Review: German band Kreator performs at Chalk in Brighton

I must preface this by confessing that I have never really tapped into the culture of metal or any of its derivatives – however this all changed on Saturday night.

Eighties' German thrash metal band Kreator descended on Chalk in Brighton for a night of unbridled rage and fury.

The band is formed of four members (Image: Andy Gardner)

I was accompanied by my dear old dad, who – conveniently – is a lifelong fan of all things metal.

Over the years, I've heard his eclectic music tastes on Spotify, but never had the ear for it. But I found it is an entirely different story when the music is performed live.

With it being some 40 years since Kreator first entered the scene and many of the band members well into their 50s we both feared they may have slowed down since their heyday, but this couldn’t have been further from the truth.

It was the first time the group of four had visited Brighton, playing to a crowd of about 300 young and old-school fans.

Kreator’s lead vocalist Mille Petrozza took a dominant position in centre stage, shouting down the microphone with ferocity as if he was addressing a venue of thousands, to proclaim “Satan is real” and raise the “flag of hate” – which, yes, is a very real thing.

Many concertgoers wore leather jackets and patches (Image: Andy Gardner)

The venue transformed into the music, as the soundwaves from the subwoofers travelled through the floor and into each and every one of us in the crowd. It wasn’t long before a mosh pit formed in the centre and, boy, did the staff working security on the night have their work cut out.

Concertgoers loomed over the heads of the audience, surfing their way to the front of the stage.

The raw and loud metal fuelled those moshing in the crowd, and despite my initial reservations the power of the music was enough to make even my stiff neck bob.

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There aren’t many places someone will approach you and ask you to give them a push into a crowd of raging rock fans so the least I could do was oblige.

Fred Leclercq, bassist of Kreator (Image: Andy Gardner)

At face value, the mosh pit can seem intimidating but he slam dancing stopped at the click of a finger as soon as someone fell over, giving them the time and space to lift themselves back up – and get stuck in right away.

Kreator were supported by Virginia’s finest thrash metal band, Municipal Waste. Led by frontman Tony Foresta, the bandana-wearing group of five got things off to an exhilarating start.

It was hard to work out whether this act was a parody or not, as Tony’s exaggerated character and gestures dominated the stage.

I emerged from the gig slightly disoriented. My ears were ringing and my neck aching... but I’d do it all over again.