Music / Kreator

United in Hate since 1982.

Kreator is a German Thrash Metal band originating from Essen, Germany. Founded in 1982 as Metal Militia, they changed their name to Tyrant and then to Tormentor before settling on their current name in 1984. They have released 14 full albums and two EPs so far. Together with Destruction, Sodom, and Tankard, they are considered to be one of the bands comprising the ‘big 4’ of the German thrash metal scene. They emerged with a raw, fast, and unrelentingly heavy sound that made waves throughout the metal underground, cemented their first four albums as veritable cult-classics of the genre, and even became an inspiration for the then-burgeoning Death Metal style. Their second album, Pleasure to Kill, is widely hailed as one of the greatest thrash metal albums of all time.

After their similarly acclaimed fifth album Coma of Souls, they began flirting with elements of several other metal genres outside of thrash throughout the rest of the 90s, including Groove Metal, Industrial Metal, and Gothic Metal. However, their tenth album,Violent Revolution, saw them return to their classic thrash metal sound (albeit with a more melodic edge), and they have been sticking to it ever since.

Kreator has had many different members over the years, the most famous of which are guitarist/lead vocalist Mille Petrozza and drummer Jürgen "Ventor" Reil (who also preformed lead vocals while playing drums at the same time on the band's earliest material).

Current line up:

• Miland "Mille" Petrozza – lead vocals, rhythm guitar (1982–present)
• Jürgen "Ventor" Reil – drums (1982–1994, 1996–present), co-lead vocals (1982-1989)
• Sami Yli-Sirniö – lead guitar, backing vocals (2001–present)
• Frederic Leclerq – bass, backing vocals (2019–present)

Former members:

• Roberto "Rob" Fioretti – bass (1982–1992)
• Jörg "Tritze" Trzebiatowski – lead guitar (1986–1989)
• Frank "Blackfire" Gosdzik – lead guitar (1989–1996)
• Andreas Herz – bass (1992–1994)
• Joe Cangelosi – drums (1994–1996)
• Christian "Speesy" Giesler – bass, backing vocals (1994–2019)
• Tommy Vetterli – lead guitar (1996–2001)

Studio Discography:

• Endless Pain (1985)
• Pleasure to Kill (1986)
• Terrible Certainty (1987)
• Extreme Aggression (1989)
• Coma of Souls (1990)
• Renewal (1992)
• Cause for Conflict (1995)
• Outcast (1997)
• Endorama (1999)
• Violent Revolution (2001)
• Enemy of God (2005)
• Hordes of Chaos (2009)
• Phantom Antichrist (2012)
• Gods of Violence (2017)
• Hate Über Alles (2022)

---

Kreator provides examples of:

• Concept Album: According to Mille, every song on Pleasure to Kill is about a way to die.
• Cover Version: "Lambs to the Slaughter" by Raven and much later, "The Number of the Beast" by Iron Maiden.
• Death Metal: The band is more of an Ur-Example, but they are widely seen as a huge influence on the genre regardless, particularly the early European scene.
• Early-Installment Weirdness: Drummer Ventor used to also preform most of the lead vocals for the band's early albums (half of Endless Pain, three songs on Pleasure to Kill, just one song on Terrible Certainty) until Extreme Agression, where Mille has been the sole lead vocalist since. He still performs those songs live though, and provides backing vocals on many newer tracks.
• Engrish: Like a lot of other German groups at the time, the band’s English wasn’t the best on their earliest albums;

  ''This is a song in which

  I use to describe what I feel

  About people like you''

• Four-Temperament Ensemble:
  • Mille: melancholic
  • Ventor: choleric
  • Sami: phlegmatic
  • Fred: sanguine
• Harsh Vocals: Particularly on the very early albums; on Endlesss Pain and Pleasure to Kill, Mille and Ventor were major innovators in the vocal style Death Metal would later pursue. "Flag of Hate" is a great example.
• I Am the Band: Mille Petrozza, being both the frontman and the only member who has been with the band since its formation.
• Lead Drummer: Ventor is the next most consistent member after Petrozza and did lead vocals for the band early on.
• Long Runner Lineup: They went eighteen years without a lineup change until Christian "Speesy" Giesler left in 2019, being replaced by DragonForce bassist Frederic Leclerq.
• Metal Band Mascot: Violent Mind, a demon with an exposed brain whose contents vary from album to album. He first appeared with a complete body on Pleasure to Kill, but Coma of Souls marked the famous nightmarish head imagery the mascot is known for.
• Metal Scream: Mille utilizes a mix of Type 3 and Type 1, while Ventor's vocals are closer to Type 2.
• New Sound Album: Renewal featured a somewhat Industrial Metal influenced sound, while still maintaining a thrash edge. Cause for Conflict took cues from Groove Metal of the time like Machine Head or Pantera, but still retained the thrash basis. Outcast was a mix of the industrial thrash metal of Renewal and a touch of Goth Rock. The biggest change, however, came with Endorama, which was mainly a Gothic Metal album, even featuring a member of Lacrimosa and music videos with the band dressed in full Goth attire. 2001's Violent Revolution had them fully return to their classic thrash metal sound, albeit with a more melodic twist, and they have stuck with that ever since.
• Power Metal: The band have incorporated some elements of the genre into their Thrash Metal sound since Violent Revolution.
• Religion Rant Song: The band naturally has a number of these songs, with "Blind Faith" from Terrible Certainty (Type 2), "Catholic Despot" from Cause for Conflict (Type 3), "Enemy of God" from the eponymous album (mix of all three subtypes), and "Satan is Real" from Gods of Violence (also fits into each subtype) being just a few examples.
• Revolving Door Band: Since their formation, Mille has been the only completely constant member, although Ventor has played on all but one studio album.
• Sanity Slippage Song: "Violent Revolution", where the protagonist is Driven to Madness by their disgust at the cruelty and inequity of the world around them and swears to violently tear it all down.

  Nothing can take the horror from me

  Your sick world, the loss of all morality

  My hate has grown as strong as my confusion

  My only hope, my only solution

  Is a VIOLENT REVOLUTION!

• Teen Genius: Mille was just 17 years old when Endless Pain was recorded. Ventor and then-bassist Roberto Fioretti were only 19 themselves.
• Thrash Metal: Their main genre, along with proto-Death Metal
• Title-Only Chorus: The title track of Hate Über Alles.
• Trope Codifier: One of the major ones for teutonic thrash and the harder end of thrash in general, not to mention early Death Metal.
• Vocal Evolution: Over time, Mille’s vocals have generally become slightly cleaner and more melodic, at least compared to the gruff, snarly shouting that characterized his voice on the early albums.
• Vocal Tag Team: As noted, Mille and Ventor early on.
• Xtreme Kool Letterz: Swapped the "C" in "Creator" for a "K."

---