Metal Underground.com

Hands down, Kreator is the best thrash band in the world today. This is said in the most unapologetic way imaginable with absolutely no regrets. Go ahead and shout any band you wish and Kreator will counter that argument with a ‘violent revolution.’ Jokes aside, you would be hard pressed to find a band at the top of its game than Mille and his ‘hordes of chaos.’ “Gods of Violence” follows the brilliance of “Phantom Antichrist” and just when you think nothing could compare…. bang “Gods of Violence!” The new release is another in a 33 year tightrope dance between total chaos, dominant order, shredding riffs, and glorious melody.

How long can Mille keep this up? As a fan, I hope forever. As a human, only the devil knows for sure. However, if you are looking for that contentious, belligerent, rebellious voice in the middle of our inevitable total human collapse – you cannot go wrong with Mille. As the world rushes directly towards race wars, religious wars, environmental wars, nuclear wars – Kreator will be your soundtrack to that apocalypse. “Gods of Violence” takes all of the elements you love from Kreator and force feeds them to you like a pie full of riffs to the face.

What better way to start off a new release then with “Apocalypticon/World War Now,” with an insane torrid riff that takes a sudden and gloriously melodic turn right around the 2 minute mark. Out of chaos, comes order. Out of the war, comes life. This is something that Kreator does better than any other band in the world. You cannot find a better example on “Gods of Violence” than the opener and “Totalitarian Terror,” which is as brutal as it is majestic.

So what surprises has ol’ Mille come up for you this time around? Well, would you believe bagpipes? Check out the blistering anthem “Hail to the Hordes,” featuring guest piper Boris Peifer. How about a chorus that is akin to Alestorm? No fucking way, not possible, right? Check out “Side By Side.” Fear not, there is no doubt this is Kreator as brutal as the band has ever have been, especially in album favorites “Totalitarian Terror,” “Army of Storms” and insanely rifftastic as shown on “Fallen Brother” and “Satan is Real.”

One thing that has been very noticeable from the beginning of “Phantom Antichrist” through “Gods of Violence,” Mille has taken the sum of all of Kreator’s material, whether predictable or daring and melded them into what can only described as “the Iron Maiden of thrash.” Think I’m joking? Check out “Death Becomes My Light,” the seven minute opus which might be the best Iron Maiden song never written or the soulful intro before the brutality in “Lion With Eagle Wings.”

One thing that your author gets accused of – perhaps warranted, perhaps not – is giving out too many perfect scores in reviews. It’s just not possible for an album to be “perfect” and I’m certain more critical ears will find faults with anything as a matter of course. It is my belief that a perfect album is more than technical proficiency or presenting something dramatically different than previous efforts or compared to like acts – it is about feel, heart, memorability and songwriting. “Gods of Violence” has all of this. It is a testament to an “old guard” band that continues to be striving for something beyond its best. This is music that possesses the mind and drives one to uncontrollable rage. You see….“Satan is Real” and hot damn, he is glorious.