KREATOR - Extreme Aggressions (1989)

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Supposedly the best of Kreator's albums, but not by my reckoning. It's solid and much better produced than 'Terrible Certainty' but it just lacks something vital that I quite can't quite put my finger on. This does have some good tracks but somehow I just never connected with this one like I did with the other albums.

KREATOR - Coma of Souls (1990)

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Much maligned for being too similar to the previous album (Extreme Aggressions), in my humble opinion this one is much better. The title track is easily one of Kreator's best songs and new guitarist Frank Blackfire (the man who brought Sodom credibility) adds a sprinkling of class all over this album. 'Terror Zone' for instance has an excellent harmonized guitar intro and the whole album is much more memorable than it's illustrious predecessor.

KREATOR - Terrible Certainty (1987)

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A tough one to score this, it's either a very high three or a low four depending on my mood. A much cleaner sound than 'Pleasure to Kill' and some dodgy soloing from new guitarist 'Tritze' can't disguise the fact that this should have been better. The 'Flag of Hate' e.p. promised an album perhaps the equal if not greater than 'PTK' but this is not that album. What went wrong? It's no turkey, but it should have been better.

KREATOR - Renewal (1992)

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Heavily criticised for treading water with 'Coma of Souls' (utter bollocks), Kreator set about re-inventing themselves for the post-Nirvana era. Taking on some industrial influences and general nastying their sound up a bit, Kreator created a unique and quite brilliant album that confused their fanbase a little but for those who got it, well it's damn near perfect. 'Karmic Wheel' is the centrepiece of this amazing album and I also recommend checking out the remixed version where you can actually hear the intriguing mid section properly.

This is a genuinely stunning album and fully deserves to mentioned in the same breath as 'Pleasure to Kill'.

KREATOR - Flag of Hate e.p. (1986)

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Not an album granted, but this is so completely awesome I have to review it anyway. This came out just after the 'Pleasure to Kill' album (and indeed the CD of 'PTK' included these tracks as a bonus) and captured the band at the perfect point where they were making the transition from the brutality of 'PTK' to the cleaner sound of 'Terrible Certainty'. Three tracks, the first a remake of the live favourite 'Flag of Hate' (originally from the 'Endless Pain' debut album) and two new songs 'Take Their Lives' and the crushing 'Awakening of the Gods'. This e.p. is essential, if only for the last track, because 'Awakening of the Gods' is probably the greatest Kreator song of all time and should definitely have been included on a proper album. Fools.

KREATOR - Pleasure to Kill (1986)

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Alongside 'Reign in Blood', 'Master of Puppets', 'Darkness Descends' and a few others, this album was one of 1986's most imposing releases. Brutal Thrash that pummeled you into submission, with some epic chugging parts to make you bang your head, this was just the German Thrash album of the decade, with only Destruction's 'Infernal Overkill' giving it any sort of run for it's money. Buy or F.O.A.D.

KREATOR - Endorama (1999)

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Reviled by the blinkered fanbase, Endorama is a perfect fusion of Megadeth circa 1992 and Paradise Lost's Gothic Metal era. Sure there's no thrashing to be found here, just great songs and catchy melodies. This was the end of the road for Kreator as far as experimentation goes and while it was nice to hear them Thrash again, it was a shame really. At least it ended on a high note.