Kreator

Kreator are a German thrash metal band from Essen, Germany. They started their career in 1982, under the name Tormentor. They originally played thrash metal with Venom influences. The band is also influenced by Slayer, Metallica, Mercyful Fate, and Bathory. Their style of music is similar to their compatriots Destruction and Sodom, the other two big German thrash metal bands. All three of these bands are often credited with helping pioneer death metal, by containing several elements of what was to become the genre.

Kreator's work has been consistently in the vein of pure thrash metal, with the exception of four albums (Renewal, Cause for Conflict, Outcast, and Endorama) released in the 1990s when they experimented with other genres, incorporating industrial, gothic, and avant-garde elements into their sound.