The sixteenth album of intense heavy metal from German legends Kreator, Krushers Of The World once again finds Mille Petrozza and his gang of miscreants wrecking eardrums with a glee that belies the band’s 44-years of unleashing sonic hell upon the unsuspecting. Produced by studio legend Jens Bogren (last seen helming the monumental Gods Of Violence), the album finds Kreator in fine fettle as they rampage through ten blistering tracks in just forty-five minutes.
Formats
As we have come to expect with Kreator releases, the album comes in a range of fan friendly formats. For the uber fan, there’s a 3LP / 2 CD digipack deluxe set, which throws in a 24-page booklet, beer coaster, poster, and live album – Krushing Classics 1985-1990. For those who are keen only on the audio, there’s also 2 CD digipack featuring the album and the live disc (reviewed here), a bewildering array of coloured vinyl variants, and a single disc edition.
2CD Edition
In this era of diminishing packaging, Kreator and Nuclear Blast have delivered an impressive deluxe edition. Housed in a smart, six-panel digipack with expanded artwork, it has a decent booklet (complete with lyrics), and an obi-strip with the live album track-listing. Seriously, if you’re a fan (and you’re not tempted by the super deluxe edition), this is the version to get.
Krushers Of The World
It’s comforting to know that, as the world slowly descends into sociopolitical chaos, you can count on Kreator to deliver an appropriate soundtrack. Reuniting with Jens Bogren certainly appears to have got the creative (or should that be Kreative?) juices flowing, and the band sound positively unhinged for a good deal of the album’s runtime.
And you know what? For all the fire and fury the band spit out, it is comforting to have Kreator standing alongside you. There’s a vibrancy to their old-school metal that is irresistable, and you can’t help but grin as the band peal out epic riff after epic riff. It’s violent, cathartic fun, and you always leave a Kreator album feeling somehow better than when you came in.
It takes but a few seconds for Kreator to get down to business on furious opener, Seven Serpents. A brief scene setting introduction notwithstanding, the track offers a tightly plotted blast of heavy metal complete with symphonic elements and gang chant chorus. It’s followed by the groove-laden and devilishly catchy Satanic Anarchy. One of several songs on the album that do their best to worm their way into your subconscious, it’s a testament to the band’s wide-eyed love of metal that they so consistently hit the mark with belters such as this. And a belter it is. With its infectiously melodic chorus and Jens’ crisp production, it shows that Kreator are more than equipped to go head-to-head with the latest generation of metal gunslingers and come out firmly on top.
With its cinematic intro, the title track takes no prisoners. A dark, heavy piece of music that nods to the likes of Ex Deo, it has a titanium-plated central riff, its sole purpose being to comprehensively snap vertebrae in the pit. Next up, Britta Görtz (Hiraes / Chaos Rising) drops in to lend Mille a hand on a the epic Tränenpalast. With its torrential central riff, nods to cult movie Susperia, and a great chemistry between Mille and Britta, it’s a gritty, heavy track that will leave you breathless… As will the unstoppable Barbarian which, like the titular character, is as savage as you might hope. With huge, chunky riffs, and Mille’s domineering bark, it’s one of the album’s heaviest moments and it nicely concludes the first half.
Kicking off the second half, Blood Of Our Blood trades imposing weight for overwhelming speed, with brutal riffs and soaring leads coming thick and fast. Then, it’s back to mid-tempo groove territory with the gritty Combatants which, once again nods to Ex Deo’s arena-fuelled antics. Such chunky fare is made for head banging, and few will be able to resist Combatant’s blood-soaked charms.
The listener gets a brief moment to breathe as the cinematic overture to Psychotic Imperator establishes a sombre tone, before the band unveil one of their most stunningly cinematic songs to date. With dizzying tempo changes, a choral segment, and whirlwind riffs, it’s a metal monster, and it provides the album with its high point. Rather more back to basics is the unhinged thrash of Deathscream, which offers neatly harmonised guitars and death-tinged vocals reminiscent of Testament. This brutal little beast then wraps up with Loyal To The Grave – surely Kreator’s mission statement – a mid-tempo track that steals a march from Satan Is Real. Similarly memorable, it’s a solid finale to yet another excellent album from Kreator.
What more is there to say? Krushers Of The World may not reinvent the wheel but then, with Kreator boasting over four decades in service to heavy fucking metal, it doesn’t need to. Instead, the album finds Kreator working their way through their extensive catalogue, picking out the best moments and dusting them off for what amounts to fiery statement of what has been and what is yet to come. If you love Kreator; hell, if you love heavy metal; then this is the album for you. 9/10
Bonus Disc
Recorded at 7000 Tons Of Metal in 2023, Krushing Classics 1985-1990 finds Kreator taking an audience of rabid fans on a whirlwind tour of their early years. A special setlist from a special event, it could easily have served as a standalone release, and it adds real value to the deluxe edition of the album.
The show kicks off with a short announcement of the band’s old-school intentions (met by a huge cheer) and then we’re off with the pummelling fury of Extreme Aggression. Straight away, it’s clear that this is no mere afterthought. Mixed by Dominic Paraskevopoulos and mastered by Tony Lindgren (who also handled the studio album) it sounds absolutely epic. Pump up the volume and you’re right there alongside the caterwauling fans, and this old-school set is so much fun. With arcing feedback leading into the multi-faceted Riot Of Violence the band are on fire, and they deliver track after track of molten thrash, all drawn from the first five albums – Endless Pain to Coma Of Souls. Eschewing the “hits” (Pleasure To Kill’s title track is missing, for example), the band revel in the untrammelled violence of pieces such as Terrible Certainty instead, and they just don’t let up. From the unholy groove of Toxic Trace / Endless Pain to an insanely catchy People Of The Lie, Kreator show no mercy and, on the rare occasions where the thunder does subside, you can hear the fired-up audience going berserk.
There’s even space, amidst all the sturm und drang, for something a little more epic. With acoustic guitars to the fore, the intro to When The Sun Burns Red is a genuinely remarkable example of the calm before the storm, with the band soon unleashing absolute hell upon the reeling crowd.
From there, Kreator can do no wrong. Via a frantic Some Pain Will Last, the band cheerfully unleash The Pestilence, Mille winding the crowd up to breaking point. Then there’s the ever-green horror of Under The Guillotine, itself giving way to an unruly Terror Zone, before Kreator conclude this none-more-vicious show with Tormentor. With the instrumental Apocalypticon (from Gods of Violence) providing the soundtrack to the band’s curtain call, it marks a suitably epic end to a breathtaking set where, once again, Kreator showed that they are the masters.
Make no mistake, Krushing Classics is an essential addition to any Kreator fan’s collection. Focused almost entirely on the band’s early years, and with longstanding classics swapped out in favour of deeper cuts, it’s a unique live album in the band’s arsenal.
