### Kreator: Hordes of chaos

#### 07/01/09 || Euthanatos

After Kreator’s much hated industrial and gay phases (which I actually liked some songs of, by the way), they blew me away with their triumphant return, “Violent Revolution”. While it didn’t necessarily pick up where “Coma of Souls” had stopped, it was a brilliant return to form, real thrash metal with just the right amount of a modern touch. I loved everything about it. Even Mille’s vocals, while different, were much more aggressive than the “Endorama” days. “Enemy of God” followed, and while I particularly did not enjoy that record as much as the previous one, it was still aggressive thrash, as a matter of fact, it was even closer to the old-school Kreator. I had, naturally, high expectations for “Hordes of Chaos”. I cannot tell you, though, if my expectations have been met. Probably not.

“Hordes of Chaos” is a decent piece of thrash metal, and the fact that surprises me the most is that is is really different from everything Kreator has done in their discography (thrash-wise, I mean). The songs are still fast and full of extreme aggression, but there’s a new found melodic sense. Also, Mille’s vocals sound a lot different as well. They aren’t bad, it just takes a little getting used too. While it isn’t as cool as his screams of before, it does give a more interpretative approach to his always political lyrics. I, for one, can appreciate that. Mille even throws some clean stuff around, like in “Amok Run”, and he is successful doing it, I’m glad to say. There are also many different tempos to the songs, going from very fast, like in the title-track and “Warcurse”, and slower paced moments, like “Destroy What Destroys You”.

The bottom line is that while I truly recognize an artist’s evolution here, I would be lying if I didn’t admit I’m frustrated at the outcome. Why? Well, because it’s inevitable to wish for a faster, more brutal side of Kreator, the complete destruction of one’s ear drums. An album to cherish if in the right mind set, slowly digesting the new elements, but the fury of before is quite toned down.

The cover: It’s an ugly face, as has become the norm. I like ugly faces, but I prefer the alternate version, which shows the ugly face in all its sadomasochistic glory.

6 hordes of hellish hounds out of 10.

- Information
- Released: 2009
- Label: Steamhammer/SPV
- Website: www.kreator-terrorzone.de
- Band
- Miland ‘Mille’ Petrozza: vocals, guitar
- Sami Yli-Sirniö: guitar
- Christian ‘Speesy’ Giesler: bass
- Jürgen ‘Ventor’ Reil: drums

- Tracklist
- 01. Hordes of Chaos (A Necrologue for the Elite)
- 02. Warcurse
- 03. Escalation
- 04. Amok Run
- 05. Destroy What Destroys You
- 06. Radical Resistance
- 07. Absolute Misanthropy
- 08. To the Afterborn
- 09. Corpses of Liberty
- 10. Demon Prince