposing, symphonic edge to it with a decent solo. Nothing too grand or haunting, but I thought it was a nice warm up. But once the intro explodes into “World War Now”, the album doesn’t let up. “World War Now” shows a level of speed and energy I haven’t heard from the thrash scene for a while. It’s refreshing to finally hear a thrash song with so much life. The drums and guitars working together in sonic unison to create a truly great song.

This album does have a more melodious edge than Kreator’s previous works and it definitely works in their benefit. “Army of Storms” has so much in the way of catchy riffs and a hook filled chorus, that it might as well be a long forgotten Iron Maiden track.  “Hail to the Hordes” has a similar feel, drawing heavy influence from the Black Sabbath/Dio/Manowar era of classic metal. It doesn’t stick the landing as hard as “Army of Storms” but it also doesn’t drag on too long as a result.

In fact, this whole album is at its best when it isn’t being the blast-beat filled trash metal that made me despise Kreator in the first place. “Pleasure To Kill” does not hold up, get over it. All that aside, I ended up enjoying my time with this record, even though it feels like Kreator die-hards may not enjoy it as much for not being as evil and heavy as their old material.

While this album was certainly a surprise, there are some nitpicks I have with the album as a whole. I think Millie’s vocals are unique, creating an engaging yell and heavy snarl when necessary, but sometimes the overall production leaves his vocals swallowed by the noise of the music. Some of the tracks definitely do pull from the same bag of tricks, like “Fallen Brother”, “Side by Side”, and “Death Becomes My Light” but even when they do end up repeating themselves, the complexity and the absolute talent of Millie and Sami as they play is what makes them work. When Kreator’s classic metal sense rears around through the thrash, they transition so well and make every note feel very important and well executed.

Lyrically, the album could be a bit more diverse. There’s pretty much nothing new here in terms of perspective or style from previous thrash or even previous Kreator records. The horrors of war, satanism, it’s all pretty standard fare. And finally, the “Death Becomes My Light” closer would have had more impact had the last few songs not follow very similar patterns and styles, making the last quarter of the record sound kind of bland. I will say that the song has one of the better interludes on the entire record, however.

Overall, I was presently surprised by Kreator’s “Gods of Violence”. It certainly wasn’t enough to make me fall in love with Kreator, but in this drought of creativity and fun that is the modern thrash scene, “Gods of Violence” certainly delivers something entertaining.

7/10