Mondo Bungle

Kreator - Out of the Dark, Into the Light, 1988

This was a cool tape to have. A half live EP notable for a cover of Raven's Lambs to the Slaughter



Terrible Certainty, 1987

Skipping over PtK as I already talked about it. This CD was more or less gifted to me as my dad wasn't super into it. Though I dunno why, it's still completely solid and the chrysalis of a growing style. The title track is catchy as all **** and overall it's just cool.



Coma of Souls, 1990

This one however, is the one my dad would say is the best, probably, sticking to his admiration for the late 80s-early 90s masterclass of thrash. He almost didn't let me borrow it in fear of me ruining it. They'd peaked in complexity at this point, sacrificing just a touch of extremity in favor of thorough composition, and this would be their most evolved to date.



Cause for Conflict, 1995

In my opinion Kreator had the whackest 90s output of all the big name thrashers. That's not to say worst, with all the garbage being slung around by Metallica and Slayer and so on, just the most confusing, for lack of a better term. It's hard to say what Kreator were doing during the decade when you listen to their turbulent stream of releases post-CoS. They'd already ventured into the factories of industrial metal with the previous album Renewal, which is decent though most of the intensity and energy was gone. Here it may seem like they're trying to recapture that intensity but not exactly succeeding. It's odd, as most of this is quite aggressive and pounding. On the flipside, maybe it's not so much the sacrifice of energy as it is the perfection of industrial metal's cold ideals. It's a mechanical, almost lifeless effort that still wants to crush your bones. Looking at it that way, this album is a complete triumph. I just think it lacks memorability though it's still a good listen.



Outcast, 1997

Another example of Kreator's ambiguous 90s identity, this album trades the thrash shredding for catchy and hook laden somewhat industrial metal with gothic undertones (I guess). Oddly enough, this is arguably the most nostalgic Kreator album for me. Obviously their attempt at upbeat grooves had succeeded, seeing as a lot of this awakens so many memories. Tracks like Leave this World Behind, Black Sunrise, and Phobia get me rocking to this day. It gets hate but I have a soft spot for it.



Violent Revolution, 2001

We had more Kreator albums than any other artist I reckon, and this is quite an important CD for me. After whatever Endorama even was, they propelled themselves into the new millennium with their most savage effort since the 80s, and in my opinion one of their best, maybe actually number 2 after PtK. They'd found a new noodly guitarist and started to take some cues from melodic death metal. This album is a beast. My dad was probably right not to let me borrow CoS, since in the meantime I spun this one to complete disintegration. All of the Same Blood and Servant in Heaven, King in Hell are jams of all time.

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