Kreator
Cause for Conflict (Noise)
by Scott Hefflon
As one of my favorite thrash bands ever, I was praying Kreator could still live up to my incredibly high expectations. I mean, you can’t put out masterpieces of shredding power like Pleasure to Kill and Terrible Certainty and then milk it for a decade. Well, you could, but we’d write ass-ripping reviews and bad mouth you at every turn. Luckily, while adapting their sound, Kreator still write and play songs intense enough to keep the fickle death snob happy (I use the term loosely). After losing a few original members, the addition of Christian Giebler lends a low end attack that just wasn’t there before. His bass work adds a rumbling depth that complements the always ripping riffing. And new drummer Joe Cangelossi (formerly of Whiplash) adds the tightness and technique that the other boys just couldn’t handle.
Producer Vincent Wojno (Machine Head, Trouble, Organization S.F.) really brings out the strengths of the two members, making the sound bellow rather than scream. He keeps the snare drum pop! that is Kreator, but beefs up the double thunder and rumbling bass. I’m hesitant to say it, but it seems the duel guitar fills, dive-bombing solos, and evilly twisting, searing half-step riffs that defined Kreator are either toned down, or left out entirely. Sure, the guitars were always kinda thin and in the mid to upper ranges, but this is predominantly power chords. That’s no fun. Kreator was god like because they threw incomprehensible scales and finger-fluttering fretboard frills into the unstable-as-it-is rhythm to produce something just short of chaotic. Now it sounds as controlled as, say, Testament. Yeah, it’s as heavy and powerful as Slayer or Grip Inc., but the pace is (usually) a gallop rather than an all-out speed-kills assault, and completely gone are the throaty screams. I’m just waxing nostalgic, that’s all. Cause For Conflict is actually a terrifyingly powerful record, produced huger than anything in Kreator’s back catalog. The cover art isn’t like days of old, with demons, warriors, and guts everywhere, but it’s Kreator, and therefore, it’s great. Buy this.
