KREATOR Frontman: 'The Human Race Needs To Be Told What To Do'

Mariskal Rock TV's Jason Cenador recently conducted an interview with guitarist/vocalist Mille Petrozza of German thrash metal veterans KREATOR. You can watch the chat below. A few excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On the inspiration behind the title for the band's new album, "Gods Of Violence":

Mille: "The original concept was talking about the ancient Greek gods. The ancient gods in Greece, for every human facet, there was a god. There was a god of love, a god of peace, of violence. My original concept was to write a concept album about how these icons are still relevant in this day and age. I think violence, to me, is part of human nature. To deal with this in this day and age gave me the inspiration for the record."

On what the word "violence" means to him and KREATOR's music:

Mille: "It is an idea, but it's a message of peace. Don't get me wrong: It's violence that you channel, you channel it and turn it into something positive. Like, for example, you come to a show, you go into the mosh pit, you get out and your violent in the pit in a nice way, and you get rid of the negative emotions inside of you. For example, you pick up a guitar and you start a metal band. You write the most violent riffs. You turn the negative into something positive. To me, that's the philosophy. Primitive brutal violence is wrong. It causes war, pain, terror, misery, and that's not what we want to promote. We want to promote a positive outlook. In my opinion, we should all get along and I have very much of a hippie attitude. I want the world to be a peaceful place. It doesn't work. It will never work, but I play with these phrases: 'violence,' 'death,' 'terror.' It's also a reflection of society; it's a mirror."

On the line "We shall kill," which is used in the title track of the band's new album:

Mille: "I turn it around. It was based on the Ten Commandments. One of the commandments was 'Thou Shall Not Kill.' In this day and age, it seems like people are so… angry that they kill their own emotions, they kill everything that could be good in their lives by putting shit into their minds. You lose your humanity, you lose your human spirit by replacing it with something that's not natural. That's why we have the 'We shall kill.' Kill everything that's negative, but on the other hand, 'We shall kill' is based on one commandment. It's a double meaning."

On the election of Donald Trump:

Mille: "I can only say this much: Politics have always been bullshit to me. To me, politics are always corrupt and evil. But, on the other hand, the human race needs to be told what to do. That's why we need government. I have the opinion that there's so many politicians in the world that try to make your life miserable, we should not let them take over. We should live our lives without worrying about these people. They'll always going to be there, even in the face of that new guy, or the old guys. Things are going to be okay. I wouldn't worry. There's not going to be a third World War. I doubt it."

On which KREATOR song would be most fitting for Trump:

Mille: [Laughs] "'World War Now', the first song on the record."

On what inspires his lyrics in KREATOR:

Mille: "People always expect me to be a political person. I'm not. I just take my influences from political sources because in politics, there's so many evil forces in power. That gives me a lot of metaphoric material to work with in my lyrics. To me, I'm not a big fan of politics. I don't like any politicians. I think these people, most of them, are corrupt. There are probably some good ones, but once they get into power, it's all gone. Once they get into power, they get power hungry, and it fucks with their heads."

On the band's increased use of melody:

Mille: "I think it's not something we do on purpose. These elements just come natural. Yeah, I have to admit we have a Finnish guitar player [Sami Yli-Sirniö], so he adds a Scandinavian touch to the music, even though we do anything that whatever makes a song great, we will do it. We don't set boundaries like, 'This can't be. We will sound like this or not.' People will put us into this or that category. I think the most important thing is we write great songs, no matter what. These categories and these comparisons, they come naturally because they try to give yourself some orientation."

On whether "Gods Of Violence" is KREATOR's most technical and dynamic album:

Mille: "Absolutely. It's a total guitar album. The whole thing is all written on guitar. Of course, we went into details, especially with the melodic parts, and the soft interludes, we wanted to make it even more classic metal, almost."

On if he thinks KREATOR is the most successful European thrash metal band:

Mille: "Yes. [Laughs] I think we worked hard for this. We worked very hard. Not only in years, but also investments, a lot of time investment, a lot of life investment. That's what it comes down to. On the other hand, I don't know anything else and I don't want to know anything else. This is my life. This is what I do. I try to do the best as I can."

On whether he worries KREATOR will become too old to play extreme metal:

Mille: "It depends. It's a physical thing. You have to stay in shape. You got to be able to still be this energetic person onstage that people know you for. Once I get tired, once I don't feel the power and I don't feel the anger that's necessary to perform this kind of music, and the energy, then I will quit by myself."

"Gods Of Violence" will be released on January 27, 2017 via Nuclear Blast Records. The cover artwork for the disc was created by renowned artist Jan Meininghaus, who also made the limited-edition artwork for KREATOR's last album, 2012's "Phantom Antichrist", and has lent his talents to bands like BOLT THROWER, ACCEPT and OVERKILL in the past. The exclusive North American cover was created by renowned artist Marcelo Vasco, who has previously worked with SLAYER, MACHINE HEAD, SOULFLY and HATEBREED.

North American cover (by Marcelo Vasco):

International cover (by Jan Meininghaus):