That name sounds a little goofy to be sure, but it’s true. I don’t want to keep this month focused on the political BS of my home country, but at the same time I feel like I need to say a little bit of something. Last year around this time I devoted all of January to politically themed reviews, but this year not so much. Yeah, I got a rant up last week, but this time I’m just sticking it to one review, and moving on from there. Today’s review was something a sort of alluded to on the 6th of this month, and might be the catalyst for something a little later in 2023. Regardless, today’s album will get you mad as hell at the system, and maybe get a bunch of you out there fighting the good fight! So, without further delay, here’s my review from one of the titans of German Thrash, Hate Über Alles. Let’s begin!
Background
Taken from Wikipedia:
“About three months after the release of Gods of Violence, Petrozza mentioned a follow-up album, saying, "Maybe we should work with a different producer. Maybe we should go to a different country to record the album. Maybe we should write a more metal or more full-on thrash metal. Whatever we feel, first and foremost, that is the most important thing. Time will tell." In a September 2017 interview with Australia's Silver Tiger Media, Petrozza stated that Kreator could do another album after Gods of Violence but "not yet." When asked in February 2018 about the band's future, Petrozza said, "I think we're gonna take next year off and write a new record. That's the plan at least. We'll see what happens. I don't put myself under pressure. Let's see how I feel after this tour, and if I have ideas for new music, I will book a studio and start working on demos as soon as I have the time. And then I'll come up with some new stuff." He told Guitar Interactive magazine in July 2018 that Kreator would take 2019 off to focus on writing the new album, which was planned for release in the summer of 2020. Petrozza later stated their new album was not expected to be released until the summer of 2021.
In the beginning of December, Kreator embarked on a tour of Europe, entitled the European Apocalypse, with the bands Dimmu Borgir, Hatebreed and Bloodbath. It was also announced that the final concert of the European Apocalypse in London would be filmed and produced as a live DVD in 2019; titled London Apocalypticon - Live at the Roundhouse, this DVD was released on 14 February 2020. Kreator supported Slayer on their final world tour, appearing at the Santiago Gets Louder festival in Chile on 6 October 2019, along with Anthrax and Pentagram Chile.
On 16 September 2019, it was announced that Christian "Speesy" Giesler had left Kreator after 25 years as their bassist, and was replaced by Frédéric Leclercq, who had recently left DragonForce.
On 26 March 2020, Kreator released a music video for "666 - World Divided", which marked their first song in three years and their first one since Leclercq joined the band.
On 20 July 2020, Petrozza posted a picture of himself in the studio on his Instagram page, which indicated that Kreator were working on their new album. Petrozza confirmed two months later that Kreator had been writing new material "in the last couple of months", and that he was recording vocals for the album. In a March 2021 interview, Petrozza revealed that Kreator was supposed to start recording their new album in February, but added that this plan was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. He also went on to say that he wants "the album to come out and go on a world tour right afterwards" and revealed that Arthur Rizk would produce it. The band announced in September 2021 that they had begun recording the album at Hansa Tonstudio in Berlin, Germany with Rizk. In December 2021, Mille announced on his Instagram page that their new album would be released in the summer of 2022, preceded by a "new single SOON!". On 4 February 2022 the band released the title track from Hate Über Alles as the album's first single, and announced on the same day that the album would be released on 3 June; its release date was later pushed back to 10 June. A video for the second single from Hate Über Alles, "Strongest of the Strong", was released on 8 April 2022, followed less than a month later by its third single "Midnight Sun".”
Basic Description
Gods Of Violence 2.0
That’s not an insult in anyway. If you remember from my top 5 albums of 2017 list (As well as my top ten albums of the 2010s list), you might recall I gave Gods Of Violence some pretty high praise. Kreator always knew how to create politically charged Thrash Metal that was also exceptionally catchy & managed to stick with the times very well. Hate Über Alles is no exception to this: the guitar & bass is rough but slick, the drumming sounds like the marching of people who are sick & tired of how much the world is going to crap, and Millie Petrozza’s singing is that of a revolutionary that has something important to say. There is one small hiccup I’ll talk about a little later, but the band set out to make a point with this album, and I genuinely think they actually succeeded. It may age as well as Gods Of Violence did, or it may not. Either way, this album was a hell of a hit last year, and I look forward to what the band has cooking next!
Best Track
Virtually everything on this album is fantastic, but I gotta give the honor of being the best track of this release to the title song. As a way to begin previewing this record to people at large, this was a perfect choice! The instrumentation is on point, as it lays out that speedy thrash Kreator has been known for across most of their discography, and Millie’s vocal work carries that controlled fury the fans have heard through most of their life in the band’s fandom. The true opening song after the near 1-minute of atmospheric audio, it’s most easily the face of Hate Über Alles, and I don’t think any other tune could have been.
Hate Über Alles
Worst Track
Like I stated in my top 5 albums list of 2022 in December last year, the only fault with Hate Über Alles would be the pacing of some of the songs. Most of the tracks on this album occupy the mid to fast tier when it comes to speed, but there are a tiny pinch of them that are definitely slower, and thus slows the overall swiftness that this record otherwise paces itself. I should point out that the slower tracks in question aren’t bad by any measure, as they contain just as much fury as everything else on Hate Über Alles. It just that with the faster nature of the album, the tracks in question do keep things slightly down in terms of the overall pacing.
Other
If you’re curious about listening to this album, then click on the link below:
Hate Über Alles
Overall Impression & Rating
Hate Über Alles is a rich & powerful album. Continuing the legacy set by the release before, it’s a perfect portrait into the political turmoil of the early 2020s. Sure, there’s a song or two that slows down the speed at which the album plays, but even then they still contribute to the overall package. If you missed Gods Of Violence for whatever reason, then Hate Über Alles is a good release to start back up at.
Hate Über Alles gets a out 9 of 10.
And that was my look at Hate Über Alles. It was only appropriate to cover this after my recent rant, and one that may fit our times more than Gods Of Violence did. Even with that said, the two albums stand side-by-side, and raise all sorts of hell. So, with that bit of politisperging out of the way, I got my 1st anime review of 2023.....and it is hands down the single strangest thing I have ever watched. See you soon!
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