Tester Game

Arguably the most influential and successful European thrash metal band ever, Germanys Kreator is also by far the most enduring. Like many of their European speed metal brethren.Kreator fused Metallicas thrash innovations with Venoms proto-black metal imagery, sparked it with Mot�rheads balls-out velocity, and capped it off with the nihilistic outlook typical of heavy metal since the seminal days of Black Sabbath. Kreators career also mirrored speed metals 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 thats resilience.

Originally named "Tyrant," and then "Tormentor," Kreator was founded in 1982 by vocalist/guitarist Mille Petrozza, bassist Rob Fioretti, and drummer J�rgen 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 eras bustling underground tape-trading network. Positive word of mouth soon attracted the attention of Germanys 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 Berlins Musiclab Studios, 1985s 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 groups reputation preceding them, lucky fans within the bands 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 bands 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 Switzerlands Celtic Frost (with whom they toured the U.K. a year later), were fast becoming Europes top extreme metal contenders. Recorded at Hannovers Horus Studios with English producer Roy Rowland, 1987s 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 J�rge 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 1989s Extreme Aggression. With videos made for the ubiquitous title track and the venomous "Betrayer" getting plenty of exposure on MTVs 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 groups 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.

1992s 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 Petrozzas hissing, scratchy voice, which of course predated, and no doubt influenced, death metals 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 albums 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, Kreators silence was only broken three years later with the release of 1995s, 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 days 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 Kreators future prospects null and void.

Looking to remedy the bands 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 Ventors welcome return to Kreators ranks, neither of these albums managed to re-ignite the bands career. Yet again, timely retrospective releases like 1999s Voices of Transgression (shedding light on the bands hit-and-miss second decade) and 2000s Past Life Trauma (a near-flawless wrap-up of their first decade) provided some consolation for disgruntled old fans who had long abandoned Kreators floundering ship; but, unexpectedly, they also cleared the way for a rebirth of sorts.

This renaissance began to take shape following Vetterlis departure and the signing of a new record deal with Germanys SPV label. Simply put, Petrozza recommitted himself to thrash, and, after hiring Finnish-born second guitarist Sami Yli-Sirnio, proceeded to write Kreators strongest album in years, with 2001s positively stunning Violent Revolution. In keeping with Kreator tradition, the consequent world tour became their most comprehensive and extensive ever. Thanks to Violent Revolutions great success, it served to reintroduce and reestablish Kreator as one of the worlds premiere speed metal acts -- a feat that was commemorated with the groups first live album -- a lavish two-CD/DVD set appositely named (with some grammatical license) Live Kreation/Revisioned Glory -- a couple of years later. Surely already preparing for their 11th studio album, Kreator will probably never retire.