Gods of Violence

Gods of Violence is the fourteenth studio album by German thrash metal band Kreator, released on January 27, 2017.[1][2]

Gods of Violence
Studio album by Kreator
Released	January 27, 2017
Recorded	2016
Genre	Thrash metal
Length	51:43
Label	Nuclear Blast
Producer	Jens Bogren
Kreator chronology
Dying Alive (2013) Gods of Violence (2017)

Background

It was the band's first studio album in almost five years since 2012's Phantom Antichrist, marking the longest gap between two studio albums in their career. A music video for the album's title track was released on November 18, 2016.[3] Special editions of the album were released with a bonus Blu-ray/DVD of Kreator's performance at Wacken 2014.

This is Kreator's final studio album with bassist Christian "Speesy" Giesler before his departure from the band in 2019.[4]

Reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	73/100[5]
Review scores
Source	Rating
All About the Rock[6]	10/10
AllMusic[7]
Blabbermouth.net[8]	8/10
Metal Injection[9]	9.5/10
Pitchfork[10]	6.2/10
Terrorizer	8.5/10[11]

Gods of Violence received positive reviews upon its release. Writing for All About the Rock, Fraser Wilson said: "With this record, Kreator have created a slab of truly eviscerating aural perfection. Thrash may have been born in San Francisco’s Bay Area, but it was perfected in Essen."[6]

Gods of Violence debuted at number one on the German charts, making it Kreator's first number one debut in their 32-year recording career.[12] The album won a 2017 Metal Storm Award for Best Thrash Metal Album.[13]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Petrozza except where noted; all music is composed by Kreator.

No.	Title	Lyrics	Length
1.	"Apocalypticon (Instrumental)"		1:06
2.	"World War Now"		4:28
3.	"Satan Is Real"	Petrozza, Jäger	4:38
4.	"Totalitarian Terror"		4:45
5.	"Gods of Violence"		5:51
6.	"Army of Storms"		5:09
7.	"Hail to the Hordes"		4:02
8.	"Lion with Eagle Wings"		5:22
9.	"Fallen Brother"	Petrozza, Jäger	4:37
10.	"Side by Side"		4:19
11.	"Death Becomes My Light"		7:26
Total length:			51:43

Japanese edition bonus track

No.	Title	Length
12.	"Earth Under the Sword"	3:29

Bonus CD/DVD/Blu-ray: Live at Wacken 2014

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Mars Mantra"	1:19
2.	"Phantom Antichrist"	4:38
3.	"From Flood into Fire"	6:33
4.	"Warcurse"	6:27
5.	"Endless Pain"	3:25
6.	"Pleasure to Kill"	4:12
7.	"Hordes of Chaos"	5:42
8.	"Phobia"	5:15
9.	"Enemy of God"	6:02
10.	"Civilization Collapse"	4:10
11.	"The Patriarch"	0:52
12.	"Violent Revolution"	6:54
13.	"United in Hate"	8:08
14.	"Flag of Hate/Tormentor"	7:19
Total length:		70:56

Mailorder edition second bonus CD: Alternative Version

No.	Title	Length
1.	"World War Now" (demo)	4:19
2.	"Satan Is Real" (demo)	4:24
3.	"Gods of Violence" (demo)	6:16
4.	"Lion with Eagle Wings" (demo)	5:56
5.	"Death Becomes My Light" (demo)	7:03
Total length:		27:58

Credits

Writing, performance and production credits are adapted from the album liner notes.[14]

Kreator

• Mille Petrozza – vocals, rhythm guitar
• Sami Yli-Sirniö – lead guitar
• Christian Giesler – bass
• Ventor – drums

Additional musicians

• Boris Pfeiffer (In Extremo) – bagpipes on "Hails to the Hordes"
• Tekla-Li Wadensten – harp; intro piece on "Gods of Violence"
• Dagobert Jäger – German vocals on "Fallen Brother"

Choir

• Ronny Milianowicz
• Björn Kromm
• Frederik Eriksson
• Henrik Andersoon
• Mattias Lövdahl
• Lars Höjer
• Jens Bogren

Arrangements

• Kreator – arrangement
• Francesco Paoli – orchestral arrangement
• Francesco Ferrini – orchestral arrangement

Production

• Jens Bogren – production, recording, mixing
• David Castillo – additional engineering
• Erik Mjörnell – additional engineering
• Christoffer Wadensten – engineering (harp only)
• Ronny Milianowicz – recording (choir only)
• Ludwig Näsvall – drumtech
• Urban Näsvall – drumtech
• Linus Corneliusson – mixing assistance, editing
• Tony Lindgren – mastering
• Olman Viper – mastering
• Marc Görtz (Caliban) – pre-production
• Dominic Paraskevopoulos – Pre-production

Studios

• Fascination Street Studios, Sweden – production, recording, mixing, mastering
• Studio Seven, Örebro, Sweden – recording (choir only)
• Nemesis Studios, Germany – pre-production
• Level 3 – pre-production
• Hertzwerk, Hamburg, Germany – mastering

Charts

Chart (2017)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[15]	30
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[16]	4
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[17]	20
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[18]	46
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[19]	90
Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI)[20]	7
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[21]	58
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[22]	7
French Albums (SNEP)[23]	59
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[24]	1
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[25]	5
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[26]	55
Polish Albums (ZPAV)[27]	21
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[28]	33
Scottish Albums (OCC)[29]	37
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[30]	28
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[31]	19
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[32]	13
UK Albums (OCC)[33]	72
US Billboard 200[34]	118
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[35]	8
US Top Hard Rock Albums (Billboard)[36]	6
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[37]	19

References

1. "Kreator To Release 'Gods Of Violence' Album In January". Blabbermouth.net. October 14, 2016. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
2. "Kreator: 'Gods Of Violence' Album Details Revealed". Blabbermouth.net. October 28, 2016. Retrieved October 28, 2016.
3. "Video Premiere: Kreator's 'Gods Of Violence'". Blabbermouth.net. 18 November 2016. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
4. "KREATOR Welcome Frédéric Leclercq As New Bass Player". capitalchaostv.com. September 16, 2019. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
5. "Gods of Violence". Metacritic. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
6. Fraser. "Kreator - Gods of Violence CD Review". allabouttherock.co.uk. All About the Rock. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
7. Jurek, Thom. Gods of Violence - Kreator at AllMusic
8. Van Horn, Jr., Ray. "CD Reviews - Gods Of Violence – Kreator". www.blabbermouth.net. Blabbermouth.net. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
9. Stewart-Panko, Kevin (January 26, 2017). "Album Review: Kreator – Gods of Violence". www.metalinjection.net. Metal Injection. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
10. Reyes-Kulkarni, Saby (January 23, 2017). "Kreator: Gods of Violence Album Review". pitchfork.com. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
11. Stewart-Panko, Kevin (January 2017). "Kreator: Gods Of Violence". Terrorizer. United Kingdom: Dark Arts (278): 55. ISSN 1350-6978.
12. "Kreator's 'Gods Of Violence' Tops German Chart". Blabbermouth.net. 3 February 2017. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
13. "Metal Storm Awards 2017 - Metal Storm". www.metalstorm.net. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
14. Gods of Violence (liner notes). Kreator. Nuclear Blast. 2017. NB 3725-2, 27361 37252.CS1 maint: others (link)
15. "ARIA Australian Top 50 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. February 6, 2017. Retrieved February 4, 2017.
16. "Austriancharts.at – Kreator – Gods of Violence" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 9, 2017.
17. "Ultratop.be – Kreator – Gods of Violence" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 4, 2017.
18. "Ultratop.be – Kreator – Gods of Violence" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 4, 2017.
19. "Kreator Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved February 4, 2017.
20. "Czech Albums – Top 100". ČNS IFPI. Note: On the chart page, select {{{date}}} on the field besides the word "Zobrazit", and then click over the word to retrieve the correct chart data. Retrieved February 4, 2017.
21. "Dutchcharts.nl – Kreator – Gods of Violence" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 4, 2017.
22. "Kreator: Gods of Violence" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved February 5, 2017.
23. "Le Top de la semaine : Top Albums Fusionnes - SNEP (Week 5, 2017)". Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved February 7, 2017.
24. "Offiziellecharts.de – Kreator – Gods of Violence" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved February 3, 2017.
25. "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2017. 5. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
26. "Oricon Top 50 Albums: {{{date}}}" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved February 4, 2017.
27. "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved February 9, 2017.
28. "Portuguesecharts.com – Kreator – Gods of Violence". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
29. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 4, 2017.
30. "Top 100 Albumes — Semana 5: del 27.01.2017 al 02.02.2017" (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Retrieved February 9, 2017.
31. "Sverigetopplistan - Sveriges Officiella Topplista". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved February 3, 2017. Click on "Veckans albumlista".
32. "Swisscharts.com – Kreator – Gods of Violence". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 8, 2017.
33. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 4, 2017.
34. "Kreator Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved February 7, 2017.
35. "Kreator Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved February 8, 2017.
36. "Kreator Chart History (Top Hard Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved February 8, 2017.
37. "Kreator Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved February 8, 2017.