Kreator "Extreme Aggression (1989 Japanese Edition, Epic Records)"

Extreme Aggression is the fourth studio album by German thrash metal band Kreator released in 1989. While the band had already gained a sizeable following in the US due to their 1988 tour with the crossover thrash band D.R.I., this album introduced many American fans to Kreator, primarily through heavy rotation of the "Betrayer" music video on MTV's Headbangers Ball, which was partly shot at the Acropolis in Athens, Greece. The beginning of the song "Love Us or Hate Us" was used in an early 1990s promo ad by the Los Angeles radio station KNAC. This was their first album issued in the US by Epic Records. The album was also available on picture disc vinyl.

The album's original artwork was that of a man standing in front of a bathroom mirror looking at the reflection of his face falling off, exposing Kreator's mascot demon underneath. However, it was quickly replaced with a new artwork, depicting an image of the band in front of an orange background.

Extreme Aggression was initially recorded in Germany, but those tapes were abandoned, with lead vocalist Mille Petrozza expressing frustration with the band's guitarist Jörg "Tritze" Trzebiatowski. Petrozza shifted the project to Los Angeles in the US, replacing Tritze with Sodom's guitarist Frank "Blackfire" Gosdzik. The album was recorded from January to February 1989 at the Music Grinder studio in Hollywood, California, with additional recording at E.Q. Sound and Cherokee Studios. Tritze was credited as guitarist on Extreme Aggression but his contributions were not included on the album, and he left the band after its release. Blackfire left Sodom and joined Kreator, playing the Extreme Aggression Tour to support the album.

Coinciding with the 2017 remastered issue, Extreme Aggression charted for the first time 28 years after its release, and peaked at number 90 on the German charts. The remastered edition of the band's 1986 album Pleasure to Kill charted on the same day.

Track listing

All songs by Kreator, all lyrics by Mille Petrozza

1. "Extreme Aggression" 4:44
2. "No Reason to Exist" 4:37
3. "Love Us or Hate Us" 3:42
4. "Stream of Consciousness" 3:53
5. "Some Pain Will Last" 5:39
6. "Betrayer" 3:59
7. "Don't Trust" 3:43
8. "Bringer of Torture" 2:15
9. "Fatal Energy" 4:57

Total length: 37:28

Recording information:

Recorded Jan.-Feb. 1989 Hollywood CA.

Tracked and mixed at the Music Grinder.

Additional recording at E.Q. Sound and Cherokee Studios.