German thrash legends Kreator have channelled their inner horror buff for Halloween, releasing a macabre new single, Tränenpalast, inspired by Dario Argento’s 1977 cult classic Suspiria. The track arrives ahead of the band’s sixteenth studio album, Krushers Of The World, due out 16 January 2026 through Nuclear Blast Records.
The video, directed by Poland’s ever-creepy visual outfit Grupa 13, finds Kreator performing inside Suspiria’s haunted ballet school – a suitably gothic choice for a band that has always flirted with the darker side of art and aggression. Between bursts of blood-red lighting and spectral dancers, the clip nods directly to the film’s mythic “three mothers” – the sinister witch coven at the heart of Argento’s technicolour nightmare.
Frontman Mille Petrozza says the new track is a love letter to Italian horror and progressive rock. “Tränenpalast is our tribute to the great tradition of Italian cinema,” he explains. “We drew inspiration from Dario Argento’s classic Suspiria and Luca Guadagnino’s epic remake. Musically, we bow to Goblin, in direct conversation with maestro Claudio Simonetti. Only love to the greats – hail to the hordes!”
True to that promise, Tränenpalast weaves Goblin’s eerie score through Kreator’s thrash DNA, blending melody and menace. The single also features guest vocals from Britta Görtz of melodic death outfit Hiraes, who brings a demonic counterpoint to Petrozza’s roar. It’s an unexpected collaboration that works brilliantly – Görtz’s tone cuts through the track like a scalpel through silk, adding a gothic texture rarely heard in Kreator’s catalogue.
Kreator have never shied away from evolution. Formed in 1982 in Essen – a city once cloaked in industrial gloom – they emerged as part of the so-called “Big Four of Teutonic Thrash”, alongside Destruction, Sodom and Tankard. While Britain gave us Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden, and America birthed Metallica and Slayer, Germany’s answer came in the form of Kreator: fast, furious, and fuelled by working-class rage.
Their 1986 album Pleasure To Kill remains one of thrash metal’s defining moments, cited as a blueprint by death metal pioneers from Cannibal Corpse to Morbid Angel. Through the ‘80s and early ‘90s, albums like Terrible Certainty, Extreme Aggression and Coma Of Souls cemented their reputation as the heaviest of Europe’s metal elite.
The ‘90s saw Kreator experiment with industrial and gothic textures – not always popular with purists, but part of the band’s restless DNA. By the 2000s, they returned to form with Violent Revolution and Enemy Of God, reasserting their place in the modern thrash hierarchy. Their more recent albums, Phantom Antichrist (2012) and Gods Of Violence (2017), found them hitting German chart highs, including a Number One – proof that age and fury can indeed coexist.
The new album, Krushers Of The World, continues that unrelenting trajectory. Produced by Jens Bogren (Opeth, Sepultura), the record opens with the blistering Seven Serpents before diving into a ten-track journey of chaos, catharsis and perfectly executed carnage. The artwork, created by Zbigniew Bielak (Ghost, Behemoth), pays homage to Kreator’s history – a richly detailed collage of occult imagery and visual nods to past records like Coma Of Souls and Pleasure To Kill.
Krushers Of The World – Tracklisting:
01. Seven Serpents
02. Satanic Anarchy
03. Krushers Of The World
04. Tränenpalast
05. Barbarian
06. Blood Of Our Blood
07. Combatants
08. Psychotic Imperator
09. Deathscream
10. Loyal To The Grave
The band’s current line-up – Petrozza, founding drummer Jürgen “Ventor” Reil, guitarist Sami Yli-Sirniö, and bassist Frédéric Leclercq (ex-DragonForce) – remains one of the tightest of their 43-year career.
Kreator’s return with Tränenpalast isn’t just another pre-album teaser; it’s a reaffirmation that thrash still has teeth – sharp, cinematic, and dripping in menace. As Petrozza’s voice snarls over the final chorus, one thing is clear: horror and heavy metal were always destined to share the same blood type.
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