LIVE REVIEW: Kreator – Chalk, Brighton UK 11th March 2023

Live review by Carina Lawrence

Kreator is currently touring with Lamb Of God as support, but they managed to slot in two UK headline shows, one in Leeds and the other in Brighton on the 11th of March, which I was fortunate to attend. To make the occasion even more unique, this was the first time the German Thrash veterans have played in Brighton, and to top it off, they played a special deep cuts set list, especially for these two shows. The CHALK venue is a small intimate venue; you wouldn’t expect a band of their calibre to play here, which added to the rare thrash metal spectacle.

They kicked off with the mighty title track of their latest album ‘Hate Über Alles’ which was released last year, and went on to deliver a colossal set that spanned their career, firing off hit after hit with ‘Hail To The Hordes’, the momentous ‘Satan Is Real’ both taken from their revered fourteenth album, 2017s’ Gods Of Violence, followed by the blazing ‘Hordes Of Chaos’. They also played several tracks from their pivotal 1989 release ‘Extreme Aggression’, treating us to the classic title track and the venomous ‘Betrayer’. Fans couldn’t have asked for a better setlist, and the band fronted by the charismatic and impressive Miland “Mille” Petrozza were relentless in their demeanour and energy, hardly pausing for speeches or breaks, just ploughing through their extensive set, which was filled with endless crowd surfing and moshing as expected.

They saved some of their heftiest tracks to last, bringing out the flags to introduce the ‘Flag Of Hate’ before ending on the definitive ‘Pleasure To Kill’, which closed out their powerful 90-minute thrash assault. Kreator’s first appearance in Brighton was a glorious celebration of thrash mastery deep cuts and a night that the Brighton horde of metalheads won’t forget.