Kreator-House of Blues, Chicago 4/17/09

Kreator has always been one of those bands that I never got a chance to see live. I like their stuff but for whatever reason, I have always missed out on catching them live. Well, here was my chance and I decided this was the show I was going to attend. I really think that Hordes of Chaos is a strong release and I figured that this would be the tour to catch. They certainly did not disappoint.

Even though the band opened with a couple from the new disk (and did a couple of more during the set), they managed to play a very healthy chunk of their back catalogue. Many of the tunes performed were the title tracks of their CDs but they also played a many of the favorites of each disk. Songs like The Patriarch from Violent Revolution and People of The Lie from Coma Of Souls are just a couple of examples of tunes that Millie Petrozza and the guys have at their disposal. With so many good selections to choose from Kreator could play for hours to come, but they narrowed it down very nicely. Apart from Phobia the band skipped their more experimental stage. The choice of sticking to the classics was a wise one.

Being one of the early thrash bands gives these guys an almost elder statesmen title to wear and they have done so very proudly. They continue to release great records and based on my first experience of them live, they seem to be able to release their brutal brand of thrash in the live arena also. Only wish I could see them sooner.

Greg Olma