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Kreator: Live Review
By Aniruddh "Andrew" Bansal

March 23rd 2010, House Of Blues, Hollywood CA: Just before I boarded the subway train on my way to the House Of Blues, a guy noticed my Kreator shirt and shouted, 'Hell yeah! Enemy Of God!! Have fun at the show. I wish I could go.' From this I somehow got a feeling that this was going to be a special night. Well, it sure was!

The show started at 7.15 with the black metal band Lightning Swords Of Death. They seemed to be trying their best to get the crowd going during their 30-minute set but no one was interested even in the slightest. Picture number 5 in our picture gallery (link above) is a case in point. The bassist did a solo towards the end, with all kinds of body movements, and it just didn't sit well with the crowd at all. It was totally the wrong crowd for them, which is what opening bands have to deal with quite often as they try to get on the bill with as many different acts as they can, to expose them to all kinds of fans. I'm sure they'll get a better response at their next gig with Immortal, a legendary black metal band.

The next band was one I've always enjoyed watching and listening to, Lazarus A.D from Kenosha, Wisconsin, the most unlikely source of such an amazing young thrash metal band. I really have no idea why more people don't know more about this band. Upon seeing their live performance, I wish people took time out from listening to their one and only favorite band's best album for the 1000th time, and tried out bands like this one for a change. Then may be they would realize what they are missing out on. To me, this band is the epitome of the thrash metal revival along with some of their peers Warbringer, Mantic Ritual and Evile. You'll read more on Evile in a little bit. Coming back to Lazarus, their song 'Last Breath' makes me want to bang my head right off my neck in way that very few other songs can.

Another song that they always play is 'Revolution' and the twin guitar melody towards the end of it is just amazing, showing that these guys have more than just the thrashy riffs and drum beats. Frontman Jeff Paulick gives his more than 100%, so do his band mates. The crowd still wasn't responding to the band on stage, which I thought was lame, specially the people in the first couple of rows. If you're at a Kreator show, I take it that you are a thrash fan. So, I don't understand how you can't be in love with Lazarus A.D's music. Anyway, horns up to the guys in Lazarus A.D and I hope to see them perform again soon.

After this I had to leave the venue for a few minutes, as I was supposed to go to Kreator's tour bus to interview Mille Petrozza. It was a surreal 15 minutes that I am going to cherish forever. By the time I was done and got back in, UK thrashers Evile were playing their opening song 'Infected Nation'. After what I experienced before getting back in, I was mentally on such a high that no amount of alcohol or drugs would have gotten me to. So going in with that kind of feeling, I would have enjoyed myself no matter what band was on stage at that time. But I was glad I didn't miss even a single Evile song and it was even better than I thought it would be, as this band turned out to be simply awesome. Their performance and the crowd's response kept getting better and better with every passing song.

Some of the kids started mosh pits during their set as well, which was the first time it happened tonight. This band definitely had something unique to offer even though they are categorized as thrash. Matt Drake's vocals are very powerful and go very well with his chunky, alternate-picking rhythm riffs. The song 'Infected Nation' is a great example of this. This song is quite progressive as well, which was interesting in a live setting. I wish they could have gotten to play a longer set because quite a few people in the crowd were getting really involved in the show. The only other song they played from the Infected Nations album was 'Time No More' and I loved it. It created a Slayer-esque vibe at the House of Blues. From among the other four songs, 'Enter The Grave' was the one I enjoyed the most. This was their first ever tour of the US and Matt announced that they'll be back here with Overkill and Warbringer next month, a show I really cannot wait to witness. Considering the fact that England is mainly known to have produced some of the most legendary blues rock and traditional metal bands, I would like to extend a huge thank you to Evile for keeping the faith in thrash, infecting their own nation and slowly I'm sure, the whole world with it.

    Here's their complete set list:
  1. Infected Nation
  2. We Who Are About To Die
  3. Thrasher
  4. Time No More
  5. Bathe in Blood
  6. Enter The Grave

After a thrash assault by the previous two bands, Canadian death metallers Kataklysm took the stage. Even though they are a really good band that has been around for almost 20 years, I was always apprehensive about their appearance at a show like this, in front of a crowd like this. I would say their music was pretty similar to Gojira, a band I really love. So while I was appreciating their performance, I never really got into them. I am 100 per cent certain though that if I was seeing this band opening for Gojira or Opeth instead of Kreator, I would have been going absolutely nuts. The vocals were fiery, the riffs were crushing and the blast beats on those drums added even more to the power. The crowd response wasn't that bad though, as some of the fans were moshing and there was some crowd surfing for the first time tonight. I really liked the title song off of their latest album, 'Prevail'. Vocalist Maurizio was trying his level best to impress the crowd. Guitarist Jean-Francois and bassist Stephane were helping him out by head banging and wind milling the whole time. 'Crippled And Broken' was another song that got a decent reaction. As Maurizio said, they tried to bring in more of their thrashy songs into the set for this tour because of the fact that they were opening for Kreator. So it was an impressive performance on the whole, may be not entirely vindicated and appreciated at this show. But as I said, I would love to see them do a tour with death metal bands or may be a headline tour sometime soon. I will be on the lookout for their upcoming album 'Heaven's Venom'.

    Here's their complete set list:
  1. Like Angels Weeping (The Dark)
  2. Prevail
  3. The Ambassador Of Pain
  4. The Chains Of Power
  5. It Turns To Rust
  6. Let Them Burn
  7. As I Slither
  8. Crippled & Broken
  9. In Shadows & Dust

At around 10.30, as the 'Choir of The Damned' intro rang through our ears, we knew it was time for the mighty German thrashers Kreator to hit the stage. They exploded onto the stage with a really old school and brutal opening song 'The Pestilence'. This being Kreator's 25th anniversary celebration tour, we expected an old school set for sure, but this beginning literally blew everyone away and was much greater than what I ever imagined it to be, coming into the show. After they got things moving along with these two songs from Pleasure To Kill, an album that was to be featured regularly in the remaining part of the set, they went straight into the title song from the latest album 'Hordes Of Chaos'. It was amazing how they mixed up the songs from 85 and 86 along with songs from this album while still maintaining that classic Kreator vibe in their live sound. This shows that they worked sincerely in their rehearsals and managed to develop a set of songs where each one flows into the other. The heads were banging furiously in the crowd, including mine of course. There's just something about Kreator that I don't feel while watching any other band, something that makes me clench my fists and shout at the top of my voice. Well there are other bands that bring that out in fans, but this band surely is one of the more aggressive live acts out there, if not the most aggressive one.

The selection of songs was really golden and it continued with 'Phobia'. 'Enemy Of God' was the best thrash album of the 2000s in my opinion, so you can imagine how much I would have enjoyed the next song, the title track itself. If I had to describe the song in one word, perfect would be it. I felt overwhelmed as they started this song. For me it's the ultimate Kreator song and it was just a surreal feeling hearing it live for a second time. The crowd surfers were going crazier with every passing song. I would like to take my hat off to the House of Blues security for doing a wonderful job on the rail and being our saviours for the night. The band had nailed each and every note so far, including those on the following tune 'Impossible Brutality', also from the same album. The kind of atmosphere that the song creates, right from the intro riff to the end, its dark and serious, urging a packed crowd to kill each other. You really have to be at a Kreator show to experience it. No other band comes even close to this. They blessed us with their rarest old gem next up, 'Endless Pain'. This was a real thrasher's delight, getting the kids to mosh at full tilt while shouting 'Feel the endless paaaaiiiiin!!' I wasn't in the mosh pit myself. I was getting smashed up against the rail instead, but I did turn back a few times to have a look, and it was just breathtaking.

A fan couldn't really have asked for a better set, as the remaining part of the main set included anthems like 'Pleasure To Kill', 'Terrible Certainty' and 'Extreme Aggression'. 'Coma Of Souls' was next, after which it was time for another new song 'Amok Run'. Slightly underrated as compared to other songs on the album, this is certainly a great live song. The slow intro and build up to full speed is just amazing. I feel like I'm writing an album review of sorts, because such is the perfection in Kreator's live performance that there's really nothing that they do differently on their concert sound as compared to the studio versions of the same songs. The main reason for this is, they always maintain a 'rawness' in their recordings, doing them almost like live albums. This makes it effortlessly easy for them to recreate the same sound in shows. They still had a lot in store for us grateful fans, including the awe-inspiring combo of 'The Patriarch' and 'Violent Revolution'.

For a second time tonight I felt totally overwhelmed, and it was the guitar solo in the latter part of this song that did it. It was a moment that I imagine every time I listen to the song at home, seeing the band play it while I'm standing in the first row, rocking out with all my energy. They ended the main set with a new song we hadn't heard on last year's tour, 'Demon Prince'. For most older bands out there today, people like to hear the old stuff and hardly even care about the recent albums. Definitely not the case with Kreator as 'Hordes Of Chaos' is one of their strongest albums. It was very, very enjoyable song and left the crowd hungry and begging for more. They certainly obliged, coming out with the most crushing encore a thrash fan would have experienced in his or her life. Another rarity was given to us, 'When The Sun Burns Red'. This was a prelude to the mayhem that was to follow. Mille addressed the crowd in his customary style, telling us to bring out the 'hate' that's filled inside us, to raise the 'Flag Of Hate'! Metal has been blessed with some legendary frontmen but when it comes to thrash, I really can't think of anyone who is as aggressive and commanding as Mille Petrozza. When he tells the people to 'kill each other', he makes the fans go insane. The same happened during Flag Of Hate as well. If you haven't heard this song, you haven't heard thrash metal.

They ended the show with the ever-thrashing 'Tormentor' and said goodbye. I was happy to have been able to grab a Mille pick, something I will treasure life-long I'm sure. His performance as vocalist and on guitar was truly great. His wish was our command for every minute of the show, such was his grip on the crowd. Sami on guitar and Christian Giesler on bass were quite the opposite, looking quite cool and unfazed by whatever was going on in front of them, while still displaying a strong stage presence. Jurgen Reil was a monster on those drums, as he needs to be for a band as intense as Kreator.

I would sum this up with Mille's statement, 'Kreator's show has to be kept down to an hour and a half, because it's just too intense'. This holds completely true as this show is not for the faint hearted. This isn't a crossover thrash band singing about drinking beer and partying loud. This is serious thrash at its ultimate best. Three cheers for the almighty Kreator.

On a side note, the fun wasn't over even after the show ended, as some guy dressed as Jesus thoroughly entertained us on the bus stop. We also saw Sam Dunn walk by. I hope you know who he is. Then, when the bus got there, all of us ran to the bus, almost creating a mosh pit. I'm pretty sure I heard someone shout 'mosh'. All in all, a surreal night.

    Here's their complete set list:
  1. Choir of the Damned
  2. The Pestilence
  3. Hordes of Chaos
  4. Phobia
  5. Enemy of God
  6. Impossible Brutality
  7. Endless Pain
  8. Pleasure to Kill
  9. Terrible Certainty
  10. Extreme Aggression
  11. Coma of Souls
  12. Amok Run
  13. The Patriarch
  14. Violent Revolution
  15. Demon Prince
    Encore:
  16. When the Sun Burns Red
  17. Flag of Hate/Tormentor

Check out the bands here:
Kreator
Kataklysm
Evile
Lazarus A.D

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