Customer Reviews

Renewal

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The Thrash scene changed irreversibly in the early 1990s, with the rise of Death Metal in the underground grabbing all the attention and leading the way in innovation. There were also the first faint stirrings of the spectre of Black Metal too. There was no blindingly obvious way forward, so bands tried a number of approaches to the changing tide. Metallica and Megadeth slowed down and aimed at commercial acceptance. Anthrax and Flotsam and Jetsam shed members and went Rock. Slayer and Overkill didn't seem to notice, and just ploughed on regardless. Celtic Frost gave up. Kreator looked outside Metal for inspiration, and came up with a formula for reinvention, even if it wasn't well received at first.

`Renewal' saw Kreator slow down somewhat but their sound was powered up by incorporating Industrial and Hardcore into the mix. The result was a crushing album, but it threw off a lot of traditional Thrash fans because it simply wasn't a traditional Thrash album.

Most obvious was the change in Mille Petrozza's vocal delivery. Gone were his razor sharp screeches, replaced instead by a throaty Hardcore style shout. Also gone were the breakneck rhythm guitar riffs Kreator were infamous for, traded for a more measured, gutsier sound. Drummer extraordinaire Ventor also had a bit of a rest. The frantic double bass driven physical workouts he'd been peddling for the best part of a decade had metamorphosed into straightforward but precise and mechanical rhythms, topped with electronic flourishes.

There is no way the band would have released songs as adventurous as the plaintive "Karmic Wheel" during the restrictive musical climate of the 1980s. A study in dynamics and structure, the song starts with a despondent, gloomy vocals and an understated riff. It leads to an extended atmospheric, almost trippy passage, where tortured souls emerge from a vortex before returning to the main riff, which disappears leaving only the bass and drums to carry the song.

The experimentation and innovation is apprent all through the album. The short "Realitatskontrolle" takes the Industrial influences to their experimental extreme, with no guitar, a distorted bassline and an effects laden vocal loop. The intro to "Europe After The Rain" is straight from the Discharge school of hateful discordant Hardcore. However, it doesn't stay quite so straightforward. The song also features Ventor's famous double kick fury, bass-led breakdown passages, and a frantic speedfreak solo. Despite being so twisted, it is still the closest song on the album to the traditional Thrash sound.

Kreator's previous album `Coma Of Souls' was the zenith of the sound the band pioneered in 1984 with `Endless Pain'. There was no way forward from there without treading water or going over old ground. Unfortunately, a lot of fans could not see the creative well had run dry for the band, and labelled `Renewal' a sell out. `Renewal' is a reinvention, not a sell out. It requires some effort on the part of the listener to try to grasp what the band was trying to do and those who make the effort will be justifiably rewarded.

What distinguish this album from the former and the latter Kreator albums are that:
1. Slow(er).
2. Have synth effects
3. Downtuned vocals
4. Downtuned guitars

So is it a bad album? No way. This is one of the best (for me it IS) Kreator albums ever. Political lyrics, aggressive sound, riffs & riffs... Euro-thrash in its purest form...

I've read peoples' complaints that this recording is too muffled sounding, only contains a few good songs and was one responsible for the "downfall of thrash." I completely disagree.

First of all, Kreator experiment on every album they've made by redefining their own vision of metal. On Extreme Agression, they solidified their songwriting skills and transistioned from above-average thrash to burgeoning metal maturity. Coma of Souls is a great album and a landmark in thrash. The record's major-label production brought Kreator's power forward like never before. Many people were expecting Coma of Souls pt. 2 before Renewal was released but from a musician's perspective it gets a bit dull constantly rehashing the same style, album to album. To be honest, Renewal is very much in the same vain as Coma of Souls' lyrical themes (abuse of power, environmental destruction, war) as well as musical structure. The difference is that songs on Rewnewal have some slower tempos and really great explorations of dynamics. Also, Ventor's drumming is just incredible. He experiments a lot with different hi-hat techniques and programming (espeically on the self-penned "Realitatskontrolle.") His drum sound is a bit different but I wouldn't say it is muffled (as others have indicated). The snare is slightly higher up in the mix but is recorded seemingly "dry," without reverb.

Remember, that the same unjustly harsh criticism was levelled upon Metallica's ...An Justice for All for the same reasons. Now the album is considered among the finest in hard music history.

Anyway, if you like Kreator (or any extreme music) give this album a chance. It's often available through an Amazon marketplace seller for pretty cheap because it's received a lot of negative criticism. However, if you are open minded about music, you're in for a treat.

I think the reviews on this are a bit too high, but I'm glad it didn't get slammed like I thought it would. This album was an experiment for Kreator, incorporating industrial sounds and lackluster production that caught all the fans off guard, including myself. What really hurt this album was that it followed Extreme Aggression & Coma Of Souls, arguably 2 of the finest thrash albums ever recorded, not to mention all their earlier work, but these 2 albums in particular found Kreator with a tight sound with very meaty guitars and great production. Renewal is lacking in all these departments EXCEPT the songwriting. To prove my point, listen to the Renewal tracks on Scenarios of Violence or any live recording...they rip! What can become bland to listeners on Renewal sounds completely different elsewhere. I liked this album from the beginning despite the total 180 degree turn they took. Kreator has given us fans so much great music and it's nice to know that even their worst album is still much better than a lot of other stuff out there. I personally would like to thank them for making my neck sore on many occasions!

I can say that this album diverts a bit from orthodox thrash. However, not by much. Many songs do have the classic Kreator thrash sound. I like bands that make a difference with their music. This is exactly what Kreator did. They didn't want to do the same monotonous thing over and over again. The snare drums are pretty cool. The solos are pretty impressive. Mille's vocals are not too bad either. I don't understand why some metal heads get mad when bands do something a bit different. Who wants a band to play the same thing? Some metal heads need to understand what good music is. It's not just about the heaviness but about the uniqueness, virtuosity and difference. It's about changing the tempos and doing odd time signatures. The guitar was meant to be played to it's full potential. Why would someone stick to being mediocre? This is what true heavy metal is about. Nonetheless, I hope you enjoy this album.

With albums from bands like Opeth, Meshuggah and In Flames getting reviews into the hundreds, it's amazing that an awesome album like this has 3 reviews. I guess it shows the popularity of Kreator these days. They are a band that didn't weather the classic thrash downfall very well, and this album came out at that time. The ironic thing is I think a lot of the bands like those I listed above have evolved into the sound of this album. One reviewer even stated that Meshuggah "pioneered 'Polyrythmics'" which he describes as layering two different beats. That made me immediately think of the song Renewal on this album which carries 2 radically different guitar riffs at the same time. Interestingly this album came out almost a decade earlier than Meshuggah's.

I think Kreator was way ahead of their time with this album and it probably turned many fans off. Upon first listen, I wasn't even sure if it was the same band. As I also mentioned, it was released at a bad time for "thrash". As a result, this album and Kreator in general haven't got the respect they deserve. I haven't kept up with Kreator's goings-ons very well since this album, but I did pick up Cause for Conflict which I didn't find anywhere near as interesting as this album. Unfortunately, it sounded like they were trying to get back to their roots a little and nothing stood out.

Winter Martyrium and Renewal are the stand out tracks, but the entire album has an incredible repeat listen-ability.

Between 1985-1990 Kreator had released no less than seven albums & EPs and had established themselves as one of the premiere thrash bands; but by the early 90s they were understandably ready for a change. Hence, 1992's RENEWAL.

RENEWAL adds industrial elements and a more straight-foward riffing style (i.e. less thrashy). Mille Petrozza matches this with vocals that are less shrill and more Hetfield-ish. Speaking of Hetfield, RENEWAL has somewhat of a Metallica vibe, somewhere between AND JUSTICE FOR ALL and THE BLACK ALBUM, albeit closer to the former. There's also a strong 'Viking era' Bathory semblance as well.

Although the cd lists nine songs there are actually only eight seeing as how track 6 "Realitatskontrolle" is just a bunch of industrial noises. I admit that I usually only listen to half of the eight songs, which are "Winter Martyrium," "Renewal," "Karmic Wheel" and "Depression Unrest"; the latter three are particularly notable, easily ranking with metal's all-time best. The other four songs aren't bad either, just not as memorable; my favorite is the interesting "Reflection," whereas the rest are more manic, but none of them are total dogs.

Highlights include: the mellow and moody interlude in the middle of "Karmic Wheel" backed by a soundtrack of some kind of meeting that evidently takes a tragic & violent turn; the primal drive of "Renewal"; the atmospheric opening to "Depression Unrest" and, later, the outstanding lead solo.

Some Kreator fans look down on RENEWAL because of the supposed experimentation. Don't listen to 'em; this is an important Kreator cd.

...That being said it should be noted that I for one, like the result. If you are unfamiliar with Kreator, go to "Coma of Souls", a very accessible album of thrash, with great lyrical themes, and a spirited manic delivery by Petrozza the founder, guitarist, and vocalist of this legendary thrash band. Renewal is a slower darker and sometimes industrial mixture for the band. Hardcore thrash fans have to wait till the visceral "Europe After The Rain" to get their cookies, and it is near the end of the album. Also, Millie Petrozza is a great lyricist, his notes on society, morals, tyranny and outright misanthropy are not for the faint of heart, his vision is of the toxicity and hypocrisy of the world we live in; and he is not happy about it.

For me Renewal is a slower Kreator album but I guess coming right after Coma of souls it was a dissapointment to most. For me its a Sign of the times album with what the Metal scene was evolving to. Incidentally 92-97 were bad years for metal with the "alternative " sound being popular and thrash bands losing contracts to bands like Collective soul and lame bands like that. Anyway Renewal is not like Coma or Extreme but it blows away anything bands like Anthrax, Metallica and Testament were doing at the time.

First, let me say that I am a very big Kreator fan. I do not like this album. I honestly can not stand listening to this album. The production is weak and thin and it really does not sound anything like any of the previous Kreator albums. I understand that bands might want to change and experiment, but I just cant get into this.