KREATOR — Hate über alles (review)

Album · 2022 · Thrash Metal

4/5 · 2022-10-08
The Spotlight Kid

While many of the Thrash Metal originators seemed to stumble through the 90’s and 2000’s, or in many cases disappeared completely during this period of Metal being cast out of the mainstream, and for the most part relegated back to the underground. One German band, however, managed to continue to grow and experiment their way through it all and emerge on the other side a refined yet equally potent version of their previous selves. Of course I’m talking about the biggest of the German big four, the Mighty Kreator. This year sees the band release their 15th studio album entitled Hate Über Alles.

Kreator never really lost their creative fire, even if some of their more experimental albums in the 1990’s are considered somewhat controversial to many fans. In recent years however Kreator have really hit their stride. Their new sound really coalesced on 2012’s Phantom Antichrist and through 2017’s Gods of Violence. The approach is still just as fast, heavy and aggressive as their roots, but with added elements of musicality and melody. One might think these additions would diminish the attack and ferocity, however nothing can be further from the truth. Hate Über Alles very much continues in the same vein. However it’s not a copy-paste situation. Leader Mille Petrozza has said that the album was written and ready to go before Covid struck, however the additional time before being able to release and tour it, allowed the band to put more time and attention into the final creative process.

Hate Über Alles opens with a short ode to Ennio Marricone and Spaghetti Westerns in the track “Sergio Corbucci is Dead”. Generally I’m pretty sick of these kinds of non-metal intro tracks that every band these days feels the need to start their albums with, but in this case it's fairly short and well done and quite enjoyable. Perhaps because I’m a big Spaghetti western fan. Next the title track, which is an album highlight, erupts and it’s the full frontal Thrash aggression that has always been the bread and butter of Kreator. Killer riffing, memorable chorus and fantastic guitar playing from Mille and Sami Yli-Sirniö. “Crush of the Tyrants” has more of a mid-paced groove but is no less heavy and memorable. The production and tones throughout are really first rate with everything sounding rich and full and with clear separation yet retaining the overall power. “ “Strongest Of The Strong” is one of the singles and is a fun, straightforward rocker that somehow manages to sound heavier than it probably should. The lyrics on Hate Über Alles are pretty cringe at times but it doesn’t ruin my enjoyment overall. “Become Immortal” is a self-referential song about the history of Kreator itself and is a bit tongue in cheek and more than a little cheesy, but also a lot of fun. “Conquer and Destroy” is another highlight. Opening with some dreamy harmonized guitars before exploding into full speed pummeling aggression. Whereas in the first run of Kreator it was all Thrash, all the time, now the band will include more traditional Heavy Metal and even Power Metal melodies to make their point. While for the most part we get Mille’s great harsh vocals throughout, another unusual addition is the cleaner vocals seen in some of the tracks. The inclusion of female vocals on “Midnight Sun”, by Berlin based singer, Sofia Portanet for example. This song has a decidedly Goth feel mixed into the Power/ Thrash and is an enjoyable diversion.

The drums as usual are helmed by Ventor and he absolutely slays as always. The guy is a beast. Besides the fairly stable line-up here is the one new addition to the band, former Dragonforce and Sinsaenum bass player Frédéric Leclercq. He actually contributed to the writing process with Mille in the final track “Dying Planet” which is another standout track, with some excellent moodiness built into the high speed attack. The song has an epic and somewhat progressive feel to it and is a powerful way to close out Hate Über Alles.

If you are an old school fan and only love classics like Pleasure to Kill, Extreme Aggression and Coma Of Souls, but never could enjoy anything else going forward then this won’t win you over. However for fans who have loved their more recent albums then there is a lot to love on this album. I wouldn’t say it’s one of their all-time greatest albums but it’s an extremely strong release nonetheless. Power, melody, ferocity and Thrash are the names of the game here and Kreator, as always, has delivered a fantastsic album. (originally published on SoT and The Metal Spotlight)

1 year ago
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UMUR wrote:

1 year ago

After my first listen, I´ve been pleasantly surprised by this album. It´s pretty diverse and although it still features thrash metal speed and aggression, there are a lot of other stylistic elements here too (as you also write), which makes for an interesting and varied listen.