Pleasure to Kill
Pleasure to Kill is the second studio album by German thrash metal band Kreator, released in November 1986 by Noise Records. Pleasure to Kill is widely considered a thrash metal classic,[2][3][4] as well as a landmark album in the history of thrash metal along with Master of Puppets by Metallica, Peace Sells... but Who's Buying? by Megadeth, Reign in Blood by Slayer, Eternal Devastation by Destruction and Darkness Descends by Dark Angel, all released in 1986.[5] The album played a considerable role in the development of many extreme metal subgenres, and death metal bands such as Cannibal Corpse cite the album as an influence.[6][5][7] The lyrical themes follow those found on their first album Endless Pain, containing descriptions of macabre scenes of death and horror. Just like that album and Terrible Certainty, Kreator were mostly a three-piece band during the recording of Pleasure to Kill; on some early pressings, guitarist Michael Wulf, who was briefly a member of Kreator, was erroneously credited as a band member in the liner notes.[1]
Pleasure to Kill | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | November 1, 1986[1] | |||
Recorded | Musiclab in Berlin, Germany, 1986 | |||
Genre | Thrash metal | |||
Length | 38:42 | |||
Label | Noise | |||
Producer | Harris Johns, Ralf Hubert | |||
Kreator chronology | ||||
|
Reception
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Allmusic |
Reception
AllMusic writer Jason Anderson gave the album a rating of four stars out of five, and wrote, "Many in the underground metal scene were already paying special attention to the German outfit's proto-death sound, but the cult status was shed after this critically and commercially successful second effort hit record-store shelves. As fierce and unyielding as the group's debut, Endless Pain, was, Pleasure to Kill provides double the sonic carnage and superior material."[8]
Commercial performance
Coinciding with the 2017 remastered issue, Pleasure to Kill charted for the first time 31 years after its release, and peaked at number 99 on the German Charts. The remastered edition of the band's 1989 album Extreme Aggression charted on the same day.[9]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Mille Petrozza, except as noted.
No. | Title | Music | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Choir of the Damned" | 1:39 | |
2. | "Ripping Corpse" | 3:36 | |
3. | "Death Is Your Saviour" |
| 3:58 |
4. | "Pleasure to Kill" | 4:11 | |
5. | "Riot of Violence" |
| 4:56 |
6. | "The Pestilence" | 6:58 | |
7. | "Carrion" |
| 4:48 |
8. | "Command of the Blade" |
| 3:57 |
9. | "Under the Guillotine" | 4:38 | |
Total length: | 38:41 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Choir of the Damned" | 1:39 |
2. | "Ripping Corpse" | 3:36 |
3. | "Death Is Your Saviour" | 3:58 |
4. | "Pleasure to Kill" | 4:11 |
5. | "Riot of Violence" | 4:56 |
6. | "After the Attack" (bonus track) | 3:43 |
7. | "The Pestilence" | 6:58 |
8. | "Carrion" | 4:48 |
9. | "Command of the Blade" | 3:57 |
10. | "Under the Guillotine" | 4:38 |
Total length: | 42:24 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
11. | "Flag of Hate" (taken from Flag of Hate EP) | 3:55 |
12. | "Take Their Lives" (taken from Flag of Hate EP) | 6:27 |
13. | "Awakening of the Gods" (taken from Flag of Hate EP) | 7:30 |
14. | "Endless Pain" (taken from Endless Pain) | 3:22 |
15. | "Tormentor" (taken from Endless Pain) | 2:52 |
16. | "Total Death" (taken from Endless Pain) | 3:26 |
Total length: | 66:13 |
Personnel
- Kreator
- Production
- Fred Baumgart – photography
- Ralf Hubert – producer
- Harris Johns – producer, engineer
- Kreator – photography
- Phil Lawvere – cover artwork
- Maren Layout – design
- Mille Petrozza – remastering
- Karl-Ulrich Walterbach – executive producer
Charts
Chart (2017) | Peak position |
---|---|
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[11] | 99 |
Trivia
- Varg Vikernes of Burzum was wearing a shirt of the album after the killing of Øystein Aarseth because his clothes were bloody.[12]
- In the German Netflix series Dark the song Pleasure to Kill is listened to by the character Ulrich Nielsen and cited multiple times by Egon Tiedemann.
References
- "32 Years Ago: Kreator Push Limits With 'Pleasure To Kill'". www.loudwire.com. Retrieved October 9, 2019.
- Blackmore, Ken. "Review of Pleasure to Kill". Sorted Magazine. Retrieved March 26, 2007.
- "HailMetal.com's Top 50 Thrash Albums of All Time". HailMetal.com. 2006. Retrieved March 26, 2007.
- Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Kreator Biography". Allmusic. Retrieved March 26, 2007.
- "The History of Thrash Metal". Metal and Horror Movies. Archived from the original on April 28, 2007. Retrieved December 7, 2011.
- "CD Gallery - Kreator". No Life 'til Metal. Retrieved December 7, 2011.
- "Interview with Cannibal Corpse". Invisible Oranges. Archived from the original on July 3, 2007. Retrieved December 7, 2011.
- Anderson, Jason. "Pleasure to Kill - Kreator". Allmusic. Retrieved December 14, 2010.
- "Kreator > Longplay-Chartverfolgung" (in German). PhonoNet. Archived from the original on March 27, 2012. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
- "Top 10 Thrash Albums NOT Released by the Big 4". Loudwire.com. October 8, 2015. Retrieved September 4, 2019.
- "Offiziellecharts.de – Kreator – Pleasure to Kill" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
- A Burzum Story: Part II - Euronymous Retrieved 8 April 2010.