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All Music Guide:
Arguably the most influential and successful European thrash metal band ever, Germany's Kreator is also by far the most enduring. Like many of their European speed metal brethren, Kreator fused Metallica's thrash innovations with Venom's proto-black metal imagery, sparked it with Motörhead's balls-out velocity, and capped it off with the nihilistic outlook typical of heavy metal since the seminal days of Black Sabbath. Kreator's career also mirrored speed metal's rising and waning fortunes: building from strength to strength throughout the 1980s, only to fall on hard times in the 1990s. Now seemingly reborn in their third decade of activity, Kreator are certified worldwide superstars who still tour as widely and frequently as bands half their age -- now that's resilience.
Originally named "Tyrant," and then "Tormentor," Kreator was founded in 1982 by vocalist/guitarist Mille Petrozza, bassist Rob Fioretti, and drummer Jürgen Reil (aka Ventor) in the industrial capital of Essen, Germany. They were still known as "Tormentor" when their first two demo tapes, one fittingly named "Blitzkrieg" (1983), and the other "End of the World" (1984), fell into the hands of thousands of heavy metal fans engaging in the era's bustling underground tape-trading network. Positive word of mouth soon attracted the attention of Germany's own metal start-up, Noise Records, which signed the newly re-christened Kreator to a deal and immediately put them to work on their first album. Recorded in just ten days at Berlin's Musiclab Studios, 1985's Endless Pain was a savage debut, but its crude thrashing quickly had the underground metal world a-buzzing with excitement. A second guitar player, Wulf, was hired for touring purposes, and with the group's reputation preceding them, lucky fans within the band's modest touring radius were soon clamoring for tickets.
No sooner had they come off the road, then Kreator were heading right back to Musiclab Studios, this time with producer Harris Johns (Helloween, Voivod) to record their second album, Pleasure to Kill. Unleashed in 1986 and still considered the band's first 'classic' album, Pleasure to Kill raised the bar with more diversity of tempos and greater attention to technical execution, while losing nothing in terms of ferocity or speed. The band closed out the year with the Flag of Hate E.P. (named after a re-recorded version of their earliest hit), and there seemed to be little doubt that Kreator, along with fellow Germans Helloween and Switzerland's Celtic Frost (with whom they toured the U.K. a year later), were fast becoming Europe's top extreme metal contenders. Recorded at Hanover's Horus Studios with English producer Roy Rowland, 1987's Terrible Certainty did nothing to dent this perception, since, for once, Petrozza and co. actually had a little time to work out the songs beforehand. The ensuing tour further established their reputation as dedicated road warriors, and saw Kreator beefed up to a quartet once again with the addition of guitarist Jörge Trebziatowski. Profits from these concerts would help finance yet another E.P. (product being something Noise never stopped asking for) entitled Out of the Dark, Into the Light, released in August 1988.
By this time, all signs suggested that Kreator were on the verge of a major breakthrough, and when Noise struck a deal with giant Epic Records for large-scale distribution in America, Petrozza knew this was his chance of taking his band global. Mustering all of his creative juices and honing his songwriting, he led Kreator into Los Angeles' Music Grinder Studios and brought in well-regarded producer Randy Burns (Megadeth, Nuclear Assault, etc.) to guide them to another thrash metal landmark with 1989's Extreme Aggression. With videos made for the ubiquitous title track and the venomous "Betrayer" getting plenty of exposure on MTV's Headbangers Ball, Extreme Aggression quickly became their biggest seller yet, and the subsequent North American swing with Suicidal Tendencies introduced the band to many new friends. The tour also marked the debut of former Sodom guitarist Frank "Blackfire" Gosdzik, whose nightly lead guitar duels with Petrozza are still the stuff of fond memory for Kreator fans. Seeking to capitalize on the group's momentum, Noise rushed them back into the studio to whip up next effort, Coma of Souls, released in October 1990. Unfortunately, the hastily conceived L.P. clearly suffered from the less than favorable circumstances in which it was created, seeming too much like a retread of earlier material and bogged down by filler. It should also be noted that, by the end of the 1980s, thrash and speed metal had largely run their course and mutated into death metal, leaving genre standard-bearers like Kreator, Anthrax, and even Metallica, with a difficult choice: evolve or perish.
1992's appropriately named Renewal seemed to answer that question by going straight to the source for help. Kreator sought out renowned producer Tom Morris (Sepultura, Morbid Angel, etc.) at his Morrissound Studios in Tampa to help them delve deeper into the death metal template. (One thing that needed no updating was Petrozza's hissing, scratchy voice, which of course predated, and no doubt influenced, death metal's Cookie Monster vocal style.) Proving just how wary (perhaps too wary) the studio was of current trends, Renewal also came slathered in industrial-metal techniques -- something that did not go over well with Kreator and was later blamed for the album's disappointing showing. The excruciatingly taxing touring commitments that followed took the band as far as South America, but understandably left them physically and creatively exhausted, prompting Petrozza to announce a protracted break to recover. Incredibly, Kreator's silence was only broken three years later with the release of 1995's, somewhat back to basics, Cause for Conflict -- their first effort for new label GUN Records. Hardly a successful comeback, the album found Kreator confused and uninspired -- hopelessly out of touch with the day's reigning extreme metal trends, and surely traumatized by the recent departure of both Fioretti and Ventor (they were replaced by bassist Christian Giesler and former Whiplash drummer Joe Cangelosi). Adding insult to injury, Noise Records chose exactly this difficult moment to release the Scenarios of Violence set -- a collection of live recordings and remixed old hits that seemed to declare Kreator's future prospects null and void.
Looking to remedy the band's tenuous situation, Petrozza called upon former Coroner guitar wizard Tommy Vetterli to help him guide Kreator into realms unknown, getting even further away from their roots on their next two albums, the highly experimental Outcast (1997) and Endorama (1999). Both of these veered into ever-slower pacing, added gothic and ambient elements, incorporated samples and loops, and even found Petrozza trying a few different singing styles on for size. But even though they met with certain critical acclaim and signaled Ventor's welcome return to Kreator's ranks, neither of these albums managed to re-ignite the band's career. Yet again, timely retrospective releases like 1999's Voices of Transgression (shedding light on the band's hit-and-miss second decade) and 2000's Past Life Trauma (a near-flawless wrap-up of their first decade) provided some consolation for disgruntled old fans who had long abandoned Kreator's floundering ship; but, unexpectedly, they also cleared the way for a rebirth of sorts.
This renaissance began to take shape following Vetterli's departure and the signing of a new record deal with Germany's SPV label. Simply put, Petrozza recommitted himself to thrash, and, after hiring Finnish-born second guitarist Sami Yli-Sirnio, proceeded to write Kreator's strongest album in years, with 2001's positively stunning Violent Revolution. In keeping with Kreator tradition, the consequent world tour became their most comprehensive and extensive ever. Thanks to Violent Revolution's great success, it served to reintroduce and reestablish Kreator as one of the world's premiere speed metal acts -- a feat that was commemorated with the group's first live album -- a lavish two-CD/DVD set appositely named (with some grammatical license) Live Kreation/Revisioned Glory -- a couple of years later. The band returned in 2005 with the similarly-themed Enemy of God, followed by At the Pulse of Kapitulation: Live in East Berlin, 1990 in 2008 and the reliably thrash-heavy Hordes of Chaos in 2009.
Wikipedia:
Kreator is a thrash metal band from Essen, Germany, formed in 1982 with no name, but decided on Tormentor in 1984. They originally performed a speed metal style with Venom influences. Their style of music is similar to their compatriots Destruction and Sodom, the other two big German thrash metal bands. All three of these bands are often credited with helping pioneer death metal, by containing several elements of what was to become the genre. Kreator's work began in the vein of thrash metal but ventured into industrial and gothic from 1992 to 1999, before eventually returning to their classic thrash sound to date. To date, Kreator has released thirteen studio albums, two EPs, one live album and three compilation albums. The band released its debut album Endless Pain in 1985. Although many of their previous albums, including Pleasure to Kill (1986), were quite popular in the United States, Kreator did not experience major American commercial success until the 2009 release of their twelfth studio album, Hordes of Chaos, which peaked at number 165 on the Billboard 200 and debuted at No. 16 on the Media Control Charts, the band's highest ever chart position in Germany. In June 2012, Kreator released their 13th studio album, Phantom Antichrist, which has been well received.
Biography [edit]
Formation and early releases (1982–1986) [edit]
The band was formed as Tyrant in 1982 in Essen, Germany. The original lineup featured vocalist/guitarist Mille Petrozza, drummer Jürgen "Ventor" Reil, and bassist Rob Fioretti. They soon changed their name to Tormentor and released two demos. They changed the name of the band again to the final one, Kreator, and signed to Noise Records in 1985. The name change came from the label, as there were already several other bands using the name Tormentor.
Kreator recorded their debut album, Endless Pain, in just 10 days. The band hired the late Sodom guitarist Michael Wulf for the album's tour.
Wulf was in the band for a few days and didn't play on the band's next album, 1986's Pleasure to Kill, despite his getting credit. A new guitarist, Jörg "Tritze" Trzebiatowski joined the band and he played on this album, which is widely considered a thrash classic and a big influence in death metal. Produced by Harris Johns (Helloween, Voivod), the album showed the band growing in talent and technical ability. The song "Flag of Hate" became a concert standard, and the band became one of the most promising up-and-coming European metal acts. With Tritze the band started their first tour ever (before the release of Pleasure to Kill they had only played 5 gigs total). The band closed out the year with their first EP, Flag of Hate.
Rising popularity (1987–1991) [edit]
In 1987, Kreator released their third studio album, Terrible Certainty, which is often considered a high-quality Kreator album as the arrangements on the album were more complex and the tempos more varied. The album featured another hit "Behind the Mirror", and the band's popularity continued to grow and a video for "Toxic Trace" was created for MTV play. They managed to find enough time and money (coming from the concerts) to finance another EP, Out of the Dark ... Into the Light.
Berlin based independent record label Noise Records licensed Kreator for the territories outside of Europe and Japan to the major label Epic Records in 1988. Their fourth studio album and debut with Epic (for limited territories) Extreme Aggression, recorded in Los Angeles, became a metal hit in Europe upon its release in 1989. Continuing the Terrible Certainty formula while showing the band still progressing musically and with better production by the well-regarded Randy Burns (also Megadeth among others), the album featured the band's first major singles and music videos, the title track and "Betrayer", becoming major hits on MTVs Headbangers Ball. They toured North America with Suicidal Tendencies, which greatly expanded their popularity outside of Europe.
In 1989, German director Thomas Schadt made a documentary about Kreator (focusing on the social aspect of heavy metal in the Ruhr Area) titled Thrash Altenessen (named after the band's hometown, a suburb of Essen). Tritze left Kreator after Extreme Aggression. In 1990, with new guitarist Frank "Blackfire" Gosdzik (also formerly of Sodom), the band released Coma of Souls. The album was not quite as praised as the band's previous few albums (many felt the album was "rushed" and repetitive), but still managed sell and maintain popularity quite well, with the singles "When the Sun Burns Red" and "People of the Lie" becoming hits.
Experimentation (1991–2000) [edit]
The early 1990s brought a decline in the popularity of traditional thrash metal. With many other thrash bands such as Metallica and Anthrax changing their sound for a more commercial approach, Kreator began experimenting with death metal and industrial metal around this time.
The result was Renewal, released in 1992, which featured heavy death metal and industrial influences. While reaching a newer, more commercial audience, the band upset many longtime fans, accusing them of "selling out". The band, once known for being an excellent live act, had "disappointing" shows and tours for this album due to the industrial influences.
The excruciatingly taxing touring commitments that followed took the band as far as South America, but understandably left them physically and creatively exhausted. The band began to fall apart around this time. Founding member Roberto Fioretti left the band after the recording of the album as he wanted to spend more time with his family and was replaced by Andreas Herz, who never played any official release. In 1994, Reil left as well, leaving Petrozza the sole original bandmember. Reil was replaced by Joe Cangelosi. Herz left in 1995 and was replaced by Christian Giesler. To make matters worse, their contract with Epic was dropped. Now on G.U.N. Records the new lineup put out the album Cause for Conflict that year. The result was their most modern album at that time, the sound on this album had influences from Pantera and Machine Head, a slight return to a harsher sound than on the previous album.
Gosdzik and Cangelosi left in 1996 and were replaced by Tommy Vetterli (formerly of Coroner) and, surprisingly, Jürgen Reil. The band continued to experiment with their sound, releasing Outcast and Endorama, both of which experimented with goth and ambient influences, incorporated samples and loops and even found Petrozza trying a few different singing styles on for size. It also retained the groove metal influences. The record sales went down, by the end of the 1990s the band reached both commercial and critical nadir. Though frontman Mille Petrozza never cared about this: "For us, success doesn't define in record sales. So all our albums have been successful for us, because we've achieved what we were aiming for...".
Return in style (2001–2009) [edit]
In 2001, with new guitarist Sami Yli-Sirniö, Kreator released their "comeback" album Violent Revolution, which saw the band returning to their classic thrash metal style. Despite containing a lot of melodic and so called "Gothenburg metal" riffs, it was praised by fans and critics alike. The tour was extremely successful and introduced Kreator to a younger generation of metal fans. Yli-Sirniö, who lived in Germany, was known to be a good guitar player, so the band recruited him. A live album Live Kreation and live DVD Live Kreation: Revisioned Glory were released in 2003, and a new studio album - emphasizing more on the Gothenburg influences – Enemy of God was released in 2005. This album also saw a special edition re-release in 2006 called Enemy of God: Revisited. In early 2006, Kreator toured North America with Napalm Death, A Perfect Murder, and The Undying. Kreator were to tour 2008 with King Diamond, Leaves Eyes, and Cellador, however, the tour was canceled due to back issues with King Diamond.
In March 2008, the At the Pulse of Kapitulation DVD was released, featuring Live in East Berlin and Hallucinative Comas on one disc. Both had previously been available on VHS only and were long out of print. The band had also began working on their 12th full length album in late 2007/early 2008 and began recording in July 2008. Recording for the album, dubbed Hordes of Chaos, was wrapped up in late August, with the album being released in January 2009. On 23 January 2009, the band began their "Chaos Over Europe" tour in Tilburg (the Netherlands) with Caliban, Eluveitie and Emergency Gate as other acts. In April 2009, the band embarked on a North American headlining tour, co-headlined by Exodus, and featuring Belphegor, Warbringer, and Epicurean. In late 2009, Reil was forced to sit out some tour dates due to personal issues, with Marco Minnemann temporarily taking his place.
Recent events (2010–present) [edit]
Kreator signed with Nuclear Blast in early 2010, before embarking on a North American tour in March to celebrate their 25th anniversary. A European tour with Exodus, Death Angel and Suicidal Angels, called "Thrashfest", took place in late 2010. On 1 June 2012, they released their thirteenth studio album, titled Phantom Antichrist. Kreator will co-headline a 23 date North American tour this Fall with Nuclear Blast stable-mates Accept. Entitled the Teutonic Terror Attack 2012 Tour, they will be supported by Finland's Swallow the Sun. Kreator performed alongside Suidakra in Bangalore on 16 June 2012.
Kreator released a music video for Civilization Collapse on November 28, 2012
