Kreator-Hordes of chaos

SPV
2009

It doesn't seem that long ago that Kreator were ruling the thrash scene, but has gone by quickly They really tore up the scene from the mid-80's until the very early 90's, but have been hit and miss since then. Now we get their latest offering and it's been almost four years since their last release. That is a fairly long time and during that time span a number if younger thrash bands have emerged trying. These youthful acts seem bent on replicating the sound 80's thrash acts like Slayer, Testament, Anthrax and of course Kreator. Many of those acts do not add to the sound as much as they do just take the basics and charge ahead. What does this have to do with a proven veteran act like Kreator at this point? My impression of much of "Hordes of chaos" is that they went back in time to point before their most recent albums and they tried to capture a more basic, forward approach. Was it done to keep up with the wave of young thrash bands? I have no idea, but several songs on this album sound like the band focused more on their thrash roots. Granted they are obviously still capable of blowing away bands who are much younger than they are. Kreator had grown over the years as song writers and they still attempt and succeed at some more complex songs here. Still I could not shake the feeling on several tracks on this album that they play fast and simple just to prove they could keep up. That is not a huge shortcoming, but this band is capable of so much more. The other real sticking point for me was that the album feels front-heavy with many of the faster, more aggressive tracks coming in the first half and most of the mid-tempo songs finishing out the second half of the album. A powerful album for sure, but I think that they are capable of doing much more.