Gods of Violence is the fourteenth studio album by German thrash metal band Kreator, released on 27 January 2017.[1][2] This is Kreator's final studio album with bassist Christian "Speesy" Giesler before his departure from the band in 2019.[3]

Gods of Violence
Studio album by
Released27 January 2017 (2017-01-27)
Recorded2016
GenreThrash metal
Length51:43
LabelNuclear Blast
ProducerJens Bogren
Kreator chronology
Dying Alive
(2013)
Gods of Violence
(2017)
Hate Über Alles
(2022)

Background

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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, until Hate Über Alles broke this record in 2022. A music video for the album's title track was released on 18 November 2016.[4] Special editions of the album were released with a bonus Blu-ray/DVD of Kreator's performance at Wacken 2014.

Reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic73/100[5]
Review scores
SourceRating
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
Terrorizer8.5/10[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

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

No.TitleLyricsLength
1."Apocalypticon" (instrumental) 1:06
2."World War Now" 4:28
3."Satan Is Real"Petrozza, Jäger4:38
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, Jäger4:37
10."Side by Side" 4:19
11."Death Becomes My Light" 7:26
Total length:51:43
Japanese edition bonus track
No.TitleLength
12."Earth Under the Sword"3:29
Bonus CD/DVD/Blu-ray: Live at Wacken 2014
No.TitleLength
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.TitleLength
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

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

Charts

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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

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  1. ^ "Kreator To Release 'Gods Of Violence' Album In January". Blabbermouth.net. 14 October 2016. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  2. ^ "Kreator: 'Gods Of Violence' Album Details Revealed". Blabbermouth.net. 28 October 2016. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  3. ^ "KREATOR Welcome Frédéric Leclercq As New Bass Player". capitalchaostv.com. 16 September 2019. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
  4. ^ "Video Premiere: Kreator's 'Gods Of Violence'". Blabbermouth.net. 18 November 2016. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  5. ^ "Gods of Violence". Metacritic. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
  6. ^ a b Fraser (6 January 2017). "Kreator - Gods of Violence CD Review". allabouttherock.co.uk. All About the Rock. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  7. ^ Jurek, Thom. Gods of Violence - Kreator at AllMusic
  8. ^ Van Horn, Jr., Ray (16 January 2017). "CD Reviews - Gods Of Violence – Kreator". www.blabbermouth.net. Blabbermouth.net. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  9. ^ Stewart-Panko, Kevin (26 January 2017). "Album Review: Kreator – Gods of Violence". www.metalinjection.net. Metal Injection. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  10. ^ Reyes-Kulkarni, Saby (23 January 2017). "Kreator: Gods of Violence Album Review". pitchfork.com. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  11. ^ Stewart-Panko, Kevin (January 2017). "Kreator: Gods Of Violence". Terrorizer (278). United Kingdom: Dark Arts: 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.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  15. ^ "ARIA Australian Top 50 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. 6 February 2017. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
  16. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Kreator – Gods of Violence" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
  17. ^ "Ultratop.be – Kreator – Gods of Violence" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
  18. ^ "Ultratop.be – Kreator – Gods of Violence" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
  19. ^ "Kreator Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
  20. ^ "Czech Albums – Top 100". ČNS IFPI. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
  21. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Kreator – Gods of Violence" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
  22. ^ "Kreator: Gods of Violence" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  23. ^ "Le Top de la semaine : Top Albums Fusionnes - SNEP (Week 5, 2017)". Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
  24. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Kreator – Gods of Violence" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  25. ^ "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2017. 5. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  26. ^ "Oricon Top 50 Albums: {{{date}}}" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
  27. ^ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
  28. ^ "Portuguesecharts.com – Kreator – Gods of Violence". Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  29. ^ February 2017/40/ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
  30. ^ "Top 100 Albumes — Semana 5: del 27.01.2017 al 02.02.2017" (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
  31. ^ "Sverigetopplistan - Sveriges Officiella Topplista". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 3 February 2017. Click on "Veckans albumlista".
  32. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Kreator – Gods of Violence". Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
  33. ^ February 2017/7502/ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
  34. ^ "Kreator Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
  35. ^ "Kreator Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
  36. ^ "Kreator Chart History (Top Hard Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
  37. ^ "Kreator Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 8 February 2017.