Founded by front-man Miland "Mille" Petrozza in 1982, Kreator have been putting out apocalyptic Thrash Metal for over 35 years and their rabid fan base was out in force.

Joining Mille on stage were his stalwart band of performers; fellow founding member, Jürgen "Ventor" Reil on drums, Christian "Speesy" Giesler on bass guitar, and Sami Yli-Sirniö also playing guitar.

They opened the set with a fan favorite track, "Hordes of Chaos". Kreator often sing about the aggressive tendencies of man and about the apocalyptic repercussions of unabated violence and chaos so it was a fitting start.

They followed up with "Phobia" coming from the late 1990's album, "Outcast" which whipped the crowd up into a frenzy. It was hard to move in the place but that didn't keep the pit from circling and crowd surfers were coming over the barrier in a constant wave.

Hitting up the new album for "Satan is Real", Kreator continued with a massive set list that spanned their entire career worth of headbanging riff-heavy tracks.  

I love hearing new material each time I see a band so I was happy when they gave us the title track of the new album with "Gods of Violence". Everyone was singing along to the chorus, "We shall kill!"

Mixing it up with songs from their back catalog, they kept all the fans happy no matter what your favorite album or era may be. They played "People of the Lie" followed by "Total Death" coming from 1990 and then 2000 respectively.

The latest album is currently my favorite of theirs but before it was released their prior effort, "Phantom Antichrist" held that position so I was excited to see the title track from it live.

Coming back to the new album, they did one of their more emotional songs with "Fallen Brother". It is one of the few songs that mix their native tongue of German with English, but it is also one of the songs that focus on friendships as well as our souls, the final verse being: "Until the dawn of resurrection - Let's sing a hymn for the fallen ones".

Continuing the momentum from the latest release, they played one of my favorite songs from it, "Army of Storms". It has the driving force that is signature Kreator and sounds as vibrant and powerful as anything they have ever done.

I first heard Kreator on cassette in the mid 1980's and immediately fell for their dark lyrics, churning riffs, and intense sound. As years went by, my love for Thrash Metal has waxed and waned as different genres found favor . The release of "Enemy of God" ferociously pulled me back into Kreator in 2005. I always hope it is included in their live show and as the mid-point of the set, it was great to hear this relentless classic and the crowd agreed.

Always on the cusp of biblical armageddon, Kreator maintained the Brimstone vibe with "From Flood into Fire" before crashing back to the new album and modern predicaments with "World War Now".

The new album, as much as it rides the red tide of annihilation, also has more songs of inspirational motivation than I can recollect on any previous album. One of my favorites from the release is "Hail to the Hordes".

The primary message being to form a bond with like minded individuals, craft art and life, and let no god or government undermine that: "We carry each other through the darkest moments of life, stronger than hate, stronger than fear, stronger than all... we are one - Hail to the Hordes".

After a moment of sentimentality and overt camaraderie, it was time to break some skulls of course. "Extreme Aggression" was up next and although the pit never stopped, it renewed its intensity with this classic song.

Returning to the "Phantom Antichrist" release, they gave us "Civilization Collapse" followed immediately by "Violent Revolution" from the 2001 album of the same name, inciting a fury of friendly aggression but also sparking the fire of our minds in these unusual times we find ourselves, and our world, in.

It had already been an intense and rewarding show with a massive set list. The band took a breather as the crowd chanted for more of the onslaught.

Kreator returned with a triad of songs all pulled from the 1986 classic album, "Pleasure to Kill" starting with the dark anthem, "Flag of Hate" that has been a staple of their live shows for over thirty years. They followed it with "Under the Guillotine" before finishing the show with the album's title track.

It was an amazing performance, touching upon so many of my favorite songs and albums from over the years but also giving us so many awesome songs from their latest release. Kreator are a musical force to be reckoned with to say the least, I can't recommend the new album highly enough.