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KREATOR
Krushers Of The World

Nuclear Blast (2026)
Rating: 7.5/10

Forty years ago, German band Kreator unleashed their classic album Pleasure To Kill. It remains, to this day, one of the greatest thrash metal records of all time. And that’s why it pains me to say that the Kreator of today is a mere shadow of its former self, and has been for some time. Of course, I’m fully aware that Mille Petrozza and co. are no longer hungry young upstarts, but their gradual descent into more melodious avenues prompted me to halt my purchases of their material after 1992’s Renewal.

Kreator now, like many bands, has succumbed to cold, soulless plastic production and a veering towards an almost Gothic panorama of traditional metal drama fused with a sanitised and at times generic thrash. As its title suggests though, Krushers Of The World just might offer a glimmer of hope within the permanent fog of Teutonic gloom. Dare I utter it that some tracks are actual solid thrash outbursts? Sure, why not.

The first shred of evidence for such 80s styled scathing is with opener ‘Seven Serpents’, a blazing heap of steely wreckage only slightly tainted by Petrozza’s Euro-metal chanting. But with original drummer Ventnor behind the kit there was no way this album was going to fail. He slaps his way frantically through a brash bashing of thrashy numbers.

At its peak, the album literally sizzles on the blistering ‘Blood Of Our Blood’ where the band nods to its past. The main issue though, and this is something the die-hard Kreator fans will fiercely disagree with me, is that Petrozza and his band of merry marauders just can’t help but throw in those icy anthemic patches. It’s these excursions which tamper with my attention span, the gang of four choosing punchy, melodious Gothic rhythms which although suited to the European festival crowds are completely lost on me.

There’s no doubting the infectious nature of such bleak and traditional power metal chants and fist pumps; ‘Satanic Anarchy’ and ‘Combatants’ boast emphatic and slick personas, the former bolstered by a huge chorus which the battle vest crowds will lap up. There are some decent returns to razor sharp thrash though, ‘Barbarian’ an ideal slab of evidence. But in contrast, ‘Tränenpalast’ reverts back to the Gothic soundscapes the band have made their own over the last decade or so. I guess when you’re in a band as popular as Kreator, there’s always going to be that polished outcome however much they try to spit out barbaric spiky thrash.

Did I expect Kreator to hole up in a dungeon and deliver nostalgic basement production? Of course not, but for all the talent on display here, particularly the brain-crunching riffs of Petrozza and Sami Yli-Sirniö, Krushers Of The World has too many dips, perfect examples being the Paradise Lost-styled title cut, which also boasts levels of In Flames, and the cheese ridden chants of ‘Loyal To The Grave’, which aren’t a world away from Stratovarius and Manowar. However, ‘Deathscream’ and ‘Psychotic Imperator’ return some sort of scowling menace to the fold.

The frustrating aspects of the album aside (it doesn’t quite fit on one side of a C90 cassette. Haha!), there’s more thrash here than with previous efforts so the band does still have some spice left in the cupboard. The darker shades and then lighter injections are no surprise; it’s what Kreator has dabbled with for a while now so it’s all very fitting.

A solid effort then from a band that is still comfortable to experiment with melody within their ever-grey steel framework. When the dust settles after the recent Megadeth “farewell” (Megadeth), Krushers Of The World will stand as the victor in the clash of the metal titans.

Neil Arnold

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