By Avinash Mittur
The 1990’s were a dark time for many metal bands, and Kreator were no different. The band had lost two hotshot guitarists in one decade, Frank “Blackfire” Gosdzik and Tommy Vetterli, founding bassist Rob Fioretti, and even Jurgen “Ventor” Reil for a period. Not to mention, four of the band’s five albums released that decade were creative and commercial failures.
It is truly amazing then, that 2001’s “Violent Revolution” is such a fantastic album. Mille Petrozza, the band’s vocalist, co-lead guitarist and primary creative force, managed to create a lineup now ten years strong, and re-establish the band as one of thrash metal’s top acts. Continuing with bassist Christian Giesler, a practitioner of fingerstyle picking, and original drummer Ventor, while adding new guitarist Sami Yli-Sirniö to the lineup, Mille truly reconquered the thrash metal throne.
To begin with, there are so many things one can mention before even talking about the songs. There’s the album art, an obvious allusion to “Coma of Souls,” the band’s technical thrash masterpiece, and their last great album prior to this one. Then we have the title, “Violent Revolution.” Mille wanted fans to know that things would be different with this album-and the title “Violent Revolution” certainly implies that there would be a deviation from his earlier blunders. There is also, the production from a man then better known as the ex-guitarist for Sabbat, Andy Sneap. Simply put, Andy gave the album a production job that sounds just as good in 2011 as it did in 2001. Every instrument is clear and powerful, and the album sounds great across the full sonic spectrum. This was a marked improvement over the razor-thin production on “Coma of Souls.” However, the productions flaws that come with a modern day Andy Sneap album still existed ten years ago. Even though the lead guitars are thick and meaty enough to provide the album with a solid low-end, the bass guitar is nearly inaudible throughout, save for the intro of “Servant in Heaven…King in Hell.” The bass drum is also reduced to mere clicks, providing more of a showcase for Ventor’s fast feet rather than actually sonically enhancing the tracks. And as expected of an Andy Sneap mastering job, the album is dynamically compressed to oblivion. I will readily acknowledge that these are problems common with well, nearly every metal album released since the mid-90’s, but conformity doesn’t excuse an album from suffering from sonic detriments. Regardless of these minor issues however, “Violent Revolution” generally sounds top-notch, and this was hands down, the best production Kreator had ever been given. This album also showcased Kreator’s new sound: the band’s signature speedy riffs were now complemented with harmonized guitar breaks, catchier choruses and exotic yet soulful guitar solos courtesy of Sami. Ventor’s drumming had now become infinitely tighter than years prior. The precise polyrhythmic double bass drumming of 2001 was a far cry from the unfocused and off-time blast-beats of “Pleasure to Kill.” Mille’s voice was at its peak here; what could once be called a shrill bat-like shriek had now matured into an all-out roar. The man probably gave the finest vocal performance of his entire career on this album, considering age finally caught up to his throat on later albums.
Writing a song entitled “Reconquering the Throne” and making the first track on this album was a risky and somewhat cocky move on the band’s part. It’s a good thing then that it absolutely rips. “Reconquering the Throne” sets the tone for the rest of the album, and is a fantastic return to form for one of thrash’s greatest groups. The
“Violent Revolution,” (and of course it’s intro, “The Patriarch”) has to be Mille’s greatest achievement as a songwriter, both lyrically and musically. “The Patriarch” echoes the intro to “When the Sun Burns Red,” but carries an air of maturity and complexity that the latter doesn’t. The song builds with more layers of guitars, and doesn’t seek to sound evil for evil’s sake unlike “When the Sun Burns Red.” “Violent Revolution” then proceeds with everything from triumphant guitar lines, a mindlessly catchy chorus both vocally and in the riffs, two restrained yet melodic solos from Mille and Sami and a classy outro that leaves one completely satisfied with the song’s end. One could write a college paper on the amazingly thought provoking lyrics of the song; Mille covers topics such as social isolation, the greedy and evil nature of humankind, and the impossibility of utopia all within the span of a few minutes. Yet, his words can appeal to even the lowest common denominator of metal fans thanks to the simple yet anthemic chorus. This album is worth the price if only for this song alone, but luckily the rest of the album mostly manages to remain great.
“All of the Same Blood” marks a return to speedy riffs, but the band adds in a long, yet varied bridge that makes the song very distinctive among the other songs on the album. A long atmospheric outro then adds more character to the tune, and it stands as another highlight on this album. “Servant in Heaven, King in Hell” sadly begins a downward turn for the album. The song boasts a very cool intro with a harmonized guitar duet from Sami and Mille. However the song stays in mid-tempo territory, and its frequent stops and starts practically beg for a kick in speed, but it only comes in a very small way for the guitar solo. While the frequent guitar solos are admittedly great, it never feels as if the song truly goes anywhere for lack of a better phrase. Luckily “Second Awakening” corrects this problem for the most part and returns to the thrash that “All of the Same Blood” showcased before. Scattered throughout are many dissonant sounding licks from Sami and Mille that give a darker vibe than one might expect. Sami’s main guitar solo even primarily revolves around the harmonic minor scale, a somewhat dissonant, yet exotic, scale when compared to its blues and natural minor counterparts. “Second Awakening” segues straight into “Ghetto War,” another mid-tempo chugger that while laying claim to a neat intro riff and yet another top notch solo (in case you haven’t yetnoticed, Sami Yli-Sirniö, gives an all-around outstanding performance on this album). Even though the tempo finally picks up at the end, it still doesn’t shake the feeling that this song could have been cut for the greater benefit of the album.
Then, buried all the way at track 8, is “Replicas of Life,” Kreator’s longest and most progressive thrash offering (sorry “Isolation” doesn’t count because random animal sounds aren’t thrash in my humble opinion). Beginning with a minute of actual singing from Mille and clean guitars, the song then simply explodes with pure metal fury. The dynamics in tempo works amazingly for this song, and would later serve them well on future tracks like “Voices of the Dead” and “To the Afterborn.” Moments such as Mille roaring “…hell on earth, finally opens its gates” are among the most satisfying the band ever made. Too bad then, that it hasn’t been played live as of yet.
It truly is a shame then, that “Slave Machinery” comes after it, because of how mediocre it is. Being worse than the other two mid-tempo tracks, this one doesn’t even resemble thrash in any way, coming off as an attempt at generic plodding death metal without the cookie monster-ing. It’s a good thing then, that “Bitter Sweet Revenge” starts off with an insanely catchy power thrash riff, and absolutely scorches in its five and a half minutes. Even though the verses and choruses are more midtempo fare, the tempo increase coupled with that catchy riff from the intro provides for great dynamics, In addition, an uncommonly aggressive bridge (throughout the album the bridges have been the slower parts) and a neat layered guitar run make “Bitter Sweet Revenge” a track that nearly makes up for the prior song’s blunder.
Unfortunately, “Mind on Fire” and “System Decay” end the album on a less than memorable note. Continuing a truly annoying pattern throughout the album, “Mind on Fire” is yet another mid-tempo chugger following a quick thrasher. It doesn’t fall flat on its face like “Slave Machinery,” it doesn’t stand out in any way at all. “System Decay” at least attempts to showcase both medium and fast paced parts, although what should have been the best parts of the song, the quick riffs and the shockingly boring and unnecessary guitar solo, don’t hold up.
Even though the album ends on a rather underwhelming note, “Violent Revolution” is still a great album, and marked a tremendous comeback for Kreator. To conclude, “Violent Revolution” came out as a very successful return to form despite its minor shortcomings and marked a new modern thrash sound that Kreator have only managed to improve on with successive albums. In 2011, the title track is still a rallying cry for thrash fans around the world, and the album itself has aged very gracefully.
Rating: 8.5/10
Track Listing:
1. Reconquering The Throne
2. The Patriarch
3. Violent Revolution
4. All Of The Same Blood (Unity)
5. Servant In Heaven/King In Hell
6. Second Awakening
7. Ghetto War
8. Replicas Of Life
9. Slave Machinery
10. Bitter Sweet Revenge
11. Mind On Fire
12. System Decay