Once again returning to the legendary Apollo in Manchester, Kreator have brought an all-star cast of heavy metal royalty for a night of riffs, pounding double bass and monstrous vocals, all framed by a sea of fire and destruction. Nails, Exodus and Carcass were all ready to throw down as the Krushers of the World began to mobilise towards Manchester.
First up was hardcore legends Nails, a band that seemed like the odd one out on this bill, but that didn’t stop them from bringing the pain with their punishing chugs and breakdowns. Nails didn’t have a great deal of time but they crammed as much hostility and aggression as humanly possible as the Damnation alum thoroughly pasted the audience with hardcore anthems like ‘I Can’t Turn It Off’, the bass-laden stomping of ‘Endless Resistance’ and the closest thing Nails will ever get to a singalong, ‘You Will Never Be One of Us’.
Next up was Bay Area thrash metal royalty, Exodus. Armed with a brand new record and led once again by the ferocious Rob Dukes, they began with the groovy and twisted ‘3111’ and continued an all-out assault on Manchester that never let up and left many with the best kind of metal-related injuries. The set condensed the entire Exodus oeuvre into a short 40-minute set with 80s classics like ‘Bonded by Blood’, ‘A Lesson in Violence’ and ‘Strike of the Beast’, but there were still a wealth of modern bangers.
Exodus with Rob Dukes was a personal experience for me. I’ve been waiting to experience this version of the band for a very long time and hearing ‘Deathamphetamine’ live for the first time was cause for celebration, and I did so by coming out of pit retirement. After an extended drum and bass intro, Gary and Lee flew into one of the fastest riffs they’ve ever written and the room started spinning at uncontrollable speeds as a flurry of bowl-shaped aggression manifested into a sea of flailing bodies clad in denim.
The inclusion of the massive title track of their latest album, Goliath, worked so much better in a live setting with its gigantic booming bass that mirrored the stomping footsteps of a looming titan. The new album may be divisive amongst fans but these new tracks absolutely bring the pain live, and it’s a personal highlight to finally see Exodus with Gary Holt, who has been touring with Slayer on and off for years. A must-see set for thrashers young and old.
Next up was Carcass, the second most influential band to come out of Liverpool. Boasting some of the best guitar work of the night along with arguably the sharpest riffs and Jeff Walker’s smart new haircut, Carcass began the operation with the spidery climbing riff of ‘Unfit for Human Consumption’. It doesn’t take long to figure out who the real surgeons of this bill are as a well-crafted and seamless setlist of gory greats filled the operating room.
The ominous ‘Buried Dreams’, the guitar work of Bill Steer and James Blackford on ‘Death Certificate’, ‘No Love Lost’ and the iconic clicky drum intro of ‘Corporal Jigsore Quandary’ are easily worth the price of admission to this show. To see a group of talented artists sculpt some incredibly noisy guitars and wild flailing drumming into this slab of beautiful flesh is a sight to behold and further proof of just how malleable and versatile this whole genre is.
The big one came at the end of the set: a gigantic harmonised guitar riff and a visceral reaction from the crowd as the glorious riffing of ‘Heartwork’ began. There may not be a more influential song throughout this entire show. If you talk to metal historians and fans alike about melodic death metal then you’ll hear just how important this song is, and to witness it first hand, no matter how many times you’ve seen it, it’s an awe-inspiring experience.
Despite Dan Wilding being absent, Wallteri Väyrynen from Opeth took over with no rehearsal time and just knocked it out of the park. These tracks are all really difficult for drummers and to see him utterly destroy ‘Incarnated Solvent Abuse’ and ‘Exhumed to Consume’ was absolutely incredible. Carcass once again proved they deserved this top spot as main support as they left behind nothing but gore and viscera dripping from the ceiling.
Finally came the mighty Kreator, opening with the massive harmonised guitarwork of ‘Seven Serpents’ and delivering a slew of meaty riffs that promise domination and chaos throughout the building. The set design was absolutely massive, showing off their giant mascot and surrounded by seas of fire. The band performed at the absolute peak of their ability with production to match.
The hordes showed no signs of slowing down as the room continued their five-hour feeding frenzy of heavy metal as Kreator laid waste to the legendary Apollo with their breed of German thrash metal. Breakneck tracks like ‘Enemy of God’, ‘Hordes of Chaos’ and ‘Hate Über Alles’ blended their hectic thrash with an almost power metal guitar style complete with massive harmonised guitar work.
There’s a bit of a change from their last show in Manchester with tracks like ‘People of the Lie’ and ‘Betrayer’, but not enough to make it stand out. Kreator have a tendency to keep it safe with their setlists. You’ll always hear ‘Satan Is Real’, ‘Pleasure to Kill’, ‘Enemy of God’, ‘Phantom Antichrist’ and ‘Violent Revolution’, which is great for fans, but if you’ve seen Kreator before then you’re really just coming for the big production, which is still worth the price of a ticket. It would still be nice to hear Coma of Souls in full instead of just an intro to ‘Enemy of God’, but hopefully they’ll add that back to the setlist some day.
The more modern tracks came with fun little bits including Mille Petrozza donning demon wings during ‘Loyal to the Grave’ and just singing, which was a weird sight considering he’s one of the more prolific guitarist/vocalists. ‘Satan Is Real’ saw more intense pyrotechnics and the brand new tracks from Krushers of the World slotted nicely into the set with their power metal leanings as the crowd roared along to the giant choruses of ‘Satanic Anarchy’.
The classic era of Kreator is one that I’m less familiar with compared to other thrash bands, but legendary bits of ultra-violent thrash like ‘Pleasure to Kill’ have become so thoroughly embedded into the DNA of thrash that it becomes hard to imagine a world without it. Even now, after 40 years, this track holds the same amount of feral and uncontrollable rage as the night draws to a close and the cyclone of violence dies down.
There are so many little details and gimmicks going on: demons setting corpses on fire, pyrotechnics and heads on spikes. You could find something new on stage throughout the entire set if you looked hard enough. Kreator have elevated their show to something truly impressive that mixes spectacle with genuine musical skill, working in tandem with an all-star bill. Kreator are a newly established apex predator in the metal scene after putting in years of work and struggle to get to the top, and they fully intend to stay.
