Kreator
Explore the band's historical lineups, musicians, and studio albums.
Active9 formations16 studio albums
Formation chronology
Newest first
Formation 9 of 9
Sep 16, 2019 – Present
Members
- Mille PetrozzaLead Vocals, Rhythm GuitarFrom Sep 2019
- Sami Yli-SirniöLead Guitar, Backing VocalsFrom Sep 2019
- Frédéric LeclercqBass, Backing VocalsFrom Sep 2019
- Jürgen ReilDrumsFrom Sep 2019
Formation facts
- When Frédéric Leclercq left DragonForce, he talked about an opportunity he could not refuse. It was Kreator — a band he had loved for life, and a friendship with Mille more than fifteen years old. He said he still had to pinch himself. Mille welcomed him as a new chapter that would begin in Chile.
- On 20 July 2024 at Klash of the Ruhrpott in Gelsenkirchen, Kreator, Sodom, Destruction, and Tankard shared a bill as the Teutonic Four — the first time all four German thrash pillars stood on the same festival together.
- "Tränenpalast" is Kreator's homage to Dario Argento's Suspiria: a Goblin-echoing melody, lyrics nodding to the Three Mothers, and a ballet-school horror video. Hiraes vocalist Britta Görtz guests on that song and on "Deathscream" — a cameo, not a fifth member.
Studio albums
- Krushers of the World (Jan 2026)
- Hate Über Alles (Jun 2022)
Formation 8 of 9
2001 – Sep 15, 2019
Members
- Mille PetrozzaLead Vocals, Rhythm GuitarJan 2001 – Sep 2019
- Sami Yli-SirniöLead Guitar, Backing VocalsJan 2001 – Sep 2019
- Christian GieslerBass, Backing VocalsJan 2001 – Sep 2019
- Jürgen ReilDrumsJan 2001 – Sep 2019
Formation facts
- Sami Yli-Sirniö's first Kreator gig was an emergency. Tommy Vetterli had an arm injury; Sami learned the set in three or four days, played the show, and went home to Finland. Years later the band invited him into the Violent Revolution sessions. He has said he still did not know whether the job would last. It did — and it became his life.
- For Hordes of Chaos, Kreator mostly recorded as a band in the room, analog tape, few overdubs — the opposite of assembling a metal album in Pro Tools piece by piece. They hired Moses Schneider, known for German alternative and live-orchestra work rather than thrash, because he could capture that room.
- It took more than thirty years of records before Kreator topped the German album chart. Gods of Violence did it in 2017 — their first number one at home.
Studio albums
- Gods of Violence (Jan 2017)
- Phantom Antichrist (Jun 2012)
- Hordes of Chaos (Jan 2009)
- Enemy of God (Jan 2005)
- Violent Revolution (Sep 2001)
Formation 7 of 9
1996 – 2001
Members
- Mille PetrozzaLead Vocals, Rhythm GuitarJan 1996 – Jan 2001
- Tommy VetterliLead GuitarJan 1996 – Jan 2001
- Christian GieslerBassJan 1996 – Jan 2001
- Jürgen ReilDrumsJan 1996 – Jan 2001
Formation facts
- Looking back, Mille has called Endorama a goth album — the moment a thrash band discovered samplers and soundscapes. He has said it might have been his solo record, but he put it out as Kreator anyway, and he still defends those 1990s experiments: they made the records they needed to make, whether or not the old audience wanted them.
- Lacrimosa's Tilo Wolff sings as a guest on Endorama's title track — a gothic-metal cameo on a Kreator album, not a new member.
Studio albums
- Endorama (Apr 1999)
- Outcast (Jul 1997)
Formation 6 of 9
1994 – 1996
Members
- Mille PetrozzaLead Vocals, Rhythm GuitarJan 1994 – Jan 1996
- Frank GosdzikLead GuitarJan 1994 – Jan 1996
- Christian GieslerBassJan 1994 – Jan 1996
- Joe CangelosiDrumsJan 1994 – Jan 1996
Studio albums
- Cause for Conflict (Aug 1995)
Formation 5 of 9
1992 – 1994
Members
- Mille PetrozzaLead Vocals, Rhythm GuitarJan 1992 – Jan 1994
- Frank GosdzikLead GuitarJan 1992 – Jan 1994
- Andreas HerzBassJan 1992 – Jan 1994
- Jürgen ReilDrumsJan 1992 – Jan 1994
Formation facts
- Andreas "Herzi" Herz spent two years as Kreator's touring bassist without a studio album to his name. A 1993 German television crew followed the band through the Americas with him on bass. When he died in November 2023, Mille called him a fallen brother who had gone far too soon.
Formation 4 of 9
Aug 1989 – 1992
Members
- Mille PetrozzaLead Vocals, Rhythm GuitarAug 1989 – Jan 1992
- Frank GosdzikLead GuitarAug 1989 – Jan 1992
- Roberto FiorettiBassAug 1989 – Jan 1992
- Jürgen ReilDrumsAug 1989 – Jan 1992
Formation facts
- After recording Agent Orange, Frank Gosdzik could not stand playing in Sodom anymore. He was hanging out with Mille, who had guitar trouble of his own. They rehearsed for about three weeks, then Frank joined Kreator for the American Extreme Aggression tour — as a live guitarist, not as a player on the album that was already finished.
Studio albums
- Renewal (Oct 1992)
- Coma of Souls (Nov 1990)
Formation 3 of 9
Jan 1989 – Jun 19, 1989
Members
- Mille PetrozzaLead Vocals, GuitarsJan 1989 – Jun 1989
- Roberto FiorettiBassJan 1989 – Jun 1989
- Jürgen ReilDrumsJan 1989 – Jun 1989
Formation facts
- Extreme Aggression began in Germany and was thrown out. Frustrated with Tritze's guitar performances, Mille moved the album to Hollywood in January and February 1989, played the issued guitar parts himself, and still put Tritze's name on the sleeve. Frank Blackfire, who would soon join for the tour, is not on the released recording.
- Mille used to play a B.C. Rich until, as he put it, a "real nice friend" stole it. He switched to a Jackson.
Studio albums
- Extreme Aggression (Jun 1989)
Formation 2 of 9
1986 – Jun 1989
Members
- Mille PetrozzaLead Vocals, Rhythm GuitarJan 1986 – Jun 1989
- Jörg TrzebiatowskiLead GuitarJan 1986 – Jun 1989
- Roberto FiorettiBassJan 1986 – Jun 1989
- Jürgen ReilDrumsJan 1986 – Jun 1989
Formation facts
- Dark Tranquillity's Mikael Stanne has said the Kreator show at Kåren in Gothenburg changed his life. He was standing at the back when Tritze started tremolo-picking and headbanging without caring who was watching. Stanne wanted to do that. About two months later he was in a band. He also recalled calling Mille's parents' house as a teenager to ask for the lyrics to "Flag of Hate" — Mille said he didn't remember, and hung up.
- In 1989, German director Thomas Schadt filmed Thrash Altenessen — not a concert souvenir, but a social documentary about heavy metal in Essen, using Kreator to show what the Ruhr scene looked like offstage as well as on.
Studio albums
- Terrible Certainty (Sep 1987)
Formation 1 of 9
1982 – 1986
Members
- Mille PetrozzaLead Vocals, GuitarsJan 1982 – Jan 1986
- Jürgen ReilDrums, Backing VocalsJan 1982 – Jan 1986
- Roberto FiorettiBassJan 1982 – Jan 1986
Formation facts
- Mille Petrozza has said the word that became Kreator was inspired by Manowar's song "Mountains." The band thought "creator" sounded right — it was a spark from a lyric, not a claim that they had named themselves after the song.
- Before they were Kreator, Mille, Ventor, and Rob were school-age kids in Essen running through names — Metal Militia, Tyrant, Tormentor — and three-chord covers. Mille later said Tyrant was barely a band. The gearshift came when he brought in Venom's Welcome to Hell and told them to play everything faster, with more naive satanic lyrics. He still dates the moment it felt like a real band to 1985.
- Mille has said they played only a couple of gigs before recording Endless Pain, and that the debut was cut in about ten days. They were barely a live band when Noise committed them to tape.
- On Endless Pain the screaming is split down the middle. Ventor takes lead vocals on half the songs; Mille takes the other half — a two-frontman debut from a trio that later became known as Mille's voice.
- Michael Wulf, the Sodom guitarist, lasted only a few days in Kreator's live lineup. Some pressings still credit him on Pleasure to Kill. He did not play on the record — Mille handled the guitars as a three-piece.
Studio albums
- Pleasure to Kill (Apr 1986)
- Endless Pain (Oct 1985)