Kreator Coma of Soul

Although they remained largely without peer when it came to pure Germanic thrash metal, by the time of 1990's Coma of Souls, Kreator's very successful formula had begun to grow a little tired. The fact that they were coming off perhaps their biggest album yet in 1989's Extreme Aggression didn't help matters, and despite its overwhelmingly solid songwriting, Coma of Souls still sounded somewhat repetitive to all but the most unquestioning of fans…

Macca To Mecca! Begins as a 12-song tribute to The Beatles that kicks off with a performance of "I Saw Her Standing There" recorded in London with a special appearance by Paul McCartney. It is followed by an extraordinary surprise set at the Cavern Club recorded during the band's sold out European tour. The intimate gig is filled with renditions of "Magical Mystery Tour," "Got To Get You Into My Life," and "All You Need Is Love," alongside iconic songs famously performed by the nascent Fab Four.

A Dutch R&B/pop group that performs original songs as well as covers of R&B/soul hits, Ladies of Soul were formed by Trijntje Oosterhuis, Candy Dulfer, Glennis Grace, Berget Lewis, and Edsilia Rombley, who have known each other since childhood. They first got together for a series of Whitney Houston tribute concerts after the R&B diva's death in 2012. The shows were so successful that the quintet organized an arena show for Valentine's Day 2014, which sold out, resulting in a second sold-out show scheduled for the day before. Their resulting album, Live at the Ziggo Dome 2014, hit number two on the Dutch album chart, and the following year Live at the Ziggo Dome 2015 peaked at number three. The Ladies performed in Belgium later in 2015, with another Ziggo Dome concert planned for 2016.

"Never underestimate the heart of a champion" may as well have been the unspoken moral behind Kreator's astounding return to form via 2001's Violent Revolution, following over a decade of "wilderness study" in non-thrash terrain. As well as revitalizing the band's career the album clearly helped main man Mille Petrozza make peace with his past, and set the stage for his band's wisely retro-minded direction going forward into the new millennium. Cue 2005's Enemy of God: not only Kreator's next shot at revitalizing old-school thrash metal for modern generations, but a necessary building block to sustaining their unexpected renaissance…

You know what lays ahead whenever you embark on listening to a new Kreator studio album, and 2009's Hordes of Chaos is certainly no different. And that isn't meant as a knock on the band - heck, Kreator should be commended for sticking to their guns and continuing on in the same "thrash-happy" style since pretty much their inception (without bowing down to musical trends). So, that said, you can make up your own "Kreator checklist": growled vocals and intense riffing (the album-opening title track), lightning-fast tempos ("Warcurse"), tasty dual-guitar work ("Destroy What Destroys You") - it's all represented here, folks. It's been nearly four long years since Mille Petrozza and friends issued an all-new studio album, and Hordes of Chaos should most definitely meet the needs of Kreator diehards worldwide.