The concert by the famous German thrashers KREATOR in moscow. This landmark event took place on 27 May at the CDK MAI. Five years had passed since the band's last moscow concert, years in which Violent Revolution and the brand-new Enemy of God had been recorded — the tour in support of the latter this time also taking in russia. Now, in order. Tickets showed the time as 19:00; at half past six roughly 150 people stood near the club building, gathered in small groups at various points. A peculiar situation — especially since tickets had been on sale since mid-March. Another circumstance that struck many as strange: no one was being let inside.
The clock reached seven; people gradually gathered, and the security was in no hurry to open the doors. By half past seven several hundred people had assembled near the CDK building (and the rest were rapidly converging), the majority mercilessly emptying cans and glass bottles containing sacred liquids. By nearly eight o'clock some movement began, and people started being let in — two at a time, with a few seconds between pairs, and so on. Indignant shouts did not let up, intensifying further when people reached the security guard, as the search procedure was more than thorough.
While the enormous queue before the entrance slowly, extremely slowly, diminished, another queue formed — in front of the stairs leading to the hall. Your humble servant had positioned himself very cleverly, such that when the way was opened he managed within a little over ten seconds to claim a spot in the front row two metres to the left of centre. What was playing in the hall: LED ZEPPELIN's "Stairway to Heaven," after which German classical music began, in the following order: Bach's Toccata in D minor, then his Brandenburg Concerto, then his "Joke," followed by the opening of Mozart's Symphony No. 40 and his "Little Serenade." By this point the hall was around 80% full (I suspect around 1,000 people total, if not more); the cries of "MILLE" and "KREATOR" were continuous.
Technicians tuned instruments; finally — complete silence, followed by a single powerful collective cry from the entire audience. The familiar intro from the band's second album — "Choir Of The Damned" — began, but it was not destined to finish (in the original it runs approximately two minutes), as the musicians appeared on stage: Ventor, Sami, Christian, and of course Mille himself. The cries in the hall didn't stop but intensified; active light effects dominated by green tones began on stage, and finally the long-awaited thrash riffs rang out — "Enemy of God," the title track from the latest album. On the chorus the phrase "Enemy of God" was taken up by the entire hall. "Enemy of God" ended, and immediately "Impossible Brutality" began. Here the first unpleasant incident occurred — the stage divers that day had apparently decided the concert was theirs, with Mille and the band merely providing background music. Another fine specimen climbed onto the stage with such coordination that Mille's microphone was knocked to the stage floor. Had Mille been a mere vocalist the situation would have been different, but somehow he also needed to be playing guitar solos while singing; fists directed at the security guards positioned on both sides of the stage, microphone retrieved, and the concert continued. The song ended; a few words, and the next song announced: "Pleasure to… KILL!!!" (the hall completed it), three times, after which this magnificent fastest-of-the-fast composition rang out. Next: "Phobia" (the hall again dutifully sang along), then a slow intro — this was "Patriarch," breaking into "Violent Revolution" — pure madness in the hall. Everything was spoiled by the persistent stage divers; one of them managed during the concert to climb on stage, run up to Mille, embrace him, and kiss him. At roughly the same time another of these heroes nearly landed directly on my head, for which I was less than grateful. Mille reacted very badly to what was happening — it was plainly interfering with him.
After the "Revolution," Mille announced the next song: "World Anarchy" rang out. By now the sound was more or less properly equalised, as the vocals on the first few songs had been at a mediocre level, and the sound from the two guitars and bass wasn't balanced either. "World Anarchy" flowed smoothly into "Renewal." "Suicide Terrorist" gave way to "Extreme Aggression" — the most expressive, most powerful composition. Mille performed it brilliantly; the concert was in full swing, the musicians pushing to their maximum; Mille's normally calm face in these moments expressed all the fury sung about in the band's songs. Slow chords began, and "People Of The Lie" started. The next composition was also not particularly fast — "Voices From The Dead" — but the audience wasn't allowed to relax, and within minutes the entire hall was singing along to "All Of The Same Blood." What happened next was quite comical: "Riot Of Violence" began — Mille calmly played guitar while someone else sang; a considerable portion of the hall started looking around in confusion. Those who looked carefully could immediately identify the microphone in the drummer's hands. Indeed, Ventor had started the song; Mille joined later.
So passed the first hour of the concert. "Terrible Certainty," "Reconquering The Throne," and "Betrayer" rounded off the main set. The stage divers by the end of the concert had turned into a pack of badly-behaved primates; Mille was even compelled to deliver a speech, the gist of which was that he would shake hands after the concert, that the stage at that moment was for his performance, and that he would personally kick the backside of anyone who touched him again. Mille was extremely angry at this point; the adjective "fucking" was deployed at an alarming rate, as his microphone had been knocked down more than once. The problem was that some people didn't listen to him at all, and while he was giving this speech yet another genius climbed on stage. Needless to say, the two security guards in tuxedos who were constantly flickering in the middle of the hall looked extremely out of place at a thrash concert — but this, unfortunately, was caused by the audience themselves. Another episode was very touching and genuinely moved the band: a small girl sitting on someone's shoulders. Christian, noticing her, immediately pointed her out to the other musicians, and their faces immediately lit up with warm smiles. After "Betrayer," the tired but cheerful musicians (especially Ventor) left the stage — but of course no one had any intention of dispersing, as this was not the end.
A few minutes passed and they were back on stage. A few words, then "Love Us Or Hate Us." After which Mille demanded that everyone in the hall say "HATE." Then rehearsals of a complete phrase began: "IT'S TIME... TO RISE... THE FLAG... OF... HATE!" — once, twice, and finally a third time, after which this universally beloved composition from the very first album rang out. Incredible speed, aggression, fury... The song ended, and Mille confessed his hatred; he expressively detailed the objects of that hatred, concluding the long list with: "We hate Society and We hate all governments over the World." After which came truly the final song of the concert — "Tormentor" (once more two large individuals climbed on stage and decided to dance together). To thunderous cries the band concluded the concert (total duration approximately 1 hour and 40–45 minutes). The final chords and Mille's promise to return. The band left the stage; the lights came up in the hall and the slow movement toward the exit began.
The impression from the concert: the most thrillingly furious thrash imaginable — nothing to add; on a five-point scale, six points. The band performed almost all their hits, with the possible exception of "Terror Zone." The negative: the inability of a certain portion of the audience to behave like human beings rather than animals — but this was only a minor annoyance. In any case, I am certain this concert will be remembered by everyone who attended it. People took a long time to recover afterward, but everyone was absolutely elated. We'll be waiting for the next concerts.
Special thanks for the accreditation provided.
Report by Alan
Setlist: Intro — Choir Of The Damned Enemy Of God Impossible Brutality Pleasure To Kill Phobia Patriarch Violent Revolution World Anarchy Renewal Suicide Terrorist Extreme Aggression People Of The Lie Voices From The Dead All Of The Same Blood Riot Of Violence Terrible Certainty Reconquering The Throne Betrayer Encore: Love Us Or Hate Us Flag Of Hate Tormentor