''Coma of Souls'' is the fifth studio album by German

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...

band

Kreator Kreator is a German thrash metal band from Essen, formed in 1982. Their current lineup consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Miland "Mille" Petrozza, drummer Jürgen "Ventor" Reil, lead guitarist Sami Yli-Sirniö, and bassist Frédé ...

, released in 1990. It was reissued in 2002, with the lyrics for the last four songs missing from the booklet. ''Coma of Souls'' was Kreator's first release with guitarist Frank "Blackfire" Gosdzik (then-formerly of Sodom), and would be the last album before the band began experimenting with influences from other musical genres. It also would be the last record issued in the United States by Epic Records.

Release

''Coma of Souls'' was also released in the United States as a limited edition in purple

vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...

. Although the album's lyrics contain no profanity, original copies of ''Coma of Souls'' had a

Parental Advisory Advisory (abbreviated PAL) is a warning label introduced by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 1985 and adopted by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) in 2011. It is placed on audio recordings in recognition of profan ...

label on the cover. Subsequent pressings of the album do not carry the Parental Advisory label. In March 2018, German record label

Noise Noise is unwanted sound considered unpleasant, loud or disruptive to hearing. From a physics standpoint, there is no distinction between noise and desired sound, as both are vibrations through a medium, such as air or water. The difference aris ...

released a remastered edition of the album and made it available on CD and vinyl. The release contains a live performance of Kreator at Stadthalle

Fürth Fürth (; East Franconian: ; yi, פיורדא, Fiurda) is a city in northern Bavaria, Germany, in the administrative division ('' Regierungsbezirk'') of Middle Franconia. It is now contiguous with the larger city of Nuremberg, the centres of the ...

, Germany on 6 December 1990, and

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are desc ...

Critical reception

'' Billboard'' in its favourable review compared the songwriting of Kreator with that of Metallica and

Nuclear Assault Nuclear Assault was an American thrash metal band formed in New York City in 1984. Part of the mid-to-late 1980s thrash metal movement, they were one of the main bands of the genre to emerge from the East Coast along with Overkill, Whiplash, ...

and noted lyrical topics: "Songs targeting environmental crisis, war-mongering, and renascent

Nazism Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) i ...

in band's native land ..Ecodisaster number 'When The Sun Burns Red' is excellent first course." '' Rock Hard'' reviewer considered ''Coma of Souls'' an improvement from its predecessor and wrote that "the new songs look mature, elaborately designed, without losing their aggressiveness." Eduardo Rivadavia of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

praised the "overwhelmingly solid songwriting", but found that "''Coma of Souls'' still sounded somewhat repetitive to all but the most unquestioning of fans" and was "guaranteed to thrill lovers of technically proficient thrash."

Track listings

Personnel

Kreator * Mille Petrozza – vocals, rhythm guitar * Frank "Blackfire" Gosdzik – lead guitar * Rob Fioretti – bass * Ventor – drums Production * Randy Burns – producer, engineer, mixing at Music Grinder, Hollywood * Steve Heinke – engineer, mixing * Jason Roberts – engineer * Andreas Marschall – artwork * Martin Becker – photos *Karl Ulrich Walterbach – executive producer 2018 reissue technical personnel * Steve Hammonds – compilation * Andy Pearce, Matt Wortham – mastering * Olman Viper – live mastering * Thomas Ewerhard, Jan Meininghaus – art and design * Holger Stratmann, Thomas Simon – additional photos *

Malcolm Dome Malcolm Dome (1955 – 29 October 2021) was an English music journalist. He wrote about rock and heavy metal from 1979. In addition to writing books, he was a journalist for ''Record Mirror'', ''Kerrang!'', ''Metal Hammer'' and ''Classic Roc ...

– sleeve notes

Charts

References

{{Authority control Kreator albums 1990 albums Noise Records albums Epic Records albums