Kreator

"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…

Kreator (pronounced "creator") is a German thrash metal band from Essen, formed in 1982. Their current lineup consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Mille Petrozza, drummer Jürgen "Ventor" Reil, lead guitarist Sami Yli-Sirniö, and bassist Frédéric Leclercq. The band's lineup has changed multiple times over its 38-year career, most noticeably with their bassists and lead guitarists. Petrozza and Reil are the only two original members left in Kreator, though the latter had one hiatus from the band, from 1994 to 1996…

Kreator (pronounced "creator") is a German thrash metal band from Essen, formed in 1982. Their current lineup consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Mille Petrozza, drummer Jürgen "Ventor" Reil, lead guitarist Sami Yli-Sirniö, and bassist Frédéric Leclercq. The band's lineup has changed multiple times over its 38-year career, most noticeably with their bassists and lead guitarists. Petrozza and Reil are the only two original members left in Kreator, though the latter had one hiatus from the band, from 1994 to 1996…

Perhaps the only subject more interesting than headlining act making major waves while on tour is the history of the venues where this occurs, and few places inspire such inquiries to the same degree as London’s The Roundhouse. Originally constructed in 1846 as a turntable engine shed for the London and Birmingham Railway, by the mid-20th century it had become an important performing arts and concert hall that would be a favorite venue for such iconic bands and artists as Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck, Led Zeppelin, The Ramones and Motörhead. Suffice it to say, such a location is a prime outlet for one of Germany’s most ferocious purveyors of thrash metal to record their first live album following 2017’s “Live Antichrist” release. Relative to said release, Kreator’s latest foray into neck-ruining mayhem outside of the recording studio dubbed “London Apocalypticon – Live At The Roundhouse” ups the epic factor something fierce while sparing no expense in the aggression department…

Cause for Conflict may just qualify as the most confused and perplexing album of Kreator's long career – it's certainly one of the least popular. The band's previous effort, 1992's industrial-tinged Renewal, had not been well-received by the majority of fans and critics, and its mixed fortunes also led to serious dissent within the group's ranks, culminating in the departure of bassist Rob Fioretti and drummer Jürgen "Ventor" Reil – both of whom had been with the band almost since its inception…

The 13th studio album of Kreator's enviable 30-year career, 2012's Phantom Antichrist is also the fourth long-player released since the group's triumphant rebirth to thrash in 2001 – a move that coincided almost perfectly with a worldwide genre revival driven by both veteran and rookie ensembles and that, as a result, saw these German survivors enjoying a long-deferred coronation for their almost unrivaled achievements. Now that trend – like all trends – has come and gone, and yet Kreator persist: still displaying, as the new material contained here bears repeated witness, 100 percent commitment to the original, metal-thrashing mad raison d'être that launched them in the first place…

This classy, limited-edition, two-CD set not only serves to point out that English is Kreator's second language ("Revisioned" Glory, anyone?), but also offers a stunningly comprehensive 20-year retrospective for one of thrash metal's more compelling and influential acts. First and foremost is the double-disc audio live show, which stitches together 24 tracks recorded at various points during the German thrashers' ludicrously extensive 2001-2002 tour…

One of the legendary thrash bands of the '80s, Kreator is back in fine fashion with Violent Revolution. So strong is the album that it not only reclaims their previous glory, but even sets about to show a bit of one-upmanship on it. The album utilizes much of Kreator's earlier musical leanings while moving the group forward into a new age…