KREATOR's MILLE PETROZZA: Every Time I Make An Album, I Treat It Like It's My First

In a new interview with Australia's Inner-Strength Check, Mille Petrozza of German/Finnish/French thrash metal veterans KREATOR spoke about the band's upcoming sixteenth studio album, "Krushers Of The World", which will arrive on January 16, 2026 via Nuclear Blast Records. The LP was recorded at Fascination Street Studios in Örebro, Sweden with producer Jens Bogren. Bogren previously helmed KREATOR's "Phantom Antichrist" (2012) and "Gods Of Violence" (2017) LPs. The "Krushers Of The World" cover artwork was created by Polish genius Zbigniew Bielak (GHOST).

Regarding his songwriting process, Mille said in part (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "If there's one thing that I don't want, it's to turn into an nostalgia act and just repeat what we've already done in the past. So every time I do an album, it's always, like, I treat it like my first album. I know it sounds absurd because it's my sixteenth album, but that's how I try to approach going into a new songwriting session. And I don't know if it always works, but we try not to repeat ourselves and we try not to do something that we've already done. It's hard because we're playing metal. We are not doing progressive metal. We're playing pretty straightforward metal. So there's a little bit of a limitation. To me, it's all about the songs. To me, it's all about the songwriting. I'm a big fan of songwriters from any genre. I love the art of songwriting, and I'm a nerd when it comes to that."

Mille continued: "To me, I see the whole process of creating new music as a challenge to come up with stuff that I'm getting excited about. And hopefully if that works and I'm excited, I just put it out and hope that other people get excited about it. And that's how we work. That's basically it."

After the interviewer noted that it's "interesting" to see KREATOR working within the confines of being an extreme metal band as opposed to "maybe loosening the reins" and pursuing a more progressive direction, Petrozza said: "Yeah, it's an option. Technically, we could do it, but it's not something that we wanna do. I mean, on [2022's] 'Hate Über Alles' [album], there was a seven-minute song, which was kind of epic, but on this album it just didn't happen. I mean, the songs are four or five minutes long. So whatever comes out. You need to come up with like a selection of songs that makes sense and comes from the heart and kind of reflects and represents what we've been through since the last album and whatever you experience, and it needs to come… As a musician and as a creative person, you can only open the channels. You pick up your guitar and then you try to see what comes out. And whatever comes out is what you hear on the record, really. I mean, it's as simple as that. And it's something that I work on a lot. I'm not the kind of artist that just thinks that anything that I put out is amazing. I mean, we had, like, 12 songs for this record, and only 10 made it on the record. And then I have a couple of ideas, unfinished songs and all that. So I'm constantly writing music. Anything that I think excites me will end up on an album."

Mille previously talked about his songwriting process in November during an interview with "Coffee With Ola". He said at the time: "The thing is, it's like a puzzle. You start coming up with all these riffs that you think maybe it's a little bit above what I am able to play, but if I rehearse and if I get into practice, and if I get into the mindset, I might be able to do this at one point. Which is not when we go into the studio. But it might be when we play the first five shows of a tour. And then everything starts to flow."

Mille continued: "The lyrics, most of the time they're first. And there needs to be an idea. And when I have a lyrical idea… then I come up with the riffs. And the riffs, I don't wanna limit myself. I want them to be a little spectacular or something that not everybody can just play right away. But also harmonically, they need to be nice for my voice, for my mid-rangey kind of voice, in order to work in live situation… But in the end of the day, in my experience, it was always good to play a little bit above your abilities. But at some point, you, it makes you a better musician because you challenge yourself. It doesn't necessarily have to mean that, that there's the. The riffs have to be complicated at any cost. If they're cool and they're very easy to play, they make great songs also. So, I think you always have to find whatever's best for the song. And I think finding the riffs is only 10% or 15% of the whole composition. But it's very important, especially in metal."

After host Ola Englund noted that, for him personally, riffs constitute "90%" of the songwriting process, Petrozza clarified: "There's definitely exceptions to the rule. I don't know how METALLICA write their songs. But I think they also have the riffs first. So every band is different. So there's no formula — there's no certain formula that works for every band. And I think for my band or for my style of songwriting, it always worked quite well to have a lyrical theme or sometimes even just some chorus. I need to have something that people can sing along. I like it when people sing along. And I like it when you can remember the songs. I like catchy stuff. I'm not a 'prog' head. I love RUSH — don't get me wrong — and I love TOOL, early stuff, but I also like songwriting. And I think, for example, a band like TOOL and RUSH, they have this in between — they have great songs, but they have weird rhythms. And so it makes me, as a listener, it makes it enjoyable. But if it's just too [complicated] for the sake of it, it's not my taste."

On the topic of how the songs for "Krushers Of The World" came together, Mille said: "The way I write is I just record demos. I have a friend [Andy Posdziech] that has a great studio. He plays in a band called ANY GIVEN DAY. They're a really good band. And this time when I recorded the demos, the demos almost sounded like the album, because it was so detailed. The drums sounded great. And the way we recorded the riffs, the sonic quality of the demos was really good. So I enjoyed listening to the demos. I listened to the demos for a couple of months, really, before I even played it to anyone. That made me kind of figure out whether or not I enjoyed these songs. And I lived with it for half a year or so and then went to Jens's studio. I went there with the demos, and he would do a pre-production of the pre-production, like coming up with his ideas."

Mille added: "Everybody is different, but I think it can really help if you make a proper recording of a song that you have in mind with electronic drums and all digital stuff, but make it kind of how it's gonna sound in the end of the day and then figure out while you are — whatever — doing the dishes or just cleaning your apartment or whatever, and you listen to it in the background and if you enjoy it, it could be a good song. Like I said, it's just my way of doing things, but it helps me."

Mille previously spoke about the making of "Krushers Of The World" earlier in November in an interview with Sweden's "Rockpodden" podcast. He stated about the LP at the time: " I'm happy. I'm happy with the way it came out. It took me a while to write it, but I think we have a nice variety of interesting music and nice poetry and lyrics. Hopefully people appreciate it."

When the interviewer noted that "Krushers Of The World" sounds sonically "amazing", Mille responded: "Oh, thank you. Yeah, that's the band being very, very prepared. And the chemistry in the band, within the band is very positive. And also we worked with one of the best producers in the world, Jens. He really put his heart and soul into this production this time, and once we got into the studio, he got so involved in everything."

Mille confirmed that all of "Krushers Of The World" was recorded in Sweden. He said: "I think on 'Gods Of Violence', we went also to Örebro to record guitars, vocals and mix. And this time we did everything in [Jens's] studio because he has a nice setup now. He has a drum room, so it wasn't necessary to move studios for the drums. So, we were there for six weeks or seven weeks, and then he would go on a little vacation, and then he came back and took another three or four weeks to mix the album. [He did] really, really nice work this time."

Mille continued: "The way it's set up [at Fascination Street], you have everything under one roof. You have the mastering, the mixing, the recording, and then you have all these people working there all day. They're all metalheads. So it's almost like Disneyland for metalheads. We stayed there the whole time. We all had our rooms there. So it's very convenient, because you get up in the morning. Jens is already there. We start very early. And overall, it was a very, very focused experience, but also a very fun experience. We had a lot of laughs and really enjoyed the process of doing the album, and I think that really shows on the record. It sounds fresh."

Regarding how he and the rest of KREATOR manage to always come up with material that doesn't sound like a rehash of what they have done in the past, Mille said: "What a lot of bands tend to forget is once it turns into a routine and you just record albums in order to go back on tour or to stay relevant or other reasons, it's not natural. You have to question yourself all the time. You have to be very self-critical with your own art. You have to live with the music for a while."

Mille continued: "This time I went into pre-production on a very early stage. I did pre-production for over a year, and I wrote the songs for another year. I mean, I started writing in '22 and up to '25. And it was a process where I had time to have — me and my friend Andy from the band ANY GIVEN DAY, we would do demos that have a great quality already that people, if they would've listened to the demos, they would've already had heard a very good production. So the demos were very nice to listen to and gave me the opportunity to live with the songs for a while and rewrite stuff that I thought was weak or add stuff when I thought there was something missing. And that process really gave the album time to grow. And when I played it to the band, for me it was already old, but I was confident that these songs are great. And then the band came with their ideas and then Jens came with his ideas. So it's a very, very nice pot-pourri of creativity and passion for the music. And everybody involved gave their 150 percent."

Asked how open he is to new ideas, particularly from an outsider like Jens, Mille said: "It depends. Sometimes [Jens] makes suggestions and they're great. Sometimes we don't like his suggestions. Everything we question is for the better. Nobody that's involved wants the songs to suffer or push their ego. Like, 'This is my idea, so it needs to be on the song.' That sometimes can be a problem with producers or musicians that are thinking, 'Oh, no. I need to put this song part in there. Otherwise the song is not good.' And we were very open. And we discussed a lot. We talked a lot. And this is the third album that we did with Jens, so we kind of know each other well enough to know how we can actually take criticism or joke around if an idea's not good. So we don't get butthurt about things where we will go, like, 'Yeah, but I want my idea there.'"

Asked if he is "a hundred percent sure" that there will be another KREATOR album after "Krushers Of The World", Mille said: "Yeah. I think yes. But it's a nice trick. We could also do like this whole, 'Okay, it might be our last album.' THE CURE's done it for many years, and now I think MEGADETH is putting out their last album. It's a nice — how do I put this? — if they really feel that way, then it's cool.

"I think that I have at least five more albums in me," Mille explained. "I mean, the end is coming eventually. The physical body will disappear. Seriously, I don't really think in these categories. I think once you get on this journey, it ends when it ends. But I wouldn't be surprised if there's even more than five albums in me still, if I live long enough. Now that I'm getting to a certain age, of course, it's not like when you're 20 years old, you're, like, 'I have, a hundred percent, five more albums in me.' But I do — I think I do. But let's see — let's see what the future brings. You never know. But I'm open for whatever happens. But we'll see."

Petrozza added: "Those cryptic thoughts never come to me. I always think that, and also I think on 'Krushers Of The World', you can hear that I think music can be empowering and should be joyful. And this album, even though it has dark stuff on it, and it has like very heavy stuff on it, but it's a very positive energy that we're spreading."

KREATOR has released three singles so far from "Krushers Of The World": "Seven Serpents", "Tränenpalast" and "Satanic Anarchy".

"Tränenpalast" features vocal coach Britta Görtz of extreme metal band HIRAES on guest vocals.

When "Tränenpalast" was made available in late October, Mille commented: "'Tränenpalast' is our tribute to the great tradition of Italian cinema. We drew inspiration from Dario Argento's classic 'Suspiria' and Luca Guadagnino's epic masterpiece remake. Musically, we bow to the great GOBLIN, in direct conversation with maestro Claudio Simonetti. We hope you enjoy the song as much as we do. Only love to the greats! Hail to the Hordes!"

KREATOR will promote "Krushers Of The World" with a monumental European tour across 20 countries, joining forces with fellow metal powerhouses CARCASS, EXODUS and NAILS. The trek will kick off on March 20, 2026 in Lisbon, Portugal, at MEO Arena and wrap up on April 25, 2026 in Copenhagen, Denmark, at Poolen. Highlights include shows in London, Manchester, Glasgow, Paris, Milan, Berlin, Stockholm, and more.

The "Krushers Of The World" cover sees Zbigniew Bielak, renowned for his work for GHOST, art and design, offer an interesting twist to KREATOR's history. Transforming classic visual trademarks dedicated fans will recognize from "Coma Of Souls" (1990),"Out Of The Dark... Into The Light" (1988) and "Pleasure To Kill" (the font!) into a highly detailed tapestry garnered with occult symbolism, Bielak crafted an outstanding piece paying homage to a band he loves since his teenager days yet with a daring and unique flair. The cover of "Krushers Of The World" rewards everyone willing to analyze the grandiose sleeve design.

KREATOR's upcoming effort will be the follow-up to 2022's "Hate Über Alles", which was recorded at Hansa Tonstudio in Berlin, Germany. Helming the sessions for that LP was Arthur Rizk, who has previously worked with CAVALERA CONSPIRACY, CODE ORANGE, POWER TRIP and SOULFLY, among others.

"Hate Über Alles" marked KREATOR's first album with bassist Frédéric Leclercq, who joined the group in 2019.

The official KREATOR documentary, "Hate & Hope", was shown in July at the 42nd Munich International Film Festival and received a theatrical premiere in September. The 110-minute film was directed by Cordula Kablitz-Post.

Mille's official German-language autobiography, which he wrote with journalist, author and presenter Torsten Groß, "Your Heaven, My Hell - Mein Leben, Heavy Metal Und Wie Das Alles Passieren Konnte", was published on August 28 via Ullstein Verlag.

Photo credit: Robert Eikelpoth