KREATOR - Hate Über Alles (Review)

Written by: Blackie Skulless

Continuing the recent trend of dropping an album every half-decade or so, Germany’s thrash masterminds Kreator prove what proper amounts of time can do for a new record. 2017’s Gods Of Violence wound up taking album of the year for me. While I may not go that far now, Millie and Co. have conjured up a solid follow-up to it with Hate Über Alles. It follows a similar path to what they’ve been doing since 2001’s Violent Revolution, yet twenty-one years later they’ve still managed to keep it interesting.

Admittedly, this one didn’t snatch me in as quickly as the prior two records did. But after a few listens, I was able to capture plenty of interesting ideas being offered. The previous record saw a bit more melody, and while Hate Über Alles doesn’t dial that in as hard, it still remains a prominent factor. “Strongest Of The Strong'' is absolutely loaded with traditional metal hooks with their Teutonic thrashy touch, and the same can be said about “Pride Comes Before The Fall'." The latter cakes on some beautiful singing amongst keys and melodies. “Midnight Sun” certainly focuses on that as well, featuring German new-wave vocalist Sofia Portanet on vocals, adding all sorts of atmosphere.

---

But there’s a lot of ferocious energy to go around. The very next track “Demonic Future” kicks in with blitzing riffing and nasty drum kicks to contrast perfectly. Amongst this are slower songs that tune into a deeper feeling of dread, meant to match the common theme of destruction, hopelessness, and dystopia. “Dying Planet” really lets us off on a different note, going out with the heaviest dose of atmosphere. This trick seems to be the biggest lateral move Kreator made to help themselves stand out within this disc. You’ll also dig up plenty of doomy fossils within “Crush The Tyrants”.

For a band that has stayed relatively true to one style for two decades, I really appreciate how much they’ve managed to make everything stand out. This is a discography that has been consistently good aside from a small hiccup in 1992 and into 1995, and this may see the most change since Endorama in 1999 (a criminally underrated record). Those looking for an entirely new invention of the wheel, you won’t find that here. But I truly can’t think of anything worth complaining about.

​Kreator - Hate Über Alles was released June 10th, 2022 via Nuclear Blast

---

​Kreator can be found:
Website
​Bandcamp