GODS OF VIOLENCE review - Bash the Fash Thrash

(Reviewed by Melody Werner)

Gods of Violence is the latest studio album from Teutonic thrash metal legends, Kreator. The band's FOURTEENTH (!!!) dropped in 2017, and on release it was the first LP of theirs to reach #1 sales in their home country of Germany (which is home to the Big Four of Teutonic Thrash--Kreator, Sodom, Destruction, and Tankard). With the band's next inevitably Satanic album currently tabbed for this upcoming year, and me just having gotten into them thanks to this album, I thought I'd share my thoughts on this album. This face-melting, refined, brutal, and catchy album.

Good thrash calls for punishing instrumentals, and Gods of Violence fulfills that call wonderfully. Complex, earth-crushing performances that shred all that is holy to ribbons in a way that is sure to have genre enthusiasts throwing up those devil horns. Luscious production that forsakes nail-biting nastiness in favor of gothic grandiosity will ensure that those more fond of rawness in their thrash may have their mileage varied. For me, I don't have a strong preference either way so long as the production is well-implemented at the end of the day. For Kreator, their riffage is so top tier that every relisten yields these interesting niches to suss out that you didn't notice the last time, or the time before that, and I think good production aids in that without losing the ferocity and sheer fun of these delicious attacks and this cacophonous drumming. Kudos to Mille Petrozza (rhythm guitar & vocals), Ventor (drums), Christian Giesler (bass), and Sami Yli-Sirniö (lead guitar), and their bevy of support musicians. Mille's voice is standout in thrash; potent, demonic, naturally unnatural. Perfect for Kreator's signature brand of blasphemous, intimidating thrash.

Where Gods of Violence is at its finest would be with these insanely memorable, thrilling flows by Mille backed by blistering instrumentation that just explodes so brilliantly. It's obscene how frantic and addictive verses on tracks such as "World War Now," "Army of Storms," and the title track. The song construction here is exemplary, with a dynamic quality that keeps things from becoming dull. That's not to say that there aren't middling moments; "Lion with Eagle Wings" is a fun song, but its chorus is middling and does not hold up to replays as well as the calamitous "Satan Is Real." "Apocalypticon" isn't badly arranged, played, or anything as an instrumental, but it's a hilariously useless opener when you consider how legendary an opener "World War Now" would be. I don't even know why "Apocalypticon" is here, to be honest. WWN does everything it does better, WWN is an infinitely superior track put up next to it, and the transition from it to WWN is horrendously janky. It's a bad start to an album that would've been severely improved with Apocalypticon beheaded.

When it comes to the lyrics, I am leaning more positive than not, though with reservations. "Totalitarian Terror," "Hail to the Hordes," and my beloved WWN are lyrically diverse without sacrificing listenability or space for flaming hot solos. Occasionally, though, we get a bar that is just insufferably smug. Now, I am very much in the camp that this album's lyrics are. Fuck fascism, and I'm glad as hell that you have bands like Kreator (from Germany, no less) which say it too. But, shit--"Dethroning kings by civil disobedience/This is our redemption/We are stronger than the rest"? I'm all there for dethroning kings and never behaving civil in the face of neoliberal and alt-right thralls who'd rather you die than make their donors pay a wee more in taxes so you can have the right to basic needs like housing and healthcare, and even that just strikes me as, "oh, get off your high horse, bro." Us leftists fucking suck at working together to overthrow capitalism, even when the vast majority of people around the world know deep down that this neoliberal stranglehold isn't working out. Thankfully, the tune at the heart of the song is super fun, which is incredibly important in getting people to listen to your message when it comes to music. Look at how successful Rage Against The Machine and System of the Down are, when they have some pretty chad politics for mainstream metal.

Gods of Violence is an excellent latter day thrash album, no doubt, and incredibly accessible. Monster riffs, bestial vocals, and thoughtful songwriting are stymied by some fat that could've been trimmed for an EP or something. Nevertheless, the overall piece is terrific and well worth your time, regardless of your experience level with thrash. If a new album from a band this old is this damn good, I await their next studio album with bated breath. Gods of Violence gets a 9/10.

Awesome

Summary:

A killer late album from the biggest architect of the Teutonic thrash scene, chock full of addictive performances and moody gothic atmosphere. \m/