Kreator ‎"Cause For Conflict" CD

We all know what happened to thrash metal in the 90s and for some bands - like Kreator - it wasn't really a disadvantage (unless you ask the majority of Kreator fans). I'm very happy that Kreator got to experiment with their sound and expand it from being "just" a thrash metal act. 'Cause for Conflict', just like their other albums from the nineties, is different, but not too different.
This album definitely achieved something. I listened to it in heaps after i first discovered it. It's groove metal, industrial and weird, while still being pure aggressive thrash. You would think that's a really strange anomaly, which it is but it just works perfectly. I can't even really tell why, I guess the composers just did a very good job on this. Mille Petrozza and Frank Blackfire seem to be a great combination (the albums with both of these are my favourites). This album sounds so strange at times but never lacks any energy, creativity or originality. It works perfectly as what it is, a combination of groove and thrash metal combined with industrial and other weird elements. I have to add though, that "Cause for Conflict" really is one of the most aggressive sounding Kreator albums. The vocals are very anger led, the riffing is ridiculously tight and energetic and so are the drums. Just by hearing the album for the first time I could tell there was a different drummer on it. Joe Cangelosi is a true enrichment for this, I'm really not sure if this album would have been as good with Ventor on it, who is also a great drummer but has a different style. Cangelosi has a completely different approach which fits very well to the overall sound of this album. It gets ridiculously fast at times, but never lacks authenticity.
You could say this is some sort of modern thrash metal (I would rather use that term for albums like Phantom Antichrist though). So what is this album, post thrash metal? Not really, it's really just a thrash metal explosion with other interesting elements to it that make the whole record appear kind of weird but at the same time very interesting. It keeps your attention from beginning to end, for me at least. Maybe you can call it groove thrash metal or industrial thrash, but it really doesn't matter. To me, this album is a perfect nineties thrash metal anomaly. Some people complain about the "shaky" production sound and some even say it sounds boring (which I really can't understand). I'm really glad they did it the way they did it, songwriting and production sound are very well done. Every instrument (as well as the vocals) oozes Aggression and Energy, without ever feeling bland, "Cause for Conflict" is a very creative and interesting thrash metal album without lacking the vigor that thrash metal needs. As I said before, this album is a pretty aggressive one, much in contrary to the newer, more modern Kreator albums. However it never feels like its missing something, it got alot going on. If I had anything negative to say about this record it would be the very few slight cumbersome appearing moments, but those really barely even happen.
After the many listenings I've had for this album, all I can say is go listen to this as soon as you can. "Cause for Conflict" is addictive as hell and if you have an open mind for thrash metal you will definitely like this, especially after listening to maybe one of the best final tracks ever, which wraps up this whole thing perfectly. The 90s brought us some abominations, album, band and genre wise, but this is certainly not one of them

Official promo video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

Official promo video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

Sample: https://www.youtube.com/watch?...