KREATOR – KRUSHERS OF THE WORLD

(Andy Synn has loved Kreator for a long time… but does he love their new album, out 16 January?)

Let’s get one thing straight… Krushers of the World is one of the best albums of the year so far.

Of course, we’re only 8 days into the year, so if you really think about it the above statement isn’t really saying much, but it’s a nice way to start the review, right?

Maybe it’ll be more helpful to say this… Kreator have been going for over 40(!) years now, and are considered living legends for a reason, but on their 16th(!!) album they somehow still come out swinging with the energy and intensity of a much, much younger band.

And, really, at this stage in their career, what more could you ask for than that?

Now, to be clear, that doesn’t mean that you should be expecting a full-on return to the band’s pure Thrash roots, as these 10 tracks (thankfully no superfluous instrumental intro this time around) continue on in the more Melodeath-adjacent vein that’s characterised the majority of their post-millennial output.

As a result, there’s no question that these songs ultimately live and die by the strength of their hooks, whether in the form of an instantly infectious chorus (like the anthemic refrain of “Blood of our Blood”), a crushingly… sorry, krushingly… catchy riff (the Nevermore-esque attack of “Satanic Anarchy” being an early, and impressively heavy, highlight), or lashings of instantly-memorable lead melodies (plus some impressive bass work that’s worth keeping an ear out for)… or sometimes, as is the case with electrifying opener “Seven Serpents”, all three at once.

Sure, after enough listens through you might start to notice that a couple of those choruses (looking at you “Barbarian” and “Combatants”) could potentially be swapped around between a number of others tracks a little too easily…  but in the heat of the moment, when you’re chanting along to Mille’s unflinchingly passionate delivery of lines like “Rise up, confront the enemy / Create a new reality / And bring down tyranny” (during aforementioned early stand-out “Satanic Anarchy”) you’re unlikely to care, especially considering just how apropos to the current moments some of these lyrics (and their delivery) come across.

Of course, while I said at the start of this review that Krushers of the World is “one of the best albums of the year” – and I stand by that statement… for now… – that’s not necessarily the same, as much as I love it, as saying it’s one of Kreator‘s best albums, mostly due to the fact thay they’ve set the bar so high in the past (first with such seminal records as Pleasure to Kill and Coma of Souls, and then with more modern monsters like Violent Revolution and Phantom Antichrist as part of their stunning second-act) that, if anything, they’re mostly victims of their own past success in this regard.

That being said, the hit rate here is pretty damn high – even if there’s nothing quite on the same level as the OTT title-track from 2022’s Hate über alles (though a few songs do come pretty damn close) – and the increased heaviness and intensity of killer cuts like “Tränenpalast” and “Psychotic Imperator” (the latter in particular being a relentless, riff-happy heater), along with the album’s overarching sense of grandiosity (beginning with “Seven Serpents” and climaxing with colossal closer “Loyal to the Grave”, which is one of the best album enders of the band’s modern era), definitely puts it in the upper tier of the group’s discography.

And while, when all is said and done, there’s likely to be better albums released between now and December, I’m willing to bet that Krushers of the World will still probably be remembered as one of the most vital – and ridiculously replayable – albums of 2026 long after many of Kreator‘s competitors have been forgotten.