text: Dawid Krosnia
Kreator
Gods of Violence
Nuclear Blast
January 27th, 2017
It’s been almost two decades now since my first encounter with the Kreator phenomenon. The Pleasure to Kill album changed my life forever. From that moment in time I’ve been following the band very closely. Each album was met with enormous amount of anticipation and each time they proved to me that they’re one of the best bands out there. Mille and his horde of chaos could easily focus on their back catalogue and stop recording new records but after all those years his aggression and passion for music is still burning inside his head, probably brighter than ever.
Gods of Violence is Kreator’s fourteenth full-length album. It was released by Nuclear Blast just a couple of weeks ago. The almost five year gap between Phantom Antichrist and this album paid off in one of the best and most aggressive material in their career. Since the debut of the title song published by the Nuclear Blast just over two months ago, I was confident that the Gods of Violence would be spectacular in every sense. The build up and the high expectations were fuelled by the label’s teasers, trailers and band interviews.
The cover artwork for the album was created by renowned artist Jan Meininghaus, who also made the limited edition artwork for Kreator’s last album, the aforementioned Phantom Antichrist. The artwork is simply mesmerising. The head of a ‘demon‘ with the cracked skull is back! It was originally featured on the Coma of Souls album and the head reappeared from time to time on the previous cover artworks since the beginning of the 90’s. The image is full of colour and symbolism, so for me this creates a visual bonding between the music and art itself. It’s very important for the listener to have such a relationship. Jan has also done some other outstanding work for bands like Accept and Overkill in the past. The photographs in the booklet are quite impressive too. When looking at them they’ll give you a dark and apocalyptic vibe, which goes well with the musical and lyrical concept of Gods of Violence.
The album begins with a short and atmospheric intro Apocalypticon which instantly gets you in the mood. You just know it’s going to be good. And there comes the World War Now! Automatically this track grabbed my attention, it possessed my mind and body with thrashing extravaganza experience so unique to Kreator’s musical style. The uptempo galloping riffs, the solos, the melodies brought many good memories back from my teenage years. In those moments you wish you had never cut your hair off. Satan is Real is one of the songs which was presented just before the official release in the form of a music video. Kreator actually released so far four music videos to promote the album. I think it’s a fantastic idea to get the word out and convince people to check it out. For the Totalitarian Terror track they’ve teamed up with the creative Polish film crew, Grupa13 (see the video below). I’m not sure if they’ve worked with them to film the other two songs, but all of these songs are what the German thrash metal is about it. Every song on the record has something different to offer. Every song has got the potential to be a live classic. I think, on the previous album, there was too many melodic elements, still, I love this material from start to finish but on the latest offering, I think they’ve just got the balance right. It sounds more old school with hints of modern influences. Gods of Violence is fast and brutal but you can find many soothing moments with easy to remember choruses to sing along. If I had to choose my favourite track from the album it would have to be Death Becomes My Light. This song is exactly what I adore about this band. It has got all the elements that create unforgettable experience and this track shows of how versatile Mille’s voice is.
Most definitely, if you play this album you won’t be disappointed. If you’ve familiar with Kreator’s back catalogue, you know what to expect. Excellence, nothing less! The album is available to purchase worldwide right now. Kreator has already started the promotional circle in proper style. They are on the road with Sepultura, Soilwork and Aborted across the Europe. Gods of Violence will be stopping in London on the 2nd March this year, don’t miss the chance to hear some of the new songs live for the first time. Buy the album and see you in the moshpit!
THE GOAT TAVERN 