1985 was a pretty big year for thrash metal. Possessed released the monumental, ‘Seven Churches,’ Slayer’s sophomore release, ‘Hell Awaits’ was unleashed and both Destruction and Kreator debuted with, ‘Infernal Overkill’ and ‘Endless Pain.’ What’s interesting about all of these releases is that there not just thrash classics, but also albums that proved to be quite influential on the rising death metal genre.
Anyway, ‘Endless Pain’ is a raw and visceral onslaught of thrash metal, which I can only assume was one of the most extreme recordings created at the time. Throughout this record there’s surely no lack of ominous riffs and killer solos and the bass even has an odd sort of throbbing quality to it while the speedy drum work suffocates under the raw production, but somehow it all works well together. On this record Mille and Ventor actually share vocal duties and while Mille’s are the same basic style he would always use, Ventor’s are quite different. Ventor’s voice is more akin to black metal somewhat similar to Quorthon from Bathory. It’s fascinating simply because I’ve always enjoyed finding and hearing the roots of extreme metal and I remember years ago when I was first getting into this stuff it was always motivating to find the bands that could play the fastest and scream the loudest.
While Endless Pain isn’t the most entertaining release from Kreator (Pleasure to Kill & Coma of Souls receive that honor) it’s surely their most extreme offering in terms of brutality and vocal delivery. Still this a fun record to play when your pissed off and at war with the world. Between the brutal playing and screaming you’ll find much appeal here and as I said earlier it’s always exciting to hear where all of the black and death metal we love today started.
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