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Some books, movies, and any number of various other things require one to suspend belief. Let's try that here, too, shall we? Alright, act like you've never flown the "Flag of Hate" and that you've never heard of the grand Teutons of Kreator. So if Kreator is a new band in 2009 and Hordes of Chaos is their debut album, would you like it? If you like punishing, old school Thrash, then yes. However, one third of Germany's greatest Thrash acts (the others being the gentlemen in Sodom and Destruction, of course) has been around for ~25 years so they know a thing or three about Thrash, never mind some of that mid-era sonic experimentation they released.
Mille Petrozza and crew's previous output, 2005's Enemy of God, was a brutal slab of Thrash that seemed to be influenced or even colored by Death Metal, and a crushing thing of beauty it was, indeed, if perhaps a touch inconsistent. A few years have passed and Mille's henchmen, in place since 2001 and on the same label, no less, are a bit forward looking by being retrospective. We're talking about this Thrash revival of the past decade or so. The music of Hordes of Chaos is naturally steeped in classic Thrash sounds through and through, though some modern touches appear, too. Hell, countrymen Scorpions (!) are even invoked with the clean guitars and clean singing on "Amok Run," but it's just an intro, friends. This is a great song in a sea of many good ones.
The production on Hordes of Chaos has plenty of clarity but a certain rawness, too, that is likely owed to the majority of the album being recorded in a live fashion rather than in several takes with each musician isolated, etc. Mille's throat is in fine form, offering equal parts harshness and decipherability. The drums are quick and effective, bass is mostly in the background, and the riffs and leads rip and tear. Back to the songs, "Destroy What Destroys You" sounds like what The Haunted once aspired to, in fact, though that band is now merely a shadow of their former selves, unfortunately. "Radical Resistance" even sounds like early The Haunted mixed with current era Overkill and could be a live staple for the next few years.
Okay, bring back reality. Kreator have been around forever and their fans are duly rewarded for it. Hordes of Chaos is a killer slab of Thrash that will go a long way toward satisfying any craving for solid music in 2009 and beyond. This is sure to be on "Top Ten" lists for the year even though there are 11 months left in it.... It must be noted that tracks 7-9 offer some slower tempos, which really kill, particularly "Absolute Misanthropy." "Corpses of Liberty" is a brief piece of clean guitar that recalls Overkill's "R.I.P. (Undone)" (off of the masterful W.F.O.). If you've really never heard of Kreator, shame on you. Go get Hordes of Chaos and see what you've been missing. For those in the know, nuff said. Or perhaps too much.
| Tracklist |
| 1. Hordes of Chaos (A Necrologue for the Elite) |
| 2. Warcurse |
| 3. Escalation |
| 4. Amok Run |
| 5. Destroy What Destroys You |
| 6. Radical Resistance |
| 7. Absolute Misanthropy |
| 8. To the Afterborn |
| 9. Corpses of Liberty |
| 10. Demon Prince |
: 38:27
| Buy other Kreator albums |
