Kreator : "Krushers of the World"

 Before checking back in on the band for 2017's  "Gods and Monsters,"  the last album I liked by these guys was "Coma of Souls." In its day, this was a change for the band after "Extreme Aggression" had hooked me in. This time around, they are locked into a more rapid, furious form of modern thrash that works better than what they did on their last album. It sztill takes some getting used to when it comes to how Mille Petrozza approaches his vocal delivery that borders more on singing than his once scathing snarl. He also uses more anthem accents on the choruses. It is funny to me lyrically that he declares they are Krushers of the world when he has lamented to the press that disturbing the concept of war is to him. 

Ventor is still pounding the hell out of the drums, having hung tight with Mille over the years. They are joined by the bass player from Dragonforce and the guitarist from Barren Earth. They have refined the art of grooving riffage that carries into "Tranenpalast." The melodic nature of the choruses does its job and is hard to deny even if I want a more aggressive apporach from the band. What they do is more accessible than their earlier work, which keeps them in motion over the years. "Barbarian" has almost a power metal feel.

You can hear how their thrashing attack influenced black with "Blood of Our Blood," where the chorus reminds me more of Accept, who were obviously an influence on this band from the beginning, and do not get enough credit for their impact on thrash. The lyrics to "Combatants' are awkward at best, though the riff makes it palatable. It feels like they are trying too hard to be relevant rather than just being themselves. They do a better job of hitting the mark in this regard on "Psychotic Imperator." There is a Slayer-like intensity they race into the song with. The lyrics are political but in broader strokes. 

"Deathscream" has better lyrics, but kind of races along like methed out Judas Priest. It feels like they set out to write their own version of "Painkiller." They end the album with a bigger gallop for the more power-metal tinged riff that marches the song into a more anthemic nature, but it still works in a very Accept-like manner. I will give this album a 9.5 as it's an improvement over the previous two albums and pretty flawless, though the lyrics are what kept it from being a perfect album, as well as the moments where it feels like they are trying too hard, but some of the riffs, and overall writing and is obviously a sucess when it comes to the band's intentions of ccreating this album. Nuclear Blast releases this January 16th.

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