Thrash Metal Diversity from Germany's Most Energetic Genre Band - A Review of Kreator's Maximum Hate

Maximum Hate is a wonderful compilation of nine rare and new songs by German thrash metal icons Kreator that was released with an issue of the German Metal Hammer magazine one month before the band's new studio album Hate über alles saw the light of day.

The first two songs are taken from the new studio album and represent the band's diversified soundscapes particularly well. ''Hate über alles'' includes simple, heavy and fast riffs that take no prisoners and opens with a desperate scream that sets the tone for a pitiless anthem where the veterans sound hungrier than many promising newcomers and confirm to still be one of the greatest thrash metal bands around the globe. ''Strongest of the Strong'' however is a mid-tempo song with much more melodic guitar play that reminds slightly of the band's gothic sounds throughout the nineties without however sounding toothless, repetitive or bland. Both songs actually turn out to be among the new studio album's highlights.

Up next come several rare songs such as obscure single material and bonus tracks. The shining highlight here remains ''Iron Destiny'', a Japanese bonus track from the Phantom Antichrist record, that is essentially a melodic heavy metal song with aggressive vocals and an anthemic chorus that will stay on your mind upon first listening to it. The lyrics about resistance, origins and identity represent the band spirit particularly well. Even though this is only a bonus track, this is one of my very favourite Kreator songs of all time, so give it a try if you haven't listened to it yet.

This compilation concludes with more rare material such as a demo song and two live tracks. The two live tracks confirm that the international quartet doesn't take any prisoners on stage and is able to sound even more energetic, ferocious and passionate in concert than it does on a studio album. The sound of these live recordings is unfiltered, raw and organic as it should certainly please genre purists in particular. Kreator might not be the most technically stunning genre band but they certainly are the most authentic, passionate and also political regarding its left-wing lyrics.

At the end of the day, Kreator's Maximum Hate offers nine songs with a running time of exactly thirty-seven minutes and includes excellent new studio versions, surprisingly convincing hidden gems in form of several recent bonus tracks and two live versions of recent tunes that have not yet been overplayed and still sound fresh. Any fan of the band should purchase this compilation either as a preparation or even as a complement for Hate über alles. This release truly offers value for money in times when everything is getting more expensive.

Final Rating: 90%