2025 was a banger year for thrash metal, with some of its most iconic contributors releasing career-high albums and sweeping year-end lists. It seems like that streak is going to continue as Kreator comes out swinging with their latest album, Krushers of the World.
Kreator are a band that have been set in their ways and know how to put out consistent, high-quality thrash metal, and this is no exception. You know exactly what you’re going to get, and since it’s so good, why change the formula? The classic, iconic harmonised guitar riffing and borderline melodeath of tracks like ‘Seven Serpents’ feature the more accessible power metal sensibilities of Kreator, which makes for a solid contrast when heavier tracks like ‘Barbarian’ and ‘Psychotic Imperator’ hit.
The record is a bit frontloaded, with some of the latter tracks feeling a bit paint by numbers. But if the biggest criticism of Krushers of the World is that it’s solid but formulaic, then you’ve got a great record. Tracks like ‘Blood of Our Blood’ and ‘Deathscream’ still deliver the sweet, sweet thrash and feature the tasteful yet abrasive guitar work of Mille Petrozza and Sami Yli-Sirniö, but they’re overshadowed by the variety and careful songwriting of tracks like ‘Seven Serpents’ and ‘Tränenpalast’. The title track feels custom-built to be played live, with its pounding mid-tempo riffing and headbanging grooves building up to a violent, screeching chorus that’s guaranteed to get stuck in your head.
Bands like Kreator will always try to advance as songwriters and musicians, but there will always be a small part of them that retains the original fire that forged them. Krushers of the World still features that original fire and intensity but makes the effort to involve the mature songwriting and musicianship of later albums like Gods of Violence and Enemy of God (yes, I know it’s 20 years old, shut up). The closing track, ‘Loyal to the Grave’, is a microcosm of what Kreator has been about for all these years: a grandiose, power metal-esque monument to thrash metal and a surefire hit when they inevitably play it live. It’s for sure going to be a lot less controversial than their last album closer, ‘Dying Planet’, but a safe closer is sometimes the right way forward.
Overall, Kreator have delivered yet another high-quality thrash record that doesn’t quite reach the highs of their undisputed masterpieces like Phantom Antichrist but still features a great deal of aggressive yet comfortable and familiar highs without feeling like it’s retreading old ground. Those who were disappointed with Hate Über Alles can take some comfort in knowing this is a significant step in the right direction that focuses on blinding aggression with a pinch of power metal for flavour. Krushers of the World is sure to be an early thrash favourite in 2026.
Krushers of the World is available January 16th via Nuclear Blast Records.
