Kreator singer/guitarist Mille Petrozza has revealed which of the thrashers’ songs was influenced by 9/11.
Talking exclusively to Metal Hammer, the frontman says that the Germans’ 2005 track Enemy Of God drew from the panic and anger engendered by the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001.
“It describes the confusion, when this thing happened and everyone was like, ‘Whoa, fuck man, it’s the end of the world!’” Petrozza explains.
“It really captured the chaos of the time. It captured the vibe of everybody not knowing what’s gonna happen next. Everybody thought, ‘Now World War III is gonna come!’ It didn’t, but it was still a tragic event.”
Watch the full chat with Petrozza, where he names the five essential Kreator songs, below.
During a Hammer interview back in 2019, Petrozza stated that Enemy Of God “is one of the strongest Kreator tracks ever”. “Under the impression of September 11, 2001, I wrote this song in 2002,” he said, “and it ended up becoming the title track to our 2005 album. The lyrics are obviously about terrorism.”
Despite Kreator having written tracks about such real-world events as 9/11, Petrozza said during a discussion with Alter Bridge’s Mark Tremonti in 2022 that his band are not a political act.
“If you were to call Kreator a political band, I wouldn’t like that term,” he explained. “We’re having to deal with politics all day! When I listen to metal, I don’t want to listen to more politics. For me, it’s more on a humanistic level: ‘Fuck, this sucks! Why isn’t there world peace? Why can’t it happen?’”
The frontman pointed to the then-recent Russian invasion of Ukraine as an example. “I don’t care who thinks it’s right or wrong; war is so outdated. I’m so disappointed that we see another war around the corner in Europe.
“Today, I took the train from Berlin to Essen; the whole train was full of people that had left Ukraine. They’ve had to leave their homes! What the fuck is happening?!”
Kreator’s latest album, Hate Über Alles, came out in 2022 and the four-piece are currently at work on a follow-up. Petrozza said via social media last year that he and his bandmates will re-enter the studio in early 2025.
The singer/guitarist has also told fans to expect a Kreator biography and a Kreator documentary to come out soon. The book – tentatively titled Your Heaven, My Hell – was co-written by Petrozza, covers the first 10 years of the band’s history and already has a publisher attached.
Meanwhile, the film has the working title Dystopia And Hope and is being directed by German filmmaker, author and producer Cordula Kablitz-Post.
“The whole concept came from Cordula, who approached us with this proposition and she has full creative control,” Petrozza said of the documentary last year. “She is a very well-respected director who has produced some incredible cinematic documentaries in the past, so I’m very excited to see the finished film.”
