Having been formed as long ago as 1982, Kreator have long been recognised as one of the most important thrash bands to come out of Europe, often lumped into the ‘Teutonic Big 4’ alongside Destruction, Sodom and Tankard. Lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Miland “Mille” Petrozza and drummer Jürgen “Ventor” Reil are the only founders still there but lead guitarist Sami Yli-Sirniö has been in the band for more than 20 years and even “new boy” bassist Frédéric Leclercq has been there since 2019 and this is his second album, so the stability is remarkable. Here we find Kreator again moving away from their thrash roots, and while incredibly heavy this finds them using orchestration, moving into power metal and more, all the while the production is incredibly smooth and polished, which may not have done them any favours with traditionalists.
I have long been a huge fan of 70’s classic horror movie ‘Suspiria’ and have even seen it with Goblin playing the soundtrack onstage at the same time, so to find a homage in “Tränenpalast” is superb, with extreme metal vocal coach Britta Görtz (Hiraes) certainly making her presence felt and adding some nice rawness to proceedings. She is not the only guest involved either as there is also room for Scott Ian (Anthrax), Chuck Billy (Testament), Bela B. (Die Ärzte) and Phil Demmel (Kerry King, ex-Machine Head). This is polished brutality, and Jens Bogren has again captured this German behemoth in full flight. It is uncompromising, yet there is also the feeling of commerciality in much of the sound, which undoubtedly will make it more palatable to some, but is it a turn towards Sabaton which could alienate those longing for the old days? Possibly, but it is still very enjoyable for all metalheads.
Rating: 7/10
Links:
https://www.kreator-terrorzone.de/
https://www.nuclearblast.com/