siLLy puPPy KREATOR emerged from Essen, German in 1982 but was known as Tormentor until 1985 and are cited as being influential along with other early German thrash bands like Destruction, Sodom and Tankard in pioneering death metal with several early elements that later separated the two into subgenres. The debut album ENDLESS PAIN came out in the mid-80s and was clearly inspired by acts such as Venom but there is still a lot of traditional metal making its way into the mix as well such as the Judas Priest sounding “Storm Of The Beast.” ENDLESS PAIN also has the honor of being seen as a pivotal album for black metal bands as well for on this album guitarist Mille Petrozza and drummer Jürgen Reil share vocal duties and although they can sound like classic thrash vocalists most of the time, there are tracks like “Total Death,” “Flag Of Hate” and “Bone Breaker” that sound more like the shrieks and screams that the second wave of black metal would utilize for the darkening effect of the atmosphere, therefore ENDLESS PAIN has two honorable mentions for its influential qualities.

KREATOR is a band i got into late in their game and pretty came to this debut after hearing the much better ones that follow. Sometimes when i delve into the origins of a band i find i actually really like the less popular early ones better for they can be more experimental and bold in their approach. ENDLESS PAIN is bold in its approach and was probably quite the shocking aggressive fury for its time but at this point KREATOR were still getting their feet wet as a band and although the energy level is on full fire, the creativity flame is still in need of some kindling. While i don’t find this debut release to be awful despite the poor quality production even on the remastered versions, i don’t find it to be in the top league of thrash metal albums outdone by KREATOR themselves starting with their second release “Pleasure To Kill.” Nevertheless i do like to periodically listen to this one for it has a distinct proto sound to it that intrigues me.

Kingcrimsonprog Kreator’s debut album Endless Pain was released in 1985 when the German trio were under 18 years old. As you can imagine, the album is much rawer and less polished than the albums which would follow, both in terms of studio sound quality and in the band’s own performances.

The band at this stage didn’t entirely seem to have mastered the art of switching between sections in songs, and some of the transitions are pretty awkwardly made here and there. Sometimes, the drumming seems to drift in and out of time as well.

Despite these problems, the album features some of the band’s best-loved works like ‘Tormentor,’ and ‘Flag Of Hate,’ which would grace many Kreator concerts for years to come. After its release back in 1985, the album would become influential to a generation of thrash, black and death metal musicians.

Endless Pain contains a lot of music that demonstrates what the band would later become as well as a fair amount of music that sounds unlike anything the band would ever repeat. ‘Bone Breaker,’ and ‘Cry War,’ being two examples of the later category.

If you are curious about Kreator, definitely try another album first. If you have become a fan however, feel free to give Endless Pain a try. It is rough and raw, but it is still a lot of fun to listen to and historically interesting to boot.

UMUR Endless Pain is the debut full-length studio album by German thrash metal act Kreator. The album was released in October 1985 by Noise Records. The band had released a couple of demo tapes in the period 1982 - 1984 when they were called Tormentor but decided for a name change in 1985. The band hails from Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia and because of their young age they actually had to be driven to Berlin to record Endless Pain as they were not yet old enough to drive themselves. After 10 days the album was recorded.

The music on the album is old school German thrash metal or what some people like to call teutonic thrash metal. No matter what you call it the music is simple, mostly fast-paced and filthy as hell thrash metal. As opposed to later Kreator albums where drummer Jürgen "Ventor" Reil only sings on a limited number of tracks, the vocal duties on Endless Pain are shared by Jürgen "Ventor" Reil and guitarist Miland "Mille" Petrozza. The former has a kind of raw barking vocal style while the latter has a caustic aggressive delivery that I´m sure many black metal vocalists have aimed at sounding like. The songs are very similar in style and only the first minute of Dying Victims which features a slightly less distorted guitar sound, sets itself apart from the rest. Kreator were always Slayer worshippers and on this album more than on any other album by the band. The release of Show No Mercy (1983) definitely didn´t go unnoticed in Essen. Kreator take the raw thrash metal style of the Slayer debut a bit further though and I´m pretty sure that Endless Pain must have been one of the most brutal and aggressive releases coming out in 1985.

The playing is quite sloppy at times and gives the album an authentic feel. It´s probably an aquired taste if that´s something you will enjoy though.

The production is quite messy and paired with the bad playing the outcome is not very succesful to my ears. The guitars are thin sounding, the drums have a strange sound and the vocals are a bit too high in the mix. The latter is a feature I enjoy though.

Endless Pain is a seminal German thrash metal album and I know the album has many worshippers. I can´t say I´m one of them. I find the album amaturish, monotone and bad sounding and a 2 star rating is warranted. I´m sure fans of the authentic teutonic thrash metal sound will enjoy the album more than I do though and with a seminal album like this it´s of no importance that I don´t enjoy the album much, because if you have just the slightest interest in thrash metal you´ll take a listen no matter how I feel about Endless Pain.