50 Best Hard Rock & Heavy Metal Albums Of 2017

With it coming four-and-a-half agonisingly long years after Kreator’s prior album Phantom Antichrist (2012), the pressure really was on the Teutonic thrash titans’ fourteenth record to be a great one by the time it saw the light in January. But nobody was expecting Gods of Violence to be just as magnificent as it ultimately was.

Becoming the first real candidate for metal album of the year, Gods of Violence hit the extreme metal nail on the head and knew exactly what Kreator fans were craving: melodic death metal leads, thrash metal rhythms, abrasive yet simple choruses and, above all else, just being the most adrenaline-pumping record on the planet.

With the album being as high as it is on this list, it practically goes without saying that it succeeded in every respect it aimed to, going above and beyond in the evil “Satan Is Real”, the surprisingly heartfelt “Fallen Brother” and the acoustic-turned-anarchic “Death Becomes My Light”.

In turn, Gods of Violence spelt continued and accelerated success for Kreator, who would almost immediately after its release lead one of the biggest metal bills to hit the UK in 2017, headlining a giant tour with support from Soilwork and Sepultura.