Kreator - Out Of The Dark... Into The Light [ep] (1988) [CD] (1992)

 

Originally named Tyrant and then Tormentor, Kreator were founded in 1982 by vocalist/guitarist Mille Petrozza, bassist Rob Fioretti, and drummer Jürgen Reil (aka Ventor) in the industrial capital of Essen, Germany. They were still known as Tormentor when their first two demo tapes, one fittingly named Blitzkrieg (1983), and the other End of the World (1984), fell into the hands of thousands of heavy metal fans engaging in the era's bustling underground tape-trading network. Positive word of mouth soon attracted the attention of Germany's own metal start-up, Noise Records, which signed the newly re-christened Kreator to a deal and immediately put them to work on their first album. Recorded in just ten days at Berlin's Musiclab Studios, 1985's Endless Pain was a savage debut, but its crude thrashing quickly had the underground metal world abuzz with excitement. A second guitar player, Wulf, was hired for touring purposes, and with Kreator's reputation preceding them, lucky fans within the band's modest touring radius were soon clamoring for tickets.

No sooner had they come off the road than Kreator were heading right back to Musiclab Studios, this time with producer Harris Johns (Helloween, Voivod) to record their second album, Pleasure to Kill. Unleashed in 1986 and still considered the band's first "classic" album, Pleasure to Kill raised the bar with more diversity of tempos and greater attention to technical execution while losing nothing in terms of ferocity or speed. The band closed out the year with the Flag of Hate EP (named after a re-recorded version of their earliest hit), and there seemed to be little doubt that Kreator, along with fellow Germans Helloween and Switzerland's Celtic Frost (with whom they toured the U.K. a year later), were fast becoming Europe's top extreme metal contenders. Recorded at Hanover's Horus Studios with English producer Roy Rowland, 1987's Terrible Certainty did nothing to dent this perception, since, for once, Petrozza and company actually had a little time to work out the songs beforehand. The ensuing tour further established their reputation as dedicated road warriors and saw Kreator beefed up to a quartet once again with the addition of guitarist Jörge Trebziatowski. Profits from these concerts would help finance yet another EP (product being something Noise never stopped asking for) titled Out of the Dark, Into the Light, released in August 1988.

 

N 0200-2

 

 -Tracklist:

 1. Impossible to Cure     02:41
2. Lambs to the Slaughter (Raven cover)     03:34
3. Terrible Certainty (live)     05:19
4. Riot of Violence (live)     05:49
5. Awakening of the Gods (live)     07:13
6. Flag of Hate (live)     04:02
7. Love Us or Hate Us (live)     03:57
8. Behind the Mirror     04:45

37:20

 

-Lineup: 

• Mille Petrozza : Vocals, Guitars
• Roberto Fioretti : Bass
• Ventor : Drums
• Tritze : Guitars.

Label:  Noise Records.

Recorded and mixed at Musiclab in Berlin in May 1988 and live at Dynamo Eindhoven May 31 1988.

 Mixed at Sky Trak Studio in Berlin. 

Mastered at Studio Nord in Bremen.

 Mixed by Harris Johns.

 Produced by Harris Johns & Kreator.

Front cover painting by Phil Lawvere.

 Cover concept by Schubert K.

 Photography by Buffo Schnädelbach & Manfred Eisenblätter.

Tracks 6, 7 & 8 live in East Berlin, 4 March 1990.