Kreator
Violent Revolution

THE REVIEW

The year is 2001 when Kreator releases "Violent Revolution". The band publishes it after a series of experimental albums, which diverged from thrash by broadening the band's musical horizons, but faced with this work, one immediately understands that Mille has violently swerved back onto track. The four Germans return to wreak havoc.
Even the cover is a whole program: dominated by a truly battered face, it takes us back ten years in the band's history, to "Coma Of Souls" … but the CD in question is anything but outdated. Despite the genre being unequivocally thrash, the sound is fuller and more powerful than ever; each member gives their best to shatter our eardrums. The Kreator of "Violent Revolution" have grown significantly since their early days and deliver structured songs with captivating melodies.

"Reconquering The Throne" opens the show, a powerful song that runs breathlessly, stopping only for a suspended solo that leads to a quick conclusion. It flows through to "The Patriarch", a short instrumental that keeps the tension high, up to one of the most successful songs on the album. "Violent Revolution" is slower than the first track but is certainly more engaging. In the middle of the track, the rhythm drops, and Petrozza's desolate and immense voice screams over the distorted guitars, only to unexpectedly gallop back to the initial riffs with an unexpected and engaging explosion. Next comes "All Of The Same Blood", a compelling song that doesn't lower the album's pace; a wave of violence overwhelms the listener when, at the end of each verse, among the guitars and double bass, Mille shouts "Legions forgotten by the gods" and everything falls silent. The fifth track starts slow and builds without too many surprises, a perhaps somewhat predictable piece that doesn’t spoil the whole.
"Second Awakening" is of a different kind, striking anyone (or at least me) from the first listen; with its catchy chorus and relentless rhythm, it certainly doesn't go unnoticed. The effect on the voice that opens the first two verses is immense and gives chills. "Ghetto War" is a song that conveys desolation and destruction, undoubtedly the most atmospheric piece of the album. Kreator have given us a thrash gem, and the most striking proof is the intricate eighth track: it opens with a melancholy arpeggio, over which the band's leader sings with a warm voice, until the music bursts into a fast, powerful rhythm… Is that it? No, after a few seconds, the Teutons decide to push the pedal again, revealing the track's raw power, fast and violent… slowing down just a bit to scream "Die in pain, die in pain, live in fear and die in pain" before regaining the reins of devastation, while Mille repeats: "Is only a Replicas Of Life". The initial arpeggio returns only briefly at the end, and we realize that eight minutes have passed without us noticing. In my opinion, this piece is one of the album's highest points (not coincidentally the favorite song of Jürgen Reil, the band's drummer) that, however, doesn't stop here. The ninth track disappoints those expecting a possible pause; "Slave Machinery" is heavy and to be digested all at once. "Bitter Sweet Revenge" starts along the lines of the previous one, only to reiterate that in this album, speed rules. Following is "Mind On Fire", another perhaps somewhat predictable song, with a catchy chorus and not much more. At this point, something makes our ears perk up, and a spurt of rage blasts through our system, the superb "System Decay" bursts in abruptly, a memorable song that closes a pure thrash metal album in the best way.

This CD is proof that Kreator can still crush our bones, and they do it better than ever… all the songs are driven by rage, rich in violence, but also with new and interesting insights, in my opinion, on par with 1980s thrash, which, at least for these four metalheads, is not quite dead.

"Society failed to tolerate me, and i have failed to tolerate society, still i can't find what you adore, inside i hear the echoes of an inner war, nothing can take the horror from me, your sick world the loss of all morality, my hate has grown as strong as my confusion, my only hope my only solution, is a Violent Revolution"