Reviews

As much as we all love classic bands, they do need a break occasionally to recharge the batteries and (hopefully) come up with some new ideas. Kreator is great example of this. From 2001 to 2017 they released five great modern thrash albums, but by 2022's Hate Uber Alles it was all starting to sound a bit stale. The four years between that album and Krushers Of The World isn't a particularly long time by today's music standards - but it has obviously been a long enough break for the band to somewhat recharge it's batteries. Krushers Of The World is far from being a classic Kreator album, but it is grower, with some memorable moments along the way. The album opens with the riveting 'Seven Serpents', with a riff so heavy it will melt your brain. It is by far the best song on the album if a big thrash headbanger is what you are looking for. Next up, 'Satanic Anarchy', is a great representation of the rest of the album. Good, but never great. The issue with the track is that when hitting the chorus the band has chosen to break the heavy thrash and move into a melodic sing-along style. The majority of the album then follows the template - a huge thrash riff that peels the skin from your face, but then the moment is restrained by a melodic chorus. The title track slows things down to a heavy chug and is a great track. The melodic approach to the chorus works, as it fits the steady tone of the rest of the song. The solo is wonderful, and is quite intense even though the song isn't particularly fast. Death metal vocalist Britta Gortz guests on 'Tranenpalast', and it feels a bit flat and unnecessary, bringing nothing the song. The song is rather paint-by-numbers anyway, sounding like the sort of riff frontman Mille Petrozza could write in his sleep. 'Barbarian' puts the train back on the rails, with a verse riff that is very reminiscent of an 80s Kreator, until that melody again kicks in for the chorus. By this point it is so predictable that the choruses to all songs sound like the same music with different lyrics. 'Blood Of Our Blood' stands out as something different, and is a better track for it. It is still within the catchy-chorus formula, but stays fast and heavy throughout, giving it a an edge other tracks lack. As track after track plays through it is hard to find a truly memorable hook, as so many songs sound very similar at that special spot in the song where it should catch you. 'Psychotic Imperator' somehow escapes the melody chorus and is one of the best tracks on the album, regardless of being hidden away deep into the second half. 'Loyal To The Grave' closes the album with a mid-paced track, but it has very few teeth to bite with and is largely forgettable. It is hard to say a band like Kreator needs to try something new when they were a band that in the 1990s strayed so far away from their fanbase with innovation that they almost ceased to exist. Having said that though, they do need to slightly broaden the boundaries they have set for themselves on recent albums by trying not to use such a predicable template for their songwriting. The choruses are so similar it feels like you could copy / paste them between tracks and no one would even know. As already noted, the album isn't bad by any means, and most bands would be proud to produce something of this quality - bit it just doesn't leave a feeling of being excited by what you just heard. The musicianship, as always with Kreator, is world class. The guitarwork is faultless, and some of the solos are insanely good - but there are moments when it feels like an 'elder statemen' band like Kreator could push themselves just a little harder to create a genuinely unique and compelling album.