Some legends never die. Like a road roller scorching down an avenue on a slope, KREATOR timely came to reawake the metal impulse of a sleepy region with this unforgettable gig at the community hall of Gerzat (Clermont-Ferrand) on the rainy night of February 29th 2000. The flame of passion was definitely alight in the eyes of furious headbangers torn between nostalgia and great expectations for the follow-up of the grandiose "Endorama". A stage play beyond all reproach emphasized by a nice lighting and a (too?) devastating sound, KREATOR left their mark on this night, letting us hope for other events in the same vein soon. A bit tired and gruff but always courteous and self-confident, Mr Petrosa kindly lent himself to a shortened but instructive interview...
Thanks for accepting this interview. First of all let us talk about your latest album "Endorama", which is a pretty modern album. How does the feedback on "Endorama" look like so far?
Well, we've done this tour, and we did, like, our 41st show tonight, and on the whole tour we've had very good response, especially for the new songs. Some people of course are more familiar with the old material, which is normal because they know those songs better. The thing is that we did a great step with the evolution of our music, and it's something we want to continue.
Do you consider "Endorama" as a logical evolution, a natural process or rather a way to catch up with the expectations of the audience nowadays?
I don't think it's something like that. Of course the audience always expects you to come up with new ideas, which is good. But then again, first of all we write the music for ourselves. "Endorama" reflects what we like now. Basically I would call it a natural evolution even though the pressure from the competition is of course present, but in a very healthy way. We are not into the eighties ritual stuff anymore. We've just done that and I think it's necessary nowadays to play this music even though I am still into the old songs. So for KREATOR it's just something we wished to do and something we are very happy with.
In the same sort of idea, how do you judge the evolution of the metal scene in the 90's? In your opinion, how will it continue further in the future?
It's always good when there are bands out there trying to come up with new ideas. We've just finished the tour with MOONSPELL, which is one of those bands. And to me that's important. You know metal in general means creativity. For us it's something we want to modify and bring to the next millenium, to this millenium. You know, it is unnecessary to write songs like IRON MAIDEN nowadays...
Maybe you can disclose some of your plans for the future? Any recording sessions ahead?
Well, we are going to Moskow after this, and it's gonna be the last week of the tour. After that we are going to write new songs.
Maybe a live recording?
We don't know yet. We'll see.
About your tour now. You have been touring throughout Europe, and throughout the world I guess. What is your outlook on the differences between the different kinds of audiences? Is there a big gap for instance between Germany, France...
Well, France caught up in the last couple of years. The metal scene here got a little bigger, which is good. I mean before it was very hard for bands like KREATOR to even be recognized in France. Now it has got better, a lot better. I mean, we have played in Paris, it was sold out. This show tonight in Clermont-Ferrand was just added on the way back, it's not an official date of the tour, but the reaction of the audience was very good. I think nowadays people in France are more interested in metal.
A last question about your career. Did the "Renewal" album sell well? And why did you chose afterwards to release "Outcast" which was maybe more old-school-oriented?
"Renewal" sold very well considering that the audience was divided, because it was the first time that we made it clear that we didn't want to be ritual. With that you lose a lot of audience, because they want you to be THEIR band. The same thing happens to any band that progresses. And "Renewal" was a big shock for a lot of people because we were trying to put different musical styles into what we were doing. We were experimenting with loops, industrial noises and strange, well, for some people too modern songs.
So "Outcast" was maybe a way to gain your audience back?
No, I wouldn't say that. I mean, "Outcast" was a very modern metal record, even though it didn't have so many of the industrial influences. To me any record that KREATOR does is important for its time, it always represents what we are into. You know, you can't please the audience anyway. Once you do old songs, an old-school thrash metal album, a lot of the older audience would go "no!", they think it was better ten years ago. And if we release modern stuff, the audience thinks "no, they can't do it, they are not modern, they are an old band". There are so many things you can do, but you can never be sure of the reaction of the audience. I mean, you could write the best music in the world, and nobody would recognize it! There is nothing you can count on. It's always like being at the right time at the right place. It doesn't make sense. You should always try to write quality music, it's the only way you can reach your goal. It doesn't make sense to try to jumble trends, it won't bring you anywhere.
All right, that's all for tonight, maybe you have a last word for our listeners?
Yeah! Thanks for your support and keep listening to the Utter Dark radio show (note: got it?).
Interview taken by Bertrand Garnier on the 29th February 2000