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Rating: If I had to briefly describe who Kreator are to someone unfamiliar with them, I think I would simply start by saying "they are the European Slayer." A definition that would immediately capture (hopefully) the nuances of the type of thrash proposed by the group, which resembles more the Slayer combo than that of Metallica or others (at least as far as their early '80s productions are concerned).
However, to be fair, this definition doesn't do them justice, because it might erroneously suggest that their style is inspired by or derived from the Californian thrashers or imply that they are simply the German counterpart. It's not like that at all, and although Kreator surely have less flamboyant fame, they have had nothing to envy their overseas cousins; in fact, given the almost contemporaneous musical explosion of those years that saw on one side the Bay area and on the other Germany, Petrozza and company are in all respects pioneers of the genre.
The album under review dates back to 1990, a period when, according to many, thrash was breathing its last gasps before the post-thrash and nu-metal phenomena exploded, in a scenario where it seemed that grunge dominated everything. Personally, given the records released between the late '80s and '90s, I can state that even if thrash was indeed dying, it was at least doing so with a final flourish worthy of the glorious decade that saw its birth.
The first ones that come to mind: "Beneath the Remains," "Arise," "Rust in Peace," "Seasons in the Abyss," are clear examples, and in my opinion, this "Coma of Souls," born a year after the (even more beautiful) "Extreme Aggression," is nothing short of one of those final flourishes.
This record may not be a masterpiece, but it remains undoubtedly one of their classics, either for the reasons mentioned above, for the period it was released, or because it contains some tracks that have always been part of their live setlists such as "Coma of Souls," "People Of The Lie," and "Terror Zone," (which we also find published in their latest live recording dated 2003), the latter so classic that it's an integral part of the official website both in name and concept (visit the link and you'll understand).
The album is impeccable under every point of view, starting with a sound quality far superior to its predecessors that immediately does justice to the aggressive sound that the Teutons can create. The typical acoustic intro followed by distorted riffs after a few seconds takes us to Mille's initial scream in "When The Sun Burns Red," and following, we will find an excellent dosage of ingredients taken from the best thrash metal manual.
Typical gallops for immediate headbanging of brief and lightning-fast pieces ("World Beyond"), genre classics (more properly heavy than speed & thrash) with a slow and cadenced start to grow over the distance ("Terror Zone"), or the pieces that as soon as they start you can't help but keep the rhythm, so engaging in its simplicity ("Mental Slavery") to then develop in time changes supporting guitar solos sometimes (and often) very fast but also shorter or melodic with tapping and wah-wah parts ("Material World Paranoia"), frequent time changes and intros with back-voiced guitars ("Twisted Urges").
Last note, but not less important, the lyrics. Cryptic with many political and social references related to the world we live in, described with a certain maturity, which characterizes their hard comprehension. I like how Mille sings on this album, with his hoarse and angry voice, and although he does not have the virtuoso's characteristics capable of high and low flights or very high peaks, he still manages to always maintain a tone as shrill as it is robust at the same time that wonderfully merges on the guitar riffs and the words.
Kreator are still today one of the most appreciated thrash bands of all time, although in the past they have always remained a bit more in the shadows compared to others. It's a pity I discovered them too late compared to the more famous American bands. Knowing that Europe and nearby Germany were also able to contribute to the development of one of my favorite genres was indeed a great discovery. Highly recommended to those who missed it.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 When the Sun Burns Red (05:31)
Savage heat is searing
Global warming has begun
Mother Earth is reeling
No protection from the sun
Forest fires are raging
While the rivers turn to ice
Foolish man creating
Mother Nature's cruel demise
Hailstorms, tornadoes
Cold spells, untimely frosts
Heat waves and blizzards
Global death's the cost
Faces the end of time
As we plunge headlong towards the day
Can't deny the signs
When the sun burns red
The earth will turn
From blue to gray
Winter turns to summer
Then the seasons disappear
No one needs a prophet
To explain what's all too clear
Oceans overflowing
Islands drowning everywhere
Leaders wouldn't admit it
Now they're crying in despair
Hailstorms, tornadoes
Cold spells, untimely frosts
Heat waves and blizzards
Global death's the cost
Face the end of time
As we plunge headlong towards the day
Can't deny the signs
When the sun burns red
The earth will turn
From blue to gray
Now rain shall wash away sad remains of man
Cities once so proud will crumble into sand
Buildings all collapse when all is done and said
The guilty ones will die with the innocent...
When the sun burns red
02 Coma of Souls (04:18)
Masters of war
Merchants of false peace
Bleeding the lives of the lost
Feeding them terminal disease
Breaking the rules
No matter who gets hurt
Wholesaling useless trash
Charging twice what it's worth
Freedom of thought a mirage
The coma is endless and deep
Feeling so worldly and wise
Fooled by the friends that we keep
Spirits on ice
They'll never be free
One-dimensional lives
Will the coma of souls outlive eternity
Children are pawns
For generals to play with and kill
Mercy will never be found
Where mayhem is done for the thrill
Righteous crusades
Murder to honor a god?
No one is saved
Dead bodies shrivel and rot
Freedom of thought a mirage
The coma is endless and deep
Feeling so worldly and wise
Fooled by the friends that we keep
Spirits on ice
They'll never be free
One-dimensional lives
Will the coma of souls outlive eternity
Deep in the unconscious mind
Lies the oldest wisdom
Buried by centuries
Of war and inquisition
Truth is raped and crucified
By men with savage brains
And greed flows forth in endless waves
From fools to wretched slaves
Coma of Souls!
03 People of the Lie (03:16)
Don't look at me as if I didn't know
Your vanity is all you ever show
What you believe and advocate
Fanatic dogma recycled from yesterday
Got a master plan
Genocide
Can't understand
People of the lie
You are to me the waste of flesh and blood
I'd love to see you buried in the mud
And when you die no one will shed a tear
So pass me by don't need your hatred here
Got a master plan
Genocide
Can't understand
People of the lie
Prejudice, intolerance, eye for an eye
[SOLO - FRANK]
You cannot hide behind those empty claims
Your racist pride is nothing but a game
And you will lose for right is on the side
Of those who choose to fight for humankind
Got a master plan
Genocide
Can't understand
People of the lie
You can't believe
Don't be deceived
05 Terror Zone (05:58)
My inner eye sees many spheres
A cruel dimension where time and space
Distort beyond control
A ride to another center of the Universe
My thoughts come undone make me see
The dark stains on my soul
A darkness as cold as ice surrounds me in this place
I probe a veiled phobia, all my own
Creatures crawl out from my weirdest,
Wildest dreams
They are flesh, not fantasy,
They drag me inside the...
Terror zone
Demons, ghouls, and fiends that once
I could ignore
Shred the skin and flesh from my bones
Planets form and die,
The cosmos torment me
Unnatural, humongous, never ending...
Terror zone
Now I know what dwells within me
Blood - a river of sweat and tears
Flesh - a land God left behind
Soul - a sky of cloudy fears
Deception and disguise
Dissolve before my inner eyes
My heart turns to stone
God, I'm all alone
Oh, no!
All alone
Terror zone...
08 Twisted Urges (02:46)
Fulfilling morbid dreams
Of those who never have time to sleep
Enduring to extremes
Held by a promise that they won't keep
Dark silence is so real
Walls painted black as night
Locked up in chains of steel
Down in the cellar nothing is right
Mistress of perversity
Unwilling tool of other's lust
Witnessing abnormality
With no one left to trust
Hell couldn't be this bad
Sold by her father to gratify
She never had a chance
Raped, beaten, sodomized
Her martyred soul cries out
Yet no one hears her scream
Her world is fear and doubt
She's a prisoner of this grotesque scene
[SOLO - MILLE]
[SOLO - FRANK]
Mistress of perversity
She never had a chance
Raped, beaten, sodomized
Twisted urges drove her to the end
09 Hidden Dictator (04:51)
No shape, no form, no brain, no mind
But the power to control all resistance
Its awesome might cannot be denied
By the world that ignores its existence
Older than time - stranger than life
Don't look for a sign without warning it will arrive
It can read your mind
See the world inside
Oversees your life
Decides the day you die
Silent lifetaker
Sentient creator
Worlds recoil in fear
Of the hidden dictator
[SOLO - FRANK]
[SOLO - MILLE]
Presence beyond our imagination
Horrible being of fate
Not one sign of its domination
God prays it never awakes
Older than time - stranger than life
Don't look for a sign without warning it will arrive
It can read your mind
See the void inside
Oversees your life
Decides the day you die
Silent lifetaker
Sentient creator
Worlds recoil in fear
Of the hidden dictator
Worlds have risen, lived and died under its obscene command
Kept the balance of galaxies in its omnipotent hands
[SOLO - FRANK]
Minds of greedy distortion
All are destroyed in its wake
It judges the worth of the low forms of life
Who cower and quiver and quake
Some may call it the savior
Fall to their bellies and pray
Some will try to resist in the hope they'll exist
To experience just one more day
And the lost shall pray for forgiveness
And the fearful and weak start to scream
As the terrible nightmare of a dying world
Becomes beauty beyond any dream
One world must end
New ones begin
A pure life form
From death is born
Silent lifemaker
Sentient creator
The new world is blessed by the hidden dictator
10 Mental Slavery (05:44)
Land of solitude
A place of horror dark and cruel
There's no need to seek the truth
Opinions are provided for you
Innocence of youth
Full of visionary fantasies
From subconscious laboratories
Try to break the chains of barbarity
Servants to mother machine
Nursed by video screens
Paradise of insanity
Born into a grave of
Mental slavery
Lost in dark reality
Mental slavery
Memories of the past
Holy empires of harmony
Visions only children see
Are soon removed by society
Replaced by numbing fear
The horror show of rules sets in
Total control of thought begins
Another car on the highway of sin
Servants to mother machine
Nursed by video screens
Paradise of insanity
Born into a grave of
Mental slavery
Lost in dark reality
Mental slavery
Just one of a million slaves
An expendable commodity
This song's for those who serve
The system of terror
That rules the earth
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Other reviews
By sofficino
We are facing a masterpiece from the 80s, a record different from Violent Revolution or Enemy of God or Pleasure to Kill.
This album is one of the masterpieces of the 80s and one of the best thrash albums that form the trinity.
By PhilMetallo
From Mille's first scream to the end, there will indeed be no pause.
An album I recommend to all thrash lovers and consider, if not the best, one of the most beautiful by the German band.
