Published on Jan 21, 2000
The more I look back at what was the metal scene when I was a
teenager, the more I realize just how much I didn’t get into the
scene nearly as much as I thought I had.
Thanks to new releases from some of the bands who were slugging
it out some 15 years ago, I have since discovered joys from many of
these bands – and I’ve been left to wonder why I never got into
them when I was still a teenager. It does seem a little odd at
times to be within sniffing distance of 30 and I’m given strange
looks when I go up to the counter at the used record mart with
handfuls of heavy metal tapes.
Well, let’s add another name to the ever-growing list of bands I
wasn’t into then, but I could easily get into now: Germany’s
Kreator, whose latest album
Endorama is an incredible, melodic metal force that demands
to be reckoned with.
Now, I’m freely admitting ignorance about the band’s back
catalog, but when I listen to this disc, it reminds me of the times
when bands like Metallica and Megadeth started to introduce
melodies into their music, scaling back a bit on the balls-out
approach to the music. For some bands, this was disastrous; for
others, it took a while to click. For Kreator, it sounds like the
perfect match.
Kreator – vocalist/guitarist Mikke Petrozza, guitarist Tommy
Vetterli, bassist Christian Giesler and drummer Jurgen Reil – dare
to present a darker side of heavy metal in a format that is so
enthralling that you might not immediately grasp that Kreator, at
heart, is a death metal band. (Memo to CDNow: what is this
“explicit verson” nonsense, assuming I’m listening to the same disc
you were? There’s not a single obscenity on this album that I can
find, and the imagery is hardly worth raising a stink over.)
Being from Grmany, you might expect to hear Kreator go for the
jugular right off the bat. Instead, you’re presented with “Golden
Age,” a song that has its heavy moments but is more melodic hard
rock than anything. Petrozza and crew seem to realize that to get
the attention of the listener, you don’t always need to go for the
power shredding and vocal chord destruction. No, they realized that
the two key ingredients – solid songwriting and water-tight
performances – are all the weaponry you need.
It’s not that Kreator is against the heavy metal sound; tracks
like “Shadowland,” “Soul Eraser” and the title track prove this.
But Kreator wisely does not forsake tunesmanship for flash, and
they continue to uphold an excellence in songwriting that lasts
throughout the course of this album.
And if you’re not careful, you might forget to hear that Kreator
still has their own views about religion and death, though they
present things in a more intelligent fashion that makes you
question exactly what view they’re supporting. The interesting
thing is that, at times, Kreator sound like they’re taking both
sides of the issue, like on “Entry”. I will gladly give Kreator
credit for making the listener think about this rather than hitting
them over the head with a specific viewpoint as so many bands tend
to do.
Endorama is a disc that transcends what you would consider
the normal boundaries of heavy metal and takes the lstener on a
trip you would never have expected. It’s discs like this one that
make the strongest case for metal’s return to glory – as well as
possibly earning the guarded respect from the genre’s opponents who
think it’s all just screaming and power chording. Kreator never did
make it to the “big leagues” in the ’80s metal scene… but they’re
a leading candidate for this decade’s resurgence of metal.
2000 Christopher Thelen and “The Daily Vault”. All rights
reserved. Review or any portion may not be reproduced without
written permission. Cover art is the intellectual property of the
record label, and is used for information purposes only.