Search - Kreator :: Hordes Of Chaos (Ltd. Ed. CD/DVD)

As the world burns

Coxrich | Belgium | 01/14/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I've been following Kreator ever since Terrible Certainty and have always been seduced by the passion Mille Petrozza and his cohorts have put across in each release. Mille - like Machine Head's Rob Flynn - is first and foremost a metal fan as well as a musician. He lives, breathes, sleeps and eats metal. This release is full of the usual conviction and intensity but also has more 'hooks' or catchy melodies than its predecessor Enemy of God. This is no Opeth or Agalloch. Progressive is not a common word in Kreator circles, although the terrific Outcast and Endorama albums show that Kreator can dabble in the subtle and melancholic if it chooses to. But this release absolutely smacks of freshness and virtuosity and will make you want to bounce off walls when you hear it. Well it does for me and I'm a 38 year old father of two. So there. This is probably their strongest album since Extreme Agression and for those of you enjoying the current thrash revival, this will remind you what we've been missing all these years."

Nice Follow Up, RAW

Don C | Albany, NY | 01/16/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"It is well recorded, and was recorded more or less 'Live' as portrayed in the DVD, with all the musicians playing the base of the songs together. It isn't nearly as crisp and clear as 'Enemy of God'. But it works. It sounds a little looser and I will say the riffs are nothing new, but very well executed. I love this bands sound, especially in the 'Extreme Aggression' , 'Coma of Souls' era. Therefore, the sound on this disc is to my liking as well as the flow of the disc. Has a good punch.



The tracks themselves line up well with 'Enemy of God'.. If you like Kreator overall you will like this CD. Nothing you haven't come to expect. The best tracks are 'War Curse' and 'Absolute Misanthropy'. Contagious riffs. 'Escalation' is very catchy, great riffing. Just a killer track as well. 'Destroy what Destroys You' is the most accessible song on here, but it is excellent nonetheless. The others fit with the rest of Kreator's catalog. Nothing brand new, They stay in their comfort zone. Mid paced thrash with a solid foundation. Though they do thrash it up in spots pretty hard. Almost (very) Slayer-esque in the Guitar Solo's and vocal delivery. especially on 'Destroy...' The 3-4 minute length of most songs makes them even more lethal. Not much room for the over-melodic stuff.



The reason for the 4 stars? The vocal! Very raw and at times annoying. Mille really gets to the bottom of his gut on this CD. I like it for the most part, but sometimes it just hits those notes that make you shriek! Uncomfortable almost. Sounds like he went for the 'Tom Araya' style with the yelling choruses. I will say I am curious as to why he opted to take this tone throughout 80% of this disc. Makes for a more difficult listen.



But I am a seasoned Kreator fan and other than the vocal, its an A+.

There is a lot of energy. The DVD is decent as well. Shows behind the scenes of the making of this CD. Just a bit tough to keep track of the subtitles! A great value for the price.. Don't pass it up."

"I CAN'T WAIT FOR YOU TO DIIIIIIEEEE!!!"....................

Puzzle box | Kuwait | 02/16/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This album truly is a triumphant return for these German thrashers, Mille and the boys have been releasing very high quality European melodic thrash metal with absolutely no signs of slowing down. That's nearly 25years of playing extreme no nonsense thrash-metal. Mille still sounds as pissed as a drunken hornet, and Hordes of Chaos is testament to exactly that. Hordes of Chaos represents what I'd call a seamless connection between the more melodic Kreator of this decade and the raw as hell Kreator of the 80's and some from the early 90's. The key is the way this awesome record was produced, this time around the boys used a producer (Moses Schneider) who had the band simply play the songs live in the studio as the foundation for the recording, giving Hordes of Chaos a very live and personal feel to the songs. What Millie said about the new album was that it was a 100% realistic reflection of Kreator's live qualities, and I must say that I totally agree with every single word he's said he's a very wise dude ;-). It works really, really well I mean thrash is supposed to be dirty, raw and unforgiving and not sound wussy and this album from start to finish will rip your face off with it's raw aggression. But it's obviously not just the production that's amazing, Kreator has gotten back to the basics this time around and the songs are short, mean and mostly stripped of unneeded bells-and-whistles. As I mentioned earlier the melodic side of Kreator is certainly still there especially with songs like To the Afterborn, Demon Prince and portions of the title track, but the bursts are mostly shorter and certainly don't stand in the way of the immensely vitriolic feel of the record.



The album is a mix of the old with some modern production work which has a live feel to the songs which brings out the best from them especially on Hordes of Chaos and my favorite Warcurse which is hurtled along at such speed by the great vocals of Millie Petrozza, it feels as if you were falling down a bottomless pit without even time to catch some breath!. This album is in a class of its own which shows why they are part of the infamous German thrash trio of SODOM and DESTRUCTION since there are other songs apart from just the two to enjoy banging your head to especially on the pounding Radical Resistance and Absolute Misanthropy and To The Afterborn whilst a short instrumental, leads into a riff frontal assault on Demon Prince. This is the most aggressive and catchy album Kreator have ever released since Extreme Aggression, at least for this reviewer. Hordes of Chaos is an absolute must-buy for Kreator fans and thrash fans alike, if your a Kreator fan then you should get this immediately, no questions asked!.

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