| Gods of Violence | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 27 January 2017 | |||
| Recorded | 2016 | |||
| Genre | Thrash metal | |||
| Length | 51:43 | |||
| Label | Nuclear Blast | |||
| Producer | Jens Bogren | |||
| Kreator chronology | ||||
| ||||
Gods of Violence is the fourteenth studio album by German thrash metal band Kreator, released on 27 January 2017. [1] [2] It is the band's final studio album with bassist Christian "Speesy" Giesler before his departure from the band in 2019. [3]
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.
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 73/100 [5] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| 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 |
| Terrorizer | 8.5/10 [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]
All lyrics are written by Mille Petrozza except where noted; all music is composed by Kreator.
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Apocalypticon" (instrumental) | 1:06 | |
| 2. | "World War Now" | 4:28 | |
| 3. | "Satan Is Real" | Petrozza, Jäger | 4:38 |
| 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, Jäger | 4:37 |
| 10. | "Side by Side" | 4:19 | |
| 11. | "Death Becomes My Light" | 7:26 | |
| Total length: | 51:43 | ||
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 12. | "Earth Under the Sword" | 3:29 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | |
Writing, performance and production credits are adapted from the album liner notes. [14]
|
|
| 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 |
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)