If there’s one thing at least most of us can agree on at this point, it’s that hate is entirely too prevalent in modern society and needs to be eradicated. Not a groundbreaking concept, one would think, but one that has been tested in recent years for sure. On the theme of overthrowing hate, newest Kreator band member, bassist and vocalist Frédéric Leclercq, has plenty to say relating that concept to the group’s latest record, Hate Über Alles, out via Nuclear Blast.
“As the newest member of the band, and Hate Über Alles therefore being my first album with the band, you can imagine that this is all very exciting to me,” he says. “I can also tell you that the other guys are also very excited with this new album because of newfound energy. Having a new member on board is always very rejuvenating, and being in a new band is also rejuvenating, so we all feel very strong and motivated as a band, and artistically, too. I think this new album is the best of both worlds because it keeps certain elements that the fans could find in the last two albums, but we also wanted to bring back some of the aggression and sense of urgency from the earlier years of the band. This is a very strong record, and I hope people will think the same.”
Kreator worked on the record in the summer of 2020, and then took time off before revisiting the material in 2021 and then heading to the studio. Like many bands, the slowness of music releases during COVID gave them a bit of extra time during the album.
“If we’ve learned something with COVID, it’s that we should be careful with planning stuff, Leclercq laughs. “We had to postpone our European co-headline tour with Lamb of God three times! As of now, it’s meant to happen in November or December of 2022. We are working on touring the U.S., too. It’s a little too early to tell, but I’ve heard some options, some names … I’m really looking forward to touring the U.S. with Kreator for the first time.”
While Leclercq doesn’t claim to take credit for the lyrics, he resonates with the meaning behind the new album.
“A song like ‘Hate Über Alles,’ for example, with the chorus speaking for itself: ‘Hate is the virus of the world.’ You can take that sentence and apply it to many, many things happening right now, unfortunately. We also have a song called ‘Midnight Sun’ inspired by the movie Midsommar. And then you’ve got ‘Become Immortal,’ which tells the story of the band and its creation back in ’84, ’85. So there’s a lot of different themes lyrically, and that’s, to me, very interesting.”
Watch the video for “Strongest Of The Strong” here:
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Photo courtesy of Vince Sadonis
