As an initial skeptic of Kreator before their tour with Sabaton in 2018, I have to say that I’ve been completely overtaken by their music in the past few years. From journeying all the way back to ’85 and tracks like “Tormentor” to 2017’s ‘Gods of Violence’ album and tracks like “Satan Is Real” and “Side By Side”.

With a stage performance fueled by eccentric lighting and ferocious riffs, this is a band that stays true to Thrash metal founding while still progressively pushing the boundaries on their own capabilities. Released more than 2 weeks ago, their newest track off the up-coming album ‘Hate Über Alles‘, titled “Midnight Sun” has been a song that’s grown on me an increasing amount since my initial listen on its release date.

The track features the vocal addition of Sofia Portanet, a singer/songwriter also from Germany who has taken the New Wave scene by storm. Lending not only her vocals but, her acting skills to the Music Video as well, this track takes on a Midsommar vibe, culling its victims over time until realization comes too little too late.

This is the first time Kreator has collaborated with a female artist, a different take for them but, nothing short of sensational. Sofia’s vocals are soft and gentle yet, hauntingly alluring, as if to pull us in uttering “would you kill for me?” like a siren, as we are overtaken by ritualistic frenzy. Taking up the voices of the Härga, it retells Midsommar with its own twists and turns. To become one of the nine, and enter the dance around the maypole to become Queen.

Storm clouds carry in a fear we never knew we had, a chainsaw falling straight onto our faces, running at full force. With nightmarish visions featuring skeletal faces, and blackened ruins, you find yourself enveloped by the traditions – the cloaked figures, pyres, and incantations spoken beneath a whirling sun.

On my initial listen, I enjoyed the song but, I wasn’t taken in by it, yet I find myself singing it in my head at random intervals, and listening to it over and over, having it catch me off guard on random playthroughs on my playlist until now, I am captivated by it.

You can pre-order your copy of ‘Hate Über Alles‘ out on June 10th, here. And you can catch some of Sofia‘s releases via her Spotify here.