Kreator Album: “Violent Revolution”

This is an absolute must for any Kreator fan. It's just like the good old days. True thrash like some of their older albums. Everything I've heard by Kreator I like some more than others, this up there with my favorites Terrible Certainty, Extreme Aggression. Check out their new one too(Enemy of God) its just as good as Violent Revolution. Mille is still pissed off at the world and still very aggressive. If you are a true thrash fan you will not be dissapointed in this album, especially if you are a Kreator fan.

The year of 2001 is a year of comebacks of sorts. Speaking of KREATOR who stayed in the scene throughout metal-unfriendly 90s, this album marks the return to their late 80s roots. But, instead of the half-hearted imitation of the past days' glory, KREATOR put out a solid piece of work which will satisfy a hunger for quality thrash in any fan of the genre. When speaking of the return to their roots, Mille Petrozza and Co. meant it - the album sounds alot like their immortal classic "Coma of Souls". Still, it's not a "Coma of Souls-2", although the similarities are obvious. The album relies more on heavier rhythms, and the guitar solos do not stick out of the mix but rather interwoven into the rhythm guitar context (this is where I miss Frank Godzik, although the guitar work here is superb and is head and shoulders above that of the recent retro-thrash bands), the album is a bit less speedy than their output from the decade ago, but still a full gear ahead of two previous records. Songwrighting is top notch, the songs are consistent in quality but flow without sounding sameish. My favourites here are "Reconquering the Throne", "Ghetto War" (which strangely reminds of Renewal), "Replicas of Life". Mille's vocal sounds as if the whole 90s decade has never happened, with one or two exceptions (a clean part in one song and industralized passage in "Ghetto War"). The album is solid and flows smoothly from start to finish. My only gripe here is the production which is too clean. I would like to hear sharper guitar sound (but not to the degree of Abyss studio) and more emphasis on drums; but these are quite minor complaints which are not enough to rob this album of 5-star rating.

Usually one of the most common things I ask myself when I hear a band like Kreator is, "Why didn't I start listening to these guys easlier?" These guys are so under the radar, I had never seen or heard of them until 2003 when Headbanger's Ball returned, and started showing the live video for Phobia. I didn't even start listening to them until this year when I bought Enemy Of God Revisited. One of the things that I admire about Kreator is their unwillingness to go mainstream, even during their experimental period through most of the 90's which left a lot of fans losing faith in the band. Outcast was good, but after listening to Cause For Conflict, I didn't bother with Renewal or Endorama. In 2001, they opted to return to their thrash sound, hiring producer Andy Sneap (Machine Head, Napalm Death, Skinlab), bringing back to life the sound from early albums Pleasure To Kill, Terrible Certainty, Extreme Aggression, and Coma Of Souls. Of course, I can't stress enough....you bring Andy Sneap into the equation, the results are usually gonna be good. This album has everything the casual Kreator fan wants to hear and them some. They've managed to keep good interest with Violent Revolution, as well as Live Kreation and Enemy Of God. Here's to hoping that they start working on the next album.

Violent Revolution & Enemy of God is all I'm listening to in my car, in my house, on the plane, in the hotel....every where I go for the last month.They're both freaking awsome. I keep listening to them over and over again and I just don't get board of them. Kreator was my ever best band till they released Renewal, afterwards I didn't bother buying anything else for them. But with these two masterpieces Mille shows how a musical genious he is. Forget about Slayer, forget about all the other bands....Kreator is the best Metal band in the world and they prove it with Viloent and Enemy. Go buy them both, I highly recommand them for the true fans of Kreator and Thrash Metal. I can't mention favorites cause all the songs on both are. They just take you off with the first song and won't let you down till the last, just song after song after song. So relentless, so brutal, so over the top.BUY'EM BOTH NOW.

This album has all the ingredients that made thrash such an awesome force during its hayday in the mid 80's to 90's. Now since thrash metal has lost some of its luster on todays music scene, it is refreshing to experience an album like this. Violent Revolution is a tight album of pounding music. the drums and bass thrash together while the guiters shred. The vocals are not out done here and feel right at home with the music and maintain the passion put forth on this album. Kreator does a nice job switching tempos as songs progress so the bore factor is never evident. At least 2/3 of the songs can be relistened to infinitely and some of the best songs are towards the end of the album, thats how strong this one is. I don't give five stars unless an album is as close to perfect as my ears feel they can be, enough said.