Kreator! The legendary thrashers led by Mille Petrozza are back and continuing their support of 2005’s amazing and powerful release on SPV Records “Enemy Of God”. The appeal of this band to their following is impressive for when they passed through mid-last year one can understand a sold out venue; yet a return that finds the same result is excellent some 8 months later especially since there was no new release or DVD to promote. Opening the show or sharing the headlining bill Century Media Records own Napalm Death. The music of Napalm Death is a brutal mix of Hard Core Punk and Thrash Metal and despite my limited background on them they certainly proved that the mosh pit would be in full force during their performance. The group also rocketed through 24 songs and while that seems long it was not the case with many of their tunes having a short length. The band has been around since 1987 and are considered legendary in the genre. It’s high-speed and brutally in your face music and tonight a large amount of material would be from their latest release “The Code Is Red”. If hard core punk influenced metal is what gets you stomping then you should be paying attention to Napalm Death and what they offer you as a fan. They did go over well this evening and I am sure impressed others like myself who are not on top of them.
With the venue at capacity again Kreator came on amid a smoke-filled stage. From there the energy was at a high point as the thrashing became a consistent vibe from the stage to the Metal hungry audience. Seeing Kreator last year I actually preferred them this time around a bit more for it seems as though the album had grown on me and the material overall a little stronger than I remembered it being the first time around. Jurgen Reil (drums), Christian Geisler (bass) and Sami Yli-Sirniö (guitar) were all brutalizing their instruments during the set as Mille screamed and thrashed like a maniac. He is a great front man and the crowd really responds when he yells to them. The night was virtually flawless as number after number went by faster than your mind could comprehend until the band seemed to blow out a monitor. Without breaking stride they continued on and the pit circled more and more while the stage hands fixed what went wrong. Kreator is one of the bands that has kept their basic sound pure and very close to its original state from their earliest years. Together with bands like Sodom they maintain the purity of the traditional based Thrash Metal that was kicked off in the eighties. If the follow-up to “Enemy Of God” is even half as good the Metal legions are in for a treat. They are a tight band live and they certainly do this well on the concert stage since they are now seasoned veterans at the task. I recommend a Kreator show at least once in every Metal heads life.
As a side story to the review (which is for those who know exactly how dark parts of the B.B. King venue can be), at one point I swore the guy standing next to me looked very familiar. Before I could grab a second with him he was ushered backstage and then I asked a friend why the face rung a bell so strongly she replied that it was Tom G. Warrior of the legendary Celtic Frost. Boy did I feel stupid and hoped he would come back out which he did not. The band was in town doing press for their coming tour and are set to play the same venue. Later in the Kreator set Mille announced that a special guest would be coming out but instead of Warrior it would prove to be Bobby Hambel formerly of Brooklyn’s own Biohazard. All in all it was a hell of a night for Metal and the pictures are here to prove it.
Official Web Site: http://www.kreator-terrorzone.de
Official Web Site: http://www.enemyofthemusicbusiness.com
