Seeing a record called Hate Über Alles come out of Germany in 2022 says much about the world we’re living in. Of course, Kreator aren’t proclaiming their hatred for anything—except maybe our current state of political and social discourse. “It’s based on the current way people communicate with each other,” Kreator guitarist, vocalist, and mastermind Mille Petrozza tells Apple Music. “We never agree to disagree. It’s more like, ‘If you’re not on my side, you’re against me.’ That’s what inspired me to call the album Hate Über Alles.”
In keeping with their nearly 40 years of metal excellence, the Teutonic thrashers deliver an album replete with old-school bangers, a spaghetti western-inspired intro, and a killer cameo from German pop queen Sofia Portanet. “A lot of bands nowadays focus on singles instead of albums,” Petrozza observes. “We want this record to feel like a musical journey from start to finish.” Below, he discusses each song.
“Sergio Corbucci Is Dead”
“I had this piece of music obviously very influenced by spaghetti westerns, and I decided it would become the intro for the record. Then it’s always a bit of a challenge to name an intro. The music sounds like it could have come from either a Sergio Leone or Sergio Corbucci movie, but I heard that all of Corbucci’s movies were a statement against fascism, tyranny, and oppression because he grew up in fascist Italy. So, it seemed to fit.”
“Hate Über Alles”
“A lot of this is about communication on social media—people saying really rude things they would never say to your face. Musically, this was there already in the beginning of 2018, when I started recording demos. But the chorus came to me when we were in England, preparing for the Bloodstock festival. I thought it was a cool combination of strong words that combined German with the English language. And it’s a cool title, perfect for a Kreator record.”
“Killer of Jesus”
“This is a brutal thrash-metal song, straight to the point. Lyrically, I’m talking about icons and ideas that are 2000 years old that are, for some people, still relevant—even though the world has changed so much. Human history is on a totally different spiritual level than it was when these religions were developed for people that couldn’t read. So, it’s not about killing the person Jesus. It’s more about killing icons and ideas from the past and moving on.”
“Crush the Tyrants”
“This is one of the first songs I wrote for the album, and it’s more like a midtempo track. Lyrically, it’s about oppressors—crushing the tyrants, very self-explanatory. I like the groove of it. I wanted to do something like ‘Holy Diver,’ for example—a real anthemic metal song with a midtempo riff. This is the modern Kreator style.”
“Strongest of the Strong”
“The song talks about believing in yourself and believing in change. It’s about a spiritual awakening and moving forward, believing in the individual rather than following. It’s got a very old-school metal vibe and a killer groove, like our songs ‘People of the Lie’ or ‘Renewal.’ That’s the kind of vibe I wanted to create with this song.”
“Become Immortal”
“I’m reflecting on the past. I’m talking about the very beginning of the band and the years 1984 and 1985. I was a teenager when I had my first record deal—my mother had to sign for me. As a band from Essen, an industrial town in a rural district, to go to West Berlin to record our first album we had to cross the border through East Berlin, to this city with a wall. It was a strange adventure, but we felt more freedom than ever.”
“Conquer and Destroy”
“It’s based on a dream that I had about this entity coming to me, telling me that everything I do is on the right path. I felt this energy of somebody talking to me—it was probably my subconscious. The song talks about how, even if there is something that is a challenge in your life, you should go forward and face it rather than ignoring it. Musically, it has a very strong riff, double kick, and a nice melody. It’s definitely one of my favorites off this record.”
“Midnight Sun”
“The song was inspired by the Ari Aster movie Midsommar. The main character is a very strong female who goes from not believing in the cult at all to becoming a part of it, so I thought it would be a good idea to have a female singer. I connected with Sofia Portanet, who I’m a real big fan of, via Instagram. She had this album in 2020 called Freier Geist that I was listening to most of the time during the pandemic. We’ve never had a female guest on an album, so I thought it was about time to do that. And she really fits the song.”
“Demonic Future”
“Musically, I’ve had this for a while. It’s very old-school thrash, like it could be from the early days or on the first Metallica. It’s our tribute to that time. Lyrically, it talks about racism. Just when you thought you’ve seen it all, suddenly there’s a new racist movement in Germany. Refugees that are coming in from war countries are getting attacked. We did a version with German lyrics also, which might be on a later release.”
“Pride Comes Before the Fall”
“This is a continuation of the ‘Hate Über Alles’ theme. People are so arrogant when they’re in their safe zone in front of the computer, putting down people’s creativity. They are not daring to tell you their opinion in your face. It’s almost a little bit like ‘Conquer and Destroy’ as well—it talks about facing a situation and going through it with a clear mind and clear vision. Stay strong and keep your focus, no matter what other people are saying.”
“Dying Planet”
“I wrote a song in 1990 called ‘When the Sun Burns Red,’ which talked about global warming already. Now we’re coming full circle and global warming is causing lots of catastrophes. A lot of things I talked about in ‘When the Sun Burns Red’ are now becoming a reality. With this song, I went a step further. It’s talking about the planet as a living organism fighting off the disease of humanity because we’re the ones destroying the planet. There’s a spoken word part where I’m explaining that we had it all, but we fucked it up.”