Kreator, May 18

Monday, May 18, 7:30 p.m.

Capitol Theatre, 330 West Third Street, Davenport IA

Touring in support of this past January's Krushers of the World, the 16th studio album by the German thrash-metal outfit that debuted more than four decades ago, Kreator brings its latest North American tour to Davenport's Capitol Theatre on May 18, other recent smash hits for the band including Phantom Antichrist, Hate Über Allies, and 2017's chart-topping Gods of Violence.

Having originated in 1982, Kreator's current lineup consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Miland "Mille" Petrozza, drummer Jürgen "Ventor" Reil, lead guitarist Sami Yli-Sirniö, and bassist Frédéric Leclercq. The band's lineup has changed multiple times throughout its 44-year career, most noticeably their bassists and lead guitarists. Petrozza and Reil are the only two original members left in Kreator, although the latter left the band in 1994 but rejoined in 1996. Yli-Sirniö has been the lead guitarist of Kreator since 2001, while Leclercq joined in 2019 as the replacement of Christian "Speesy" Giesler, who had been in the band since 1994.

To date, Kreator has released 16 studio albums, two EPs, two live albums and three compilation albums. They gained a large underground fanbase within the international thrash metal community, with their second studio album Pleasure to Kill (1986) regarded as a particularly influential album for its genre. Many of Kreator's subsequent albums – including Terrible Certainty (1987), Extreme Aggression (1989), and Coma of Souls (1990) – were also highly acclaimed. Despite being an influential band, as well as one of the first European thrash-metal acts attached to a major label (signing to Epic Records in 1988), Kreator would not achieve mainstream popularity until later recordings, including their 13th studio album Phantom Antichrist (2012) and its follow-up Gods of Violence (2017), both of which charted highly in many countries, with the latter reaching number one on the German charts. Their latest studio album, Krushers of the World, was released this past January 16.

Kreator has achieved worldwide sales of more than 2 million units for combined sales of all their albums, making them one of the best-selling German thrash metal bands of all time. Along with Destruction, Sodom, and Tankard, they are credited as one of the "Big Four" of Teutonic thrash metal, responsible for developing and popularizing the German thrash-metal scene as well as pioneering the then-emerging death-metal and black-metal genres during the mid-1980s. The staff of Loudwire named Kreator the 31st best metal band of all time in 2016, while last year, Zahra Huselid of Screen Rant included the band in the site's list of "10 Best Thrash Metal Bands Who Weren't The Big Four."

Kreator brings its U.S. tour to Davenport on May 18 alongside special guests Carcass and Cold Steel, admission to the 7:30 p.m. concert event is $47-69, and more information and tickets are available by visiting FirstFleetConcerts.com/first-fleet-venues/capitol-theatre.