German thrashers KREATOR have released the official music video for "Strongest Of The Strong", the second single from their forthcoming fifteenth studio album, "Hate Über Alles". The unrelenting mid-tempo track definitely lives up to its name and quite fittingly features renowned strongman and vegan advocate Patrik Baboumian who adds thundering backing vocals to the song's anthemic chorus. Patrik also appears in the music video for the song as the comic book character Earthraiser who's fighting for animals and nature. The video was directed by Tom Schlagkamp and shot in South Africa.
KREATOR guitarist/vocalist Mille Petrozza comments: "'Strongest Of The Strong' represents every person on this planet who is striving to become a force of good in a world filled with a lot of bad. It's a straightforward banger with a message that only one man could carry; his name is Patrik 'Earthraiser' Baboumian! Great working with him in the studio and on the music video, a man with a lot of shared values with my own. We hope you enjoy!"
"Hate Über Alles" will be released on June 10 via Nuclear Blast. The follow-up to 2017's "Gods Of Violence" was recorded at Hansa Tonstudio in Berlin, Germany. Helming the sessions was Arthur Rizk, who has previously worked with CAVALERA CONSPIRACY, CODE ORANGE, POWER TRIP and SOULFLY, among others.
Regarding the "Hate Über Alles" album title, Petrozza previously said: "'Hate Über Alles' reflects the time we're living in. Everything is really loud and aggressive. The way we communicate has changed, thanks to social media. It causes a lot of imbalance. The world is in a state of disrepair. Life is not harmonic right now, it's disharmonic… that's where I was going with the title."
The "Hate Über Alles" cover artwork was created by Eliran Kantor, who has previously worked with HATEBREED, SOULFLY, TESTAMENT, ICED EARTH and SODOM, among others.
"Hate Über Alles" track listing:
01. Sergio Corbucci Is Dead
02. Hate Über Alles
03. Killer Of Jesus
04. Crush The Tyrants
05. Strongest Of The Strong
06. Become Immortal
07. Conquer And Destroy
08. Midnight Sun
09. Demonic Future
10. Pride Comes Before The Fall
11. Dying Planet
Last year, Petrozza told the official podcast of Italy's Metalitalia.com about the musical direction of the band's new LP: "It's definitely different. It's hard for me to describe, but I think it's definitely more thrash again. It has a lot of melody, and it has a lot of traditional parts, and it has a lot of ingredients of the last four or five albums. But it also has some very old-school moments. I think it's definitely the next step."
"Hate Über Alles" marks KREATOR's first album with bassist Frédéric Leclercq, who joined the group in 2019.
In September 2020, KREATOR guitarist Sami Yli-Sirniö described the sessions for the band's new album to Italy's Poisoned Rock as "a lot of fun," adding that the "mood" in the band "is great. And the general vibe and the atmosphere is very good," he said. "[These are] creative times for KREATOR at the moment."
In March 2020, KREATOR surprise-released a new single, "666 - World Divided". The song was produced by Andy Sneap and Markus Ganter and was recorded at Hansa Tonstudios.
The music video for "666 - World Divided" was created under the direction of Jörn Heitmann, who was responsible for the music videos for "Radio" and "Ausländer" by RAMMSTEIN.
KREATOR played its first show with Leclercq in October 2019 in Santiago, Chile.
Before joining KREATOR, Leclercq rose to fame with U.K.-based extreme power metallers DRAGONFORCE for whom he handled bass duties from 2005 until August 2019.
KREATOR's previously announced "State Of Unrest" European tour with LAMB OF GOD has been rescheduled for November/December 2022 in the wake of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
KREATOR released a new live set, "London Apocalypticon - Live At The Roundhouse", in February 2020 via Nuclear Blast. The effort was professionally filmed and recorded on December 16, 2018 at the Roundhouse in London, England.
