Released: Jan 13, 2009
Genre: Thrash Metal
Label: Steamhammer
Number Of Tracks: 10
Veteran thrash metal band Kreator evokes the sound of everyone from Iron Maiden to Slayer on its impressive 12th studio album.
Hordes Of ChaosFeatured review by: UG Team, on january 14, 2009 2 of 2 people found this review helpful
Sound: There’s been a lot of talk about Metallica’s return to form with DeathMagnetic, but they aren’t the only metal veterans that continue to keep old school thrash alive. Germany’s Kreator might not have received the same success in terms of record sales that their counterparts in Metallica have over the years, but in many ways Kreator is delivering a much purer and gutsier version of the sound that originally made them a household name. Their 12th studio album Hordes Of Chaos combines elements of some of the greatest metal bands of the past few decades, with the dual guitar team of Mille Petrozza and Sami Yli-Sirnio delivering amazing riffwork along the way.
Some of you might remember that Kreator formed back in 1982, not long after the likes of Metallic, Slayer, and Venom. Those influences were strongly evident on earlier works, and the band has been returning to its roots ever since 2005’s Enemy of God. While Hordes of Chaos isn’t quite as groundbreaking as some metal albums over the years, it still packs a punch. There are a few moments of calm, during which time Yli-Sirnio delivers a clean, classical-sounding interludes, but for the most part Hordes of Chaos is an apt title.
If you enjoy Iron Maiden, you’ll undoubtedly be pleased by what you hear in the first few moments of the CD. The title track features a similar dual-guitar-driven intro that you might get on any given Maiden record, but this is not a band that stays in one place very long. The thrash follows shortly after, with other moments delivering leads that evoke a Megadeth vibe. If you prefer something a little more aggressive and in-your-face, “Warcurse” has almost a Slayer-like sound to its chorus. That doesn’t necessarily mean the whole song feels like a rehashing of a Kerry King track, however. Kreator often jam-packs their songs with multiple musical sections that vary in tempo and style - more so than most metal bands - and if anything, you hear something new each time you listen.
Some might take issue that Kreator writes too many sections during the course of one song (although vocalist/guitarist Petrozza maintains the same vocal style for much of the CD), but there is still some amazing musicianship underneath it all. If you are a fan of guitar teams, Kreator is a band that you’ll absolutely be able to appreciate. Whether the focus is rhythmic mastery (“Escalation”) quiet, instrumental moments (“Corpses of Liberty”), or thrash fury (“Demon Prince”) proves that Kreator is creatively still a viable band on the metal scene. // 9
Lyrics and Singing: A recent press release described the album as “a powerhouse featuring rigorous thrash attacks and Kreator's familiarly intelligent lyrics about self-determination and the dangers of contemporary war propaganda." While it’s not completely blatant in every line on the CD, that message does come across in tracks like “Warcurse,”“Amok Run,” and “Demon Prince.” The themes might not seem to far removed from what you might hear from Megadeth, but it’s still novel that Kreator is taking the time to reflect upon the state of the political world. // 9
Impression: The biggest change for Kreator might not be immediately evident when you first listen to Hordes of Chaos. Apparently the group opted for a more “organic” recording process, without relying on the usual computers to tweak the sound. The results are far from raw, and the clarity of the album is amazing. Hordes of Chaos is an album that has so much going on that you’re going to want to hear every little nuance that an instrument makes, and for the most part that comes through crystal clear - possibly because they didn’t use computers to “perfect” the sound. While the music might sound too familiar to some, it’s a good kind of familiarity. When you evoke everyone from Iron Maiden to Slayer to Megadeth in the same album, that cannot be a bad thing. // 9
Hordes Of Chaos
Reviewed by:
Nathan_393, on march 04, 2009 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Sound: Kreator's twelfth record starts off with a few immediate changes that are immediately noticeable. The first is production: where the past two Kreator records (Violent Revolution and Enemy of God) were heavily polished, this album was recorded straight to tape and is as old-school sounding of a record as you're likely to find in this day and age. The second thing you'll notice right away is that the riffs are MONSTROUS when the band let's loose. I can't say enough about how aggressive or intense this album is. Really good stuff. The band, over time, has gotten tighter than back in the glory days of Extreme Aggression, and you can tell on this album because every mistake (and it doesn't sound like there are many) is clearly audible, just like in the old days. This album just sounds tighter than those albums.
There are a lot of exceptionally good songs on this record. Not all of them are thrash - "Destroy What Destroys You" sounds horribly out of place because it's a heavy groove song - but most of them are fast, heavy songs that feature some of the biggest thrash riffs in years and some of the best riffs Kreator's played since Coma of Souls. But this CD doesn't quite live up to Coma of Souls or Extreme Aggression. There feels like there's a little too much filler and a little too much modern groove metal influence in there. The chorus to "After Burn" sounds decidedly like In Flames to me, and some of their guitar melodies are a little too Gothenburg-ish, which is a problem that also plagued their last two records. I'm pleased to say it's least noticeable on this record. Jurgen Reil is also a drumming beast and is one of the highlights of this album - as I'm sure many of you know or have guessed, it takes some crazy skills to be able to do an album live like this. // 9
Lyrics and Singing: Mille's back to his usual vocal duties, and it's amazing how well his voice has held up. He might not be the best singer ever (let's face it, he doesn't really sing), but he's been doing this for twenty-five years and his voice barely sounds any different from what it did twenty-five years ago. Some of his lyrics are horrible. I wouldn't say any of his lyrics are especially good, but they don't have to be on an album like this - Kreator is about the music and the way the vocals match it more than the lyrics. And the vocals really match it. "Destroy What Destroys You" is a horrible song musically, but vocally, it's a vibrant example of Petrozza's skill and one of his best performances on the album. There isn't a single vocal performance that sounds unbearable, which is better than we can say for some of Kreator's past work. // 7
Impression: There are some fantastic songs on this album - it's overall very consistent. I love the title track, and Amok Run is an absolutely epic song. It's not handled as well as Metallica would handle a ballad, but for Kreator, it was a very interesting song and a surprise to hear on the album. Corpses of Liberty is the best interlude I've heard since Shadows Fall put out Threads of Life, and Demon Prince is a very high note to end the album on. Absolute Misanthropy is also a fantastic song. The only song on here that I'm not a big fan of is "Destroy What Destroys You", which just doesn't really seem to fit in a record that's full of aggression. Does the raw production work for this album? I would say it fit's in 90 percent of the time. It's a thin sound that reminds me of Extreme Aggression's production. This album starts on full throttle with the Blackened-esque intro to the opening track and doesn't let up for the rest of the album, and it's arguably the band's most vicious attack since Extreme Aggression. Highly recommended thrash metal with only a hint of modern influences, and one heck of a way to start off 2009. // 9
Hordes Of Chaos
Reviewed by:
im_atheist, on january 16, 2009 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Sound: Although I will be first to admit that when I first listened to Hordes of Chaos, I was a little disappointed... first and foremost with Mille Petroza's voice, which I have to say I am a huge fan of however on Hordes of Chaos I find it more mellow on this album, it sounds a lot cleaner than previous albums but it adds more feeling to the song and makes the experience less dull after listening to it several times I must say it grew on me. The guitar skill of Mille Petroza and Sami Yli-Sirniö is just mind blowing, once again they mix blinding thrash riffs with more slow melodic clean riffs (noticeably in Amok Run and Corpses of Liberty) and Sami of course still laying down original and creative solos as always, and surely all these technical, melodic and harmony drive guitar riffs are backed up by one of the finest drummers in metal: Jürgen 'Ventor' Reil who backs up the crushing riffs with what can only be described as a nuclear blast. The major difference in Hordes of Chaos is that Mille Petroza has stated it's an organic record - recorded live as a quartet with no overdubs, this is the first time Kreator has recorded an album in this way for 13 years (Pleasure to Kill), it isn't noticeable at first but it gives the sound of Hordes of Chaos an added "edge" which gives the songs much more feeling and really want to make you thrash out as you're listening to it. // 9
Lyrics and Singing: as I mentioned before, Petrozza's voice on Hordes of Chaos is I find more mellow and cleaner sounding, however it is not an off putting feature, it shows diversity which I like in any musician of any instrument. The opening lyrics of "Run Amok" are chilling and haunting and clearly portray Petrozza's personal political views which course through the whole albums veins. f course the lyrics are sung in a similar way as on 2005's "Enemy of God" that being, clean, slow even melodic vocals over the clean sections building up to Petrozza's signature growl/scream over the heavier, faster riffs. Overall the lyrics fit with the songs and even if Petrozza's vocals are more refined, it's nothing to complain about. // 10
Impression: My first impression with this album was a certain feeling of disappointment however I was rather naive to think that they could top the previous album, but after the initial sense of disappointment wore off Hordes of Chaos started to grow on me.
My favourite songs as soon as I listened to this album are: Warcurse, Amok Run, Corpses of Liberty (instrumental clean track), Demon Prince and the title track: Hordes of Chaos. I'd definitely recommend this to long time Kreator fans or new comers to Kreator, I still maintain the opinion that since the joining of lead guitarist Sami Yli-Sirniö, Kreator are more melodic and almost a thrash version of Iron Maiden - which is not a bad thing at all. Old school thrashers maybe slightly disappointed with the lack of aggression that was present in Kreators early albums back in the 80's but I feel Petrozza and company have matured with age and are currently on perfect form. They've definitely made it difficult to top this or Enemy of God but I think we'll still be hearing more from these thrash titans. // 9
alot of the older thrash bands that never got really big (Sodom, Anhillilator, Testament, Slayer, Megadeth, Overkill, Heathen, and more)still play real good metal. Metallica is the only one really that changed. And James is the only singer (maybe) that doesn't deliver like he used to. Listen to the new Testament album (formation of damnation)or Megadeth (United Abominations) they can still deliver good vocals. Or even Iron Maiden (A matter of life and death).
But I'm looking forward to buying this when I get some money.
"Theres been a lot of talk about Metallicas return to form with Death Magnetic, but they arent the only metal veterans that continue to keep old school thrash alive"
Thats because people these days are retarded and can't tell thrash from their own sphincters.
I'm disappointed with Hordes of Chaos actually, I got emailed the album awhile ago and it didn't click with me as well as Enemy of God did. Its still a brilliant album, but after two brilliant albums this is a bit of a disappointment.
"Theres been a lot of talk about Metallicas return to form with Death Magnetic, but they arent the only metal veterans that continue to keep old school thrash alive"
Thats because people these days are retarded and can't tell thrash from their own sphincters.
I'm disappointed with Hordes of Chaos actually, I got emailed the album awhile ago and it didn't click with me as well as Enemy of God did. Its still a brilliant album, but after two brilliant albums this is a bit of a disappointment.
felt the same too.. i feel like i should like it but something just holds me back!
"Theres been a lot of talk about Metallicas return to form with Death Magnetic, but they arent the only metal veterans that continue to keep old school thrash alive." Where is the new Metallica album Thrash Metal?
The mighty met have fell far from grace. How the hell is the new Metallica album even close to thrash metal? O well the new Kreator album is pretty good but no where near their old albums
alot of the older thrash bands that never got really big (Sodom, Anhillilator, Testament, Slayer , Megadeth , Overkill, Heathen, and more)still play real good metal. Metallica is the only one really that changed. And James is the only singer (maybe) that doesn't deliver like he used to. Listen to the new Testament album (formation of damnation)or Megadeth (United Abominations) they can still deliver good vocals. Or even Iron Maiden (A matter of life and death).
But I'm looking forward to buying this when I get some money.
lol dood i had this album in december lol my buddy somehow got it.....and ive been listening to it nonstop.....best tunes are warcurse and the title track
Thats because people these days are retarded and can't tell thrash from their own sphincters.
I thought I was the only one who thought that! It seems that most modern Metal is either tired and confused (Metallica), new acts ripping off older acts (trivium, bullet for my valentine) or plain old boring... But those three points are only plausible when stated in comparison good old pre-1990's thrash/metal.
Thats because people these days are retarded and can't tell thrash from their own sphincters.
I thought I was the only one who thought that! It seems that most modern Metal is either tired and confused (Metallica), new acts ripping off older acts (trivium, bullet for my valentine) or plain old boring... But those three points are only plausible when stated in comparison good old pre-1990's thrash/metal.
"Theres been a lot of talk about Metallicas return to form with Death Magnetic, but they arent the only metal veterans that continue to keep old school thrash alive." Where is the new Metallica album Thrash Metal?
Might be in the galloping triplets, the obscene speed, or the massive palm mutes.
These bands can't win with some fans can they..?
Their either release music that is too distant from their earlier work, music that is too similar to their earlier works or they are simply copying other bands songs... Just pointing that out...
As for this album, cant wait to get it, should be good
Thats because people these days are retarded and can't tell thrash from their own sphincters.
I thought I was the only one who thought that! It seems that most modern Metal is either tired and confused (Metallica), new acts ripping off older acts (trivium, bullet for my valentine) or plain old boring... But those three points are only plausible when stated in comparison good old pre-1990's thrash/metal.
Trivium and Bullet in my opinion were better off before they tried to copy the likes of 80's bands. I personally prefer their screams and guitar work.
alot of the older thrash bands that never got really big (Sodom, Anhillilator, Testament, Slayer, Megadeth, Overkill, Heathen, and more)still play real good metal. Metallica is the only one really that changed. And James is the only singer (maybe) that doesn't deliver like he used to. Listen to the new Testament album (formation of damnation)or Megadeth (United Abominations) they can still deliver good vocals. Or even Iron Maiden (A matter of life and death).
But I'm looking forward to buying this when I get some money.
Slayer and Megadeth didn't make it big? Man have I been lied to all these years...
I actually liked most of Death Magnetic. It wasn't thrash by any means, but it was kinda thrashy n some of it was cool. Kreator owns Metallica anyday though. I got this cd for my birthday n it just rips. TIME TO RAISE THE FLAG OF HATE!!!
Kreator have been around for a long time. I can remember in 1987 I was in a garage metal band, and one of the guys had a cassette copy of Flag of Hate. The song "Take Their Lives" was the Heaviest Shit I had ever heard. Still an awesome set. Check it out, This stuff is pushing 30 years old, and still sounds fresh!
Every time I read "Metallica" I hate the band just a little bit more.
That's some intelligent reasoning there.
I gave Hordes of Chaos a listen, and I gotta say that I liked Enemy of God a little better. Might just be my first impression though, I'll give it more time. I still like their earlier stuff better though.
and to those fuks bitching about metallica and death magnetic; This is Kreator Hordes of Chaos review, not attack bands that dont sound like kreator review.
i love everything kreator has put out (not including those 3 horrible sellout albums, you know which ones)
and this is the best ****ing trhash album ever. EVER.
although in Amok Run its kinda funny because Milles accent shows sometimes xD
I always lol when people accuse a metal band of "selling out" just because they play a bit of a different style. Of course, we don't want our favorite bands to change. The bands though, they get bored of doing the same thing all the time. I think that metallica did change styles specifically for money and not because they really wanted to...though I've never really like metallica so . I thought that Kreator's "Sellout" albums kicked just as much ass as everything else they've done. If you are truly a fan of a band, you will always support their music.
By the way, kreator = awesome. I will check this CD out for sure.
alot of the older thrash bands that never got really big (Sodom, Anhillilator, Testament, Slayer, Megadeth, Overkill, Heathen, and more)still play real good metal. Metallica is the only one really that changed. And James is the only singer (maybe) that doesn't deliver like he used to. Listen to the new Testament album (formation of damnation)or Megadeth (United Abominations) they can still deliver good vocals. Or even Iron Maiden (A matter of life and death).
But I'm looking forward to buying this when I get some money.
WTF? Slayer and Megadeth are big, they're even in the big four of thrash!!
hmmm, i listened to it on youtube and i thought the production sounded rather 80's. im still gonna buy the cd next time i make it to def ear cuz id rather wait a while than just go to best buy. but yeah, i loved enemy of god and violent revolution. they were so melodic one second and then fast as hell the next, and the solos, omfg.
this one is def way more thrashin than anything they have done in over 10-15 years tho. i just hope i dont crash when im bangin my head and drivin down the road.
It's a fun album; I expected just that, nothing more.
People who say it's just uninteresting are conceited and looking to score br00tal points.
It's a fun, entertaining album and the songs are definitely playable and enjoyable live next to their older music, if you're out there, partying, and they start some new ones, you won't stop... I'll bet you that! The sign of a good album..
It's a fun album; I expected just that, nothing more.
People who say it's just uninteresting are conceited and looking to score br00tal points.
It's a fun, entertaining album and the songs are definitely playable and enjoyable live next to their older music, if you're out there, partying, and they start some new ones, you won't stop... I'll bet you that! The sign of a good album..
You've hit the nail on the head. And for all the tears that have flowed over Metallica, get over it, they've changed their musical style in order to make it more commercial. But that isn't a bad thing, mutual benefits have already arisen, the band themselves are profiting and through accessing more mainstream media outputs they will draw listeners in to the world of metal (cheesy).
I know when I started listening to metal it was a lot of commercial nu-metal (Limp Bizkit's second album, Linkin Park's first album, Papa Roach's first album), but these bands made me want to seek out similar genres and gradually my tastes changed, if I were to list my favourite bands now they would probably be... Between the Buried and Me, Cynic, Opeth, Mastodon.
Silas S Thompso :
alot of the older thrash bands that never got really big (Sodom, Anhillilator, Testament, Slayer, Megadeth, Overkill, Heathen, and more)still play real good metal. Metallica is the only one really that changed. And James is the only singer (maybe) that doesn't deliver like he used to. Listen to the new Testament album (formation of damnation)or Megadeth (United Abominations) they can still deliver good vocals. Or even Iron Maiden (A matter of life and death).
But I'm looking forward to buying this when I get some money.
Isn't Sodom death metal? And didn't Maiden go through a sort of downturn furing the Blaze Bayley years?
I enjoyed your review enough to include a summary of it in my weekly HOT Ones list for the big releases of each week. Just in case you're interested, its HERE. I just like to let people know when I've included them.
THey're thrash. German bands just growl like that for some reason. Kreator does it (did it) too. Not sure about the other one. But anyway, just ordered the limited edition Cd/Dvd and I can't wait to listen to it.
its ****ed up how metallica are attacked by comments under reviews of bands that are heavier and faster than they are. death magnetic was a friggin good solid album, which is more than i can say for hordes of chaos. heavier and faster does not always make better. metallica were the greatest thrash metal band of all time, regardless of what they sound like now.
^ Agreed..... anyway you know im a huge kreator fan but i just found this album to sound unnatural it does not sound like the kreator i love, to me it sounds like a shitty mix of mainstream crap wannabe thrash. im sorry people but its just not a good album. nothing sounds even close to extreme aggression and pleasure to kill which are my 2 favorite albums of all time. sorry everyone but this album gets a 2 for me but i still love kreator!
its ****ed up how metallica are attacked by comments under reviews of bands that are heavier and faster than they are. death magnetic was a friggin good solid album, which is more than i can say for hordes of chaos. heavier and faster does not always make better. metallica were the greatest thrash metal band of all time, regardless of what they sound like now.
METALLICA OWNS ALL OF YOU
death magnetic was not a good/solid album.It was in pieces. there are parts where you have no choice but to headbang till your brain falls out, but it only lasts for 20 seconds tops. then the song slows down and you can hear how much his vouce was damaged by blowing it out on tour all those years(and how come nobody told lars that his snare sounded like shit during production???). i was at one of their shows recently and james' voice kept blowing out during songs, it sounded like he was going through puberty....and your right, they WERE the greatest thrash band of all time.
kr
its ****ed up how metallica are attacked by comments under reviews of bands that are heavier and faster than they are. death magnetic was a friggin good solid album, which is more than i can say for hordes of chaos. heavier and faster does not always make better. metallica were the greatest thrash metal band of all time, regardless of what they sound like now.
METALLICA OWNS ALL OF YOU
death magnetic was not a good/solid album.It was in pieces. there are parts where you have no choice but to headbang till your brain falls out, but it only lasts for 20 seconds tops. then the song slows down and you can hear how much his vouce was damaged by blowing it out on tour all those years(and how come nobody told lars that his snare sounded like shit during production???). i was at one of their shows recently and james' voice kept blowing out during songs, it sounded like he was going through puberty....and your right, they WERE the greatest thrash band of all time.
kr
Hordes of Chaos is a Thrash Metal masterpiece !!!!!
Kreator at its finest \m/ Warcurse is a beast song, great stuff. its good to see some bands still kicking ass better then ever with their new releases.
cant wait to catch their show in april ! ULTRA RIOT !!!!
its ****ed up how metallica are attacked by comments under reviews of bands that are heavier and faster than they are. death magnetic was a friggin good solid album, which is more than i can say for hordes of chaos. heavier and faster does not always make better. metallica were the greatest thrash metal band of all time, regardless of what they sound like now.
METALLICA OWNS ALL OF YOU
Death Magnetic is a piss poor album, I especially barfed in my trousers upon hearing that so called "instrumental track" which had to be the single worst instrumental I've ever heard in my life.
Hordes of Chaos is a bit of a step back from Enemy of God but WTF could you expect? It's still a gem and prob going to be in my top 10 for 2009. Highlights for me would be "To The Afterborn","Destroy What Destroys You" and "Amok Run". I like the over all production of the album. It deosn't sound sterile like alot of shit nowadays. Definatly worth buying. Kreator has many thrash classics but I could rank HOC in my top 5. So here it is #1. EOG 2. PTK 3. EA 4. COS 5. HOC
If any was disappointed by the sound of any part of this album, whether it's one (or both) of the guitars, or the vocals, or anything, then it should be said that this album was recorded with the intention to be played live. And it worked. I saw Kreator in Fort Worth, Texas, last Thursday and they were amazing. They opened with Hordes of Chaos and it sounded as if someone was blasting the album out of their amps.
I feel sort of a fag, because I have started to listen to this album more and more and more, compared to all my other kreator albums. The guitar is just great. I felt that Kreator still sounded like good old Kreator; not like some new band. My personal favorite song is Amok Run, just because I feel like I want to go run around and bang my head out. I felt lots of classic thrash and very melodic thrash in the the whole album. On my scale, I gave the album 10/10. I loved it as much as Enemy, Violent Revolution, Coma, Pleasure... and well everything.
i liked this album especially warcurse and demon prince. warcurse is a beautiful "in your face" song, and demon prince is just plain beautiful. although, i do miss the tone of enemy of god, and of course, the extensive use of A Harmonic minor =)
btw metallica WAS a good band. doesnt anyone remember ride the lightning? good album. but of course they sold out. but admit it, early metallica was great!
its ****ed up how metallica are attacked by comments under reviews of bands that are heavier and faster than they are. death magnetic was a friggin good solid album, which is more than i can say for hordes of chaos. heavier and faster does not always make better. metallica were the greatest thrash metal band of all time, regardless of what they sound like now.
METALLICA OWNS ALL OF YOU
Death Magnetic is a piss poor album, I especially barfed in my trousers upon hearing that so called "instrumental track" which had to be the single worst instrumental I've ever heard in my life.
... Metallica were quite good in the 80's and they could be referred as the "best thrash metal band" by many. Hence the word, "were" the greatest thrash metal band. Death magnetic was good but not great..
But I'm looking forward to buying this when I get some money.