KREATOR's MILLE PETROZZA: 'The World Needs Encouragement And Empowerment To Make Our Lifetime A Little More Joyful'

In a new interview with Metal Covenant, KREATOR frontman Mille Petrozza spoke about the lyrical inspiration for the band's latest album, "Krushers Of The World", which came out on January 16 via Nuclear Blast Records. He said: "Every song on the album is like an empowerment. It's supposed to give people strength. Especially the song 'Krushers Of The World', where I talk about how hard it can be being alive in this day and age. I'm not saying that the world is a horrible place, but in my opinion, since we recorded the last album, things have changed for the worse. And we're surrounded by so much unnecessary drama that I think the world needs encouragement and empowerment to make our lifetime a little more joyful. And I think metal is always good for that."

After the interviewer noted that "it's become more difficult to live now" than when he was younger, Mille concurred. "It comes with age because we've seen so much," Petrozza said." I think we thought, and that was a mistake, that everything builds up. In the '80s we had the fear of the atomic bomb dropping, and once we got into the '90s and the 2000s, we thought, 'Oh, that's in the past. War, that's in the past. We evolve as a human race.' And now we're going back to 50 years before that, and we're going back to the primitive age, so to speak. So it's not going forward, but it's going in circles. And that's something that I realized, that life is not like you think it is. It can take turns."

Asked about his comment from a previous interview, conducted nearly a decade ago, that he was so fed up with politicians, Mille said: "Oh, I am still. It's a shit show, if you think about it. I can't take it seriously anymore. And I've known this all along. I've known this back in the day already. When we talked about it [in the previous interview] ten years ago, the same thing, but now it's a grotesque version of ten years ago. Now it's all emotions. It's no common sense. There's no more middle ground. There's no more getting into conversations. It's more, like, 'Oh, you're not on my side. You're probably against me.' I'm totally zoned out, without not caring. I think in this day and age we should just embrace life and make a positive example of how it could be, rather than complaining about the situation. I think that it's not in our hands. But it's not that I capitulate like, 'Okay, you can't do much anyway, and it all sucks anyway, so we can just go down with it.' No, but just make the world a better place by celebrating music, celebrating life. I think that's what's important in this day and age, rather than trying to be the rebellious punk rock kid or the fresh metal kid that is complaining. I think that that doesn't make sense anymore."

Mille added: "It's horrible. Social media has changed everything. As much as I love social media, you can manipulate people a lot easier than back in the day. So it's like your shitty attitude became the mainstream, you know."

"Krushers Of The World" 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).

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.

KREATOR will also embark on a U.S. tour this spring. The band, which last conquered American audiences and venues in 2024, will make stops at key festivals, including Welcome To Rockville, Sonic Temple and Maryland Deathfest. The tour kicks off on May 7 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and runs through May 23 in Huntington, New York.

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.

The official KREATOR documentary, "Hate & Hope", was shown in July 2025 at the 42nd Munich International Film Festival and received a theatrical premiere in September 2025. 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 in August 2025 via Ullstein Verlag.

Photo credit: Robert Eikelpoth