Kreator - Pleasure to Kill (1986)

After the relentless, brutal and insane, but somewhat immature and not entirely satisfying debut, 'Endless Pain,' the three young German thrashers known as Kreator tightened up their craft and returned with 'Pleasure to Kill' in '86. Generally viewed as one of the bands finest outputs as well as a thrash classic and a early and highly influential entry in the developing death metal genre, 'Pleasure to Kill' is an immense album and one of my favorites of the genre.

The album opens with the sounds of wind and a distant guitar slowly making its appearance in 'Choir of the Damned,' and as the soft acoustics and keyboards rear outward it seems at first that this is going to be a fun and inviting experience, but then 'Ripping Corpse' attacks and the real killing begins. With a simple tremolo riff that has an underlining since of dread within it, this song alone shows a serious increase in speed and skill in comparison to the debut, but the debauchery only continues with, 'Death is your Savior' before arriving on the title track. 'Pleasure to Kill' has stood the test of time as one of the most badass songs ever wrote with a shit ton of pummeling riffs and a mid-point solo that absolutely kills, as well one of the best chorus' ever and that low grumbled voice near the end could very well be one of the earliest examples of nowadays typical death metal vocals.

Tasting the blood from your lips as you die!

'Riot of Violence' is a much more mid-paced thrasher that is utterly catchy and just perfectly placed after such a pulverizing song. 'The Pestilence' follows and although sounding harmless enough at first the band unleashes the hellstorm for this lengthy (nearly seven minute) song, that has an absolutely crushing instrumental part as well I find Mille's raspy voice to really stand out here since it just feels like he's screaming directly at me. 'Carrion' is decent enough though it was never a big hit with me, while 'Command Of The Blade' and 'Under The Guillotine' end the album perfectly with the sort of lacerating terror that only Kreator could possibly deliver.

'Pleasure to Kill' is a mighty affair that shows drastic improvement over the debut and although this record is nearing thirty years of age it really doesn't show it at all, save for perhaps the quiet overall volume, but that was typical for the era. Despite that the production is fairly decent, organic in a way, with the bass standing out well amongst the guitars while the drums plow along nicely making the whole entire recording sound as if its unfolding right before you. Its also worth mentioning that not a single member of the band was over twenty years old when it was released either, which just shows how hungry and passionate these guys were to be a part of the thriving 80's thrash metal scene.

I'd have to imagine that the autumn of 1986 was a fun year for thrashers with records like 'Reign in Blood,' 'Darkness Descends' 'Morbid Visions' and 'Pleasure to Kill' all being released during that season. A shame I was only five years old at the time. Nevertheless thrash metal never dies and Kreator will forever rule!