HARD NOISE: KREATOR + VADER // Destruction On The Oder-Neisse Line

Sep 11, 2017 /

It doesn’t matter it’s a Sunday night in Brisbane, the atmosphere around the punters lined round the block and gathering inside The Zoo is absolutely electric this evening. It’s a sold out crowd here to see German thrashers Kreator and Polish death metallers Vader and they’re hungry for every second these veterans are on stage.

There’s no local support act tonight which means an hour of Vader and ninety minutes of Kreator, which, considering their pedigrees, probably isn’t nearly enough for die-hard fans.

Vader kick things off and move straight into full throttle from the word go. Blistering through tracks such as Dark Age, Chaos and Silent Empire from their nineties classics, they also treated the raucous punters to newer tracks from last years release, The Empire.

It’s been too long since the band have been here, seven years in fact. They don’t disappoint as they just let loose with their no nonsense brand of death metal. It’s hard to see them at times through the thick smoke and strobes, but the energy and ferocity of their set kept the crowd moving at all times. A special mention goes to the windmilling prowess of Tomasz ‘Hal’ Halicki, mesmerising us through the maelstrom.

The whole band had us glued to the front, bringing punters both intensity and a tight live show.

Finishing up with their classic God Is Dead, Vader left the crowd wanting more but certainly warmed up for their German brothers-in-thrash.

Vader // By Bec Reid

Kreator released their latest album Gods of Violence back in January of this year. With that record under their belt and a plethora of hits to pick from their back catalogue, we just knew the next ninety minutes were going to be special.

Kicking straight into Hordes of Chaos, the band proved their worth as one of the Top 4 in the Teutonic thrash movement.

For first-timers at The Zoo, it lives up to its rumours. No air con means the place becomes a sauna during gigs, tonight especially. Bodies moshed and crowd surfed throughout the set as the Germans expertly moved through their set list that ticked off hit after hit.

It was hard to know that it was Kreator’s last show of the tour. Frontman Mille Petrozza was in form with his vocals and on guitar; duelling work between all three axemen was fantastic to watch.

They smashed through Satan Is Real, Phantom Antichrist and World War Now with the crowd loving every second of it and baying for more.

It seemed that all too soon the set came to an end. Sweaty punters, high adrenaline and in awe of what they had witnessed spilled out onto the street, wishing they could do it all over again.

Kreator and Vader sure know how to put on a passionate and energetic live show. If you missed out this week, then you best make sure next time…you don’t.