Kreator @ Hifi (23/08/06)

With the release of their latest album “Enemy of God” in 2005, this tour showcased Kreator’s brutal & punishing metal longevity without reusing their past materials.

I arrived at the Hifi to a sea of long hair, black jeans and black Kreator shirts (sources informed me Kreator shirts sold out at 10pm) – something hinted to me tonight was going to be a night of deafening volume, head banging and a possibility of a moshpit!

The band Mindsnare welcomed the evening with their performance. After they finished their set, they joked with the small crowd speaking in German accents which entertained the few who paid attention.

The set began with smoke machines creating a blanket of fog whilst luring those who were ignorant in the ways of Kreator into a false sense of security. The serenity however was soon replaced with the manic riffing and sheer hatred spewed forth by the heart thumping drum beats from Jurgen Reil over the mountain of smoke. As the smoke slowly subsided, everyone in the audience could see Mille Petrozza, the lead singer/guitarist was positioned in the middle with bass player Christaun Giesler and lead guitar Sami Yli-Sirnio on either side. 

They started their set with the song “Enemy of God” which came from the album of the same name, followed by “Impossible Brutalit”. Mille welcomed the crowd by asking assume German accent “People of Melbourne, how are you doing today?...I want to see a mosh pit Australian style!”  The crowd roared and obeyed loyally as Kreator launched into “Extreme Aggression” - the expected moshpit was followed shortly by crowd surfing and even an unexpected (sneaky) stage dive!  The set followed with “People of the Lie”, “Voices of the Dead” “The Patrach/Violent Revolution”, “Suicide Terrorist”, “Awakening of the Gods” and “Coma of Souls”.

Taking a short break, Mille asked the crowd once again how much they are willing to do for Kreator, “Are you willing to kill…kill everyone around you?!” which lead to “Pleasure to kill”, then “Phobia”, “Terrible Certainty” and finally a classic “Betrayer”. Returning for the encore, Mille asked the audience, “Are you ready Melbourne? IT’S TIME…..TO RAISE…THE FLAG…..OF HATE!!!”.

As anticipated, the night ended with the metal anthem “Flag of Hate” to the delight of all the fans. Kreator’s music which spans over two decades was highlighted proudly (with German humour) by Mille in the show, “Now we are going to play a song from our Flag of Hate EP which was released in 1920!” Overall the night was enjoyed by all, from the young fans discovering the influences of Kreator through to the loyal fans, young at heart.