New Zealand Heavy Metal Forum & Discussion

[Phlegm]

I must have fallen asleep for twenty years because the last KREATOR full-length I remember hearing was "Extreme Aggression" which I bought on cassette the year it came out! Somehow after that they fell off my personal radar as there were new and undiscovered bands and genres. It's a piss weak excuse but it's the truth and I can handle it. Anyway, from the sounds of this album KREATOR have been doing much the same. The "Hordes of Chaos" intro has a small but noticeable section with riffs borrowed from "Battery". There's a symphonic lean on this track, but Mille's spits are ever-present, keeping 'em veering down the narrow thrash metal alley. While the first three songs are tight thrash metal, on "Amok. Run." Petrozza croons Andrew Eldritch style - That's right, he sings like THE SISTERS OF MERCY guy instead of the expected razor blade-spitting snarl. But relax, the track soon twists into thrash, vocals and music breathing the intensity of KREATOR of yore. Screamo bands should take out their notebooks, as this song is a lesson on how the mellow-to-crunch progression should be done. Everyone else get the red wine out, don the black clothes and black hair dye. There are also gothic overtones "To The Afterborn" with its slow build up and chants before the speed kicks in and leaves the listener needing false teeth due to the thrashing smash.

However there are a number of moments on this album where Mille sounds like Steve Souza or his present replacement and the band as a whole suffer from EXODUS envy. The main offender is "Radical Resistance" which could have fit on the "Fabulous Disaster" record. "Absolute Misanthropy" will please purists as it sounds exactly like the KREATOR of twenty-plus years ago. This song makes it clear that anger is still bubbling in their veins and listening to these guys vent their heated rage is still a pleasure.

This album was apparently recorded to be a reflection of the band's live qualities and avoid computer trickery in the recording process. Even so, there are a few tracks that have a definite studio feel as opposed to the live rawness. Especially noticeable are Ventor's punishing but crystal-clear drum sounds, conjuring images of a studio filled with a trail of damaged skins. Despite their knack to outshine many contemporary thrash metal bands, there's really too many riffs borrowed for "Hordes of Chaos" to be considered classic KREATOR since this band has proven capable of so much better.

3.5/5

[Rob]

extreme aggression. i thrashed that cassette so hard.

[Torturor]

So-ci-e-ty, what have you done for me!