Enemy Of God is a poke in the eye to certain big name Thrash bands who have deluded themselves into thinking that having a modern sound is impossible without playing lowest common denominator bubblegum 'Thrash'. What Kreator have done here is provided a follow-up to Violent Revolution, an album that sounds modern without sacrificing any Thrash brutality or falling into stereotypical Lamb Of God style 'jugga-jugga-jugga-harmonic!' riffing. If this is the kind of thing we will be listening to in the 21st century, I for one could certainly get used to it.

The album opens with a distinctly traditional Thrash riff which sets the tone for the majority of the album. One of this album's strengths is that it is consistantly heavy without becoming one-dimensional - there is enough variation within the songs to keep them generally distinct and individual. Breakneck open string riffing, though not entirely common, shares space with more melodic and chord-based patterns without awkwardly jumping between speeds, and the more tranquil moments are used sparingly enough to keep the album heavy. Indeed, the intro to Voices Of The Dead utilises some haunting, subtle lead guitar work behind the bass riff, arpeggios and semi-spoken word lyrics to lead it so naturally into the heavier main part of the song. This song inparticular is quite interesting for using melodies that wouldn't sound too out of place on an (dare I say it?) emo song. Thankfully the song and the album as a whole keep the heaviness up high enough to make it acceptable. Melody is given it's fair share of playtime, making the energy still remain pleasing to the ears.

Part of this strength in keeping the album routinely heavy comes from the vocal attack of Miland Petrozza. One thing you have to love about the Germans is how the accent gives their voices a naturally aggressive edge that is suited to this style of music, and what aggression! The spite and venom drips from each lyric that spits contempt at the human nature and failings of modern society. This is no more apparent than on World Anarchy, where towards the end the delivery is so aggressive that he saturates the mix. Utterly fantastic!

This consistancy also leads to what I find to be the album's only major failing. Upon first listen, once the first few songs have sped by the album becomes almost like one long song with a pause every four minutes or so. With repeated listening the individuality of each song becomes apparent, but perhaps not to the extent that might lead you to forgetting how track x goes when you try to hum it afterwards. Perhaps if the album fails to grab a listener early on, the rest will simply go over their head. Once you're hooked though, no doubt that repeated listenings will be rewarded as each song and fist-banging chorus becomes more apparent.

At the end of the day, a fan of Thrash Metal will no doubt be happy to hear this over and over again. As a latecomer to the band, I am happy at being able to compare their old material to a new album like this, and hear a band that has matured and grown without losing any edge or aggression. A distinct, and damn heavy album with it's memorable moments (I challenge you not to be grunting Impossibly Brutality to yourself after two listens!) - who says Thrash is dead?!

Standout Tracks:  Enemy Of God, Impossibly Brutality, World Anarchy.

Overall Score:   8 /10