KREATOR's SAMI YLI-SIRNIÖ Says 'Krushers Of The World' Album Features 'A Little Bit Of A New Approach': 'I'm Very Excited About It'

At the end of August, KREATOR guitarist Sami Yli-Sirniö spoke to IMPACT Metal Channel about the German/Finnish/French thrash metal veterans' upcoming sixteenth studio album, "Krushers Of The World", which will arrive on January 16, 2026 via Nuclear Blast Records. KREATOR recorded the follow-up to 2022's "Hate Über Alles" 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). Sami said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We were in the studio in May, and we were working on it for a long time. And it's finished. I got the final mixes, like, yesterday. And I'm very excited about it. We recorded with Jens Bogren; it's the same producer who produced us a couple of albums ago for two albums. And we are all very excited about it, and we hope that the people will like it too."

Asked what fans can expect from the new album, Sami said: "Well, it's got lots of interesting themes in it and a little bit of a new approach. For some songs, we tuned the guitars a little bit more down, like way down to a baritone, even to A, but not all of the songs. It's always when it serves a purpose, when it serves the vocals and stuff like that. But, yeah, there's three videos we shot already."

Yli-Sirniö went on to say that KREATOR fans can also expect "different kind of songs" from "Krushers Of The World". He explained: "Mille [Petrozza, KREATOR guitarist/vocalist] is the main songwriter, and he came up with the excellent song ideas. And we all worked on it very hard. We did a lot of demos, threw a lot of songs out. You just wait and see. We're all very excited about it. We think we managed to top its predecessor."

Last week, KREATOR revealed plans for a monumental European tour across 20 countries, joining forces with fellow metal powerhouses CARCASS, EXODUS and NAILS. The tour kicks off on March 20, 2026 in Lisbon, Portugal, at MEO Arena and wraps up on April 25, 2026 in Copenhagen, Denmark, at Poolen. Highlights include shows in London, Manchester, Glasgow, Paris, Milan, Berlin, Stockholm, and more.

Alongside the album and tour announcement, KREATOR unleashed a new single called "Seven Serpents", accompanied by a cinematic music video, which you can watch below.

"Krushers Of The World" track listing:

01. Seven Serpents
02. Satanic Anarchy
03. Krushers Of The World
04. Tränenpalast
05. Barbarian
06. Blood Of Our Blood
07. Combatants
08. Psychotic Imperator
09. Deathscream
10. Loyal To The Grave

According to a press release, "Krushers Of The World" also tackles Petrozza's love for horror flicks by paying tribute to Dario Argento's "Suspiria" in "Tränenpalast" with extreme metal vocal coach Britta Görtz (HIRAES) adding her own vicious tone over dark-yet-catchy melodies. "Barbarian", "Deathscream" and "Psychotic Imperator" deliver your fix of merciless riffs, majestic leads by guitarist Yli-Sirniö and some of drummer Ventor's fastest parts ever.

A novelty to "Krushers Of The World" is immediately obvious when staring at its cover. With 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.

In essence, "Krushers Of The World" is, of course, not a throwback to KREATOR's past, it is furious, massive sounding and creative in its own right, gifted with a songwriting quality honed over years. It displays a band which earned its spot among the giants of the genre, and developed its youthful anger further into a professional, internationally successful, nonetheless intimidating creature. "Krushers Of The World" underlines the fact that fueled by the reflective look at their own legacy sparked by 2025's "Hate & Hope" movie, KREATOR nowadays appear more mindful of their early days while simultaneously progressing uncompromisingly, unstoppable in their search for new realms to conquer and new worlds to krush.

"Hate Über Alles" 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 Leclercq, who joined the group in 2019.

The official KREATOR documentary, "Hate & Hope", was shown on July 2 at the 42nd Munich International Film Festival and received a theatrical premiere on September 4. 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