I lile tittle and melodies here ,if band would put brakecore out fans would buy it and now mstter is not how it dounds,but reach 20th album.

The name is definitely very manowar like.

I'm so impressionable, now I hate the title too. I already hated the cover art, but I know some like it.
As a big fan of old Kreator I'm not that impressed with what I've heard, but at this stage of their career if there's at least one song there that's good then that's at least something. At this stage Tränenpalast stood out to me

To be faire, Kreator's song and album names have always been really bad. To a point where I ended up really loving this because of how cheesy it sounds

Probably just more evidence of our completely nonoverlapping tastes, I actually found the opening song one of the more enjoyable here (I do agree the title track is one of the worst here, though). Regarding the vocals, I feel like I've not found them this incongruent on previous records - perhaps the increasingly melodic focus is making them more ill-fitting for the sound than they would be with the thrashier material, but they were quite distracting for me.

For me, the early Kreator discography is very uninteresting actually. But this new era (from Hordes of Chaos or something) has kept me hooked!

Petrozza writes like a pop song writer, with verses, choruses and bridges. He aims for big choruses, memorable lines, singalong anthems. It’s quite remarkable that it works consistently for the past albums.

Great stuff

I have only listened to a few tracks so far so it's way too early to give some accurate musical mark to it (though it sounds like a dull re-hash so far tbh) but...
Why do all the A-list thrash bands nowadays sound just the same? Their last albums especially, from Testament, Megadeth, Kreator, Metallica - guitar tone is just the same.
I really dislike that. We used to have some true differences between production, does anyone else remember that? I kinda get it that it sounds closer to live sound and setup takes least changes but damnit...Where did all the creativity go, you could put Chuck's vocals to Megadeth track, or Dave's to Krushers, it would make no difference. Didn't yet hear '3111' from Exodus, hope Gary's tone is more versatile...

Written by gavrosaurus on 23.01.2026 at 20:40

We used to have some true differences between production, does anyone else remember that?

I do remember, and I agree with everything you said. All the big thrash acts had a different sound from album to album. The problem is that the songwriting is not that great either. But it makes sense because the best and more interesting material nearly always comes when people are young and adventurous. It's very rare for legacy bands to come forth with great material.

However, there is a lot of good music that is coming out from new and fresh bands, so one does not have to listen to the aforementioned legacy bands if their material is not good enough.

Written by gavrosaurus on 23.01.2026 at 20:40


Why do all the A-list thrash bands nowadays sound just the same? Their last albums especially, from Testament, Megadeth, Kreator, Metallica - guitar tone is just the same.
I really dislike that. We used to have some true differences between production, does anyone else remember that?

I don’t know man, to me they all sound completely different, production-wise. Testament are comfortable with their Andy Sneap sound, but it fits them well. Metallica have been all over the place with their production choices, and the latest Megadeth sounds completely soulless sonically.

Kreator have been having a consistent sound throughout the last albums but that’s completely fine; recording and mixing metal music is quite difficult, so if you get it right once you better keep it.

Written by gavrosaurus on 23.01.2026 at 20:40

Why do all the A-list thrash bands nowadays sound just the same? Their last albums especially, from Testament, Megadeth, Kreator, Metallica - guitar tone is just the same.

I'm not sure why you think these sound the same. They all sound different:
- Metallica is powerful, but drums are too clean.
- Kreator's sound is the best of these 4, there's some heft, and a tinge of grit to it.
- Testament is the most inoffensive, but not bad at all.
- Megadeth is too sterile, but the sound goes well with the music

Now that I have re-read the comment from gavrosaurus, it seems that I wrongly understood a different thing compared to ForestsAlive and Daniell. I was thinking that the latest albums by each band separately sound the same, not that the bands sound the same. The four bands sound nothing alike to me, too. But Krushers Of The World does sound the same to me as Hate Über Alles, which in turn sounds the same as Gods Of Violence, etc.

More like a melody death album

To me and for me - this is entertainment, I feel no need to preach anything to anybody, as what is entertaining to me might not be for someone else and vice versa. Enjoy whatever makes you happy and a better person.

To make it a bit clearer: It is not about tempo or pitch, aggressiveness, loudness or else, it's not about composing or lyricism, speed or energy; it's about guitar tone, production in a whole. Nowadays, with all the technical means at their disposal, one might think it gives bands MORE opportunities to make their metal sound diverse, attractive. Different from their past records and as distant sonically as possible from other bands. That's like the metal's first virtue, it's first law.

To me, cases I have mentioned - they sound very similar, logic behind sound build-up is very, very similar. There is no way in the world I am the only one hearing that.
In a case that was not enough, for comparison purposes: Practice What You Preach sounds very different to Pleasure to Kill, Rust in Peace different to Seasons in the Abyss, to Coma of Souls. Albums were SHAPED differently. This is not nostalgia at all, not the matter of 'it was all better back then' (though it was, hehe) but simple fact that this situation nowadays seems more of a business solution than musical direction. Its a pity, at least in my view (or hearing) because I really forgot when was the last time I heard some new, original metal production.
Even the mighty Nile suffered from that a bit but Karl still careswhat he is about to deliver. I respect that.

I miss that. I mean, it's all heavy, it's all well produced, it's a metal ear candy, finally producers understand heavy metal, almost all new heavy music sounds gorgeous but it lacks... sharpness of a metal. The reason why I seem to love it for. It feels it's the same with every genre, now that I think of it. Swap vocals and you may mistake Paradise Lost for Dark Tranquility.

In the end, don't know why I even care, I have listened to zillion tons of metal, I am a veteran of psychic metal wars, but somehow hunger still remained, as I retrospect with this album, because I know Kreator for 36 years now.
Strangest thing may be that most excitement for myself in that aspect, in the past few years, came from bands like Villagers of Ioannina City, Naxatras and even Wolvennest...Wait, that's not even metal!

Sorry for upsetting anybody, if I did, go love whatever you love, listen to whatever makes sense to you, love life.

Make Metal Great Again

Written by gavrosaurus on 23.01.2026 at 20:40

Why do all the A-list thrash bands nowadays sound just the same? Their last albums especially, from Testament, Megadeth, Kreator, Metallica - guitar tone is just the same.

That's just thrash metal. It's a one-note genre. You could pick any two bands from the 80s or 90s or whatever, swap their vocals and they would sound exactly the same.

This record really grew on me fast. To be honest I didn't dig it that much on the first spin, but I'm totally feeling it now. Like everyone’s saying, it’s got that heavy Gothenburg vibe, but not in a shitty way it still goes hard, which is exactly what you’d expect from Kreator. It’s not their absolute best from the 'modern era,' but it’s definitely not the worst either. This one’s gonna stay in my rotation for the rest of the year for sure.

Wow, Bonus live album is a cool addition! I always appreciated the fact that Kreator has stuck to their roots and never truly misses with an album. Kreator always consistent! Great review.

Written by A Real Mönkey on 26.01.2026 at 20:42

That's just thrash metal. It's a one-note genre. You could pick any two bands from the 80s or 90s or whatever, swap their vocals and they would sound exactly the same.

I understand the reasons for being skeptical of thrash's creative value, given how repetitive it often is in its least compelling forms and especially among modern bands (I tire of generic thrash very quickly and there is a lot out there), but I think this is an unreasonable accusation. There are certainly some thrash vocalists who have developed more personality over time, and among them are Chuck Billy and Mille Petrozza (and I would throw Mark Osegueda in, just off the top of my head); whether it's a matter of clearer production or expansion of technique or simply vocal quality differing with age, I think there are a fair few thrash vocalists who have come to sound more like "themselves" across more recent albums, whereas there is a little less distinction on earlier records. If you wanted to argue that Kreator and Sodom and Destruction could have functioned more or less equally well if they had swapped singers in 1986, that's an idea I could entertain.

But the idea that you could change vocalists even just between Metallica and Megadeth and feel no difference is just silly. You couldn't have Joey Belladonna sing for Sepultura or Max Cavalera sing for Death Angel or Mark Osegueda sing for Helstar or James Rivera sing for Rigor Mortis or Bruce Corbitt sing for Artillery or Flemming Ronsdorf sing for Coroner or Ron Royce sing for Watchtower or Jason McMaster sing for Slayer or Tom Araya sing for Overkill or Bobby Blitz sing for Mekong Delta or Keil Borgmann sing for Annihilator or Randy Rampage sing for Suicidal Tendencies or Mike Muir sing for Flotsam And Jetsam without getting a markedly different sound and style in return. I'm not saying it wouldn't work - plenty of bands are similar enough that you could get by - but it wouldn't sound exactly the same. There would be distinct shifts.

As for thrash being "one-note", Sarcófago does not sound like Militia, Voivod does not sound like Anthrax, Dr. Know does not sound like Dark Angel, and Slaughter does not sound like Carnivore. You can't even find the same sound from Kill 'Em All to Ride The Lightning to Master Of Puppets to ...And Justice For All.

If thrash isn't your bag, that's fine; it doesn't have to be. But I don't think we have any reason to be throwing around the "all ____ sounds the same" stereotype.