metal

Kreator

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Mille Petrozza's Essen institution, a cornerstone of German thrash since the early '80s and still sharpening the same blade four decades on.

Kreator formed in Essen, Germany in 1982 and became, alongside Sodom and Destruction, one of the defining acts of the German thrash metal scene. Guitarist and vocalist Mille Petrozza has led the band throughout, and his hoarse, barked delivery is one of its most recognisable features. The early records were fast and abrasive enough to sit close to the beginnings of death metal, while later work brought in more melodic guitar writing and mid-paced, anthemic material.

The band experimented with gothic and industrial textures in the 1990s before returning to a harder thrash sound around the turn of the century. They have continued recording and touring internationally for four decades.

The group started in 1982 as Metal Militia, then briefly Tyrant and Tormentor, before settling on the name Kreator in 1984. Their debut, Endless Pain, was recorded in just ten days in 1985; the following year's Pleasure to Kill became a thrash touchstone and an acknowledged influence on death metal, though it did not chart in Germany until three decades after its release.

Kreator signed to Epic Records in 1988, among the first European thrash bands on a major label, yet wider recognition did not arrive until Phantom Antichrist in 2012 and Gods of Violence in 2017, the latter reaching number one in Germany. The band has sold more than two million albums worldwide and, with Sodom, Destruction and Tankard, is counted among the "Big Four" of German thrash.

Petrozza remains the band's constant alongside drummer Jurgen "Ventor" Reil, an original member who left in 1994 and returned two years later. Guitarist Sami Yli-Sirnio has held the lead guitar chair since 2001, and bassist Frederic Leclercq joined in 2019.

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