By Andrew Catania
An influential vocalist, composer, guitarist and more, Mille Petrozza is a reflection of what today’s unique European thrash metal consists of. Being of Italian and Calabria descent and born in Germany – Petrozza’s music is globally appreciated across diverse cultures.
As the lead vocalist, founder and guitarist of the band Kreator (previously known as Tyrant in 1982 and Tormentor in 1984), Mille Petrozza has been an influential figure in the musical industry since the past 32 years when Kreator debuted their first album titled Endless Pain.
His experience as a musician has been diverse, ranging from thrash metal to goth to industrial and back to thrash metal. His love for experimenting with new styles has led Kreator to become one of the most skilled bands in European history.
Apart from Kreator, Petrozza also played the guitar for the all-star band Voodoocult along with other band members such as Dave Lombardo of Slayer and Chuck Schuldiner of Death. He also made appearances as a lead vocalist in Edguy’s album Hellfire Club, Caliban’s album The Undying Album, Volbeat’s 2010 album Beyond Hell/Above Heaven and has composed albums for Demonical, Pessimist, Cannibal Corpose, Vader, Abigor and others.
In terms of lyrical style, Petrozza is deeply inspired by contemporary relevant themes such as religion. Metaphorical by nature, his songs are not an explicit take on the theme but more of a the relevance of the theme in today’s world. For example, he is quoted to have said that “Satan Is Real” is me wondering why it’s still relevant in 2017.” His aim is to drive change through his music, by appreciating that the world has come a long way from what it used to and that reevaluating our beliefs is the aim of his music. For example, he believes that “people take it (religion) so seriously that they seem to be OK with doing all this bizarre stuff or even dying for religion, because they believe this stuff.”
What makes Mille Petrozza truly unique is his deep-vested interest in changing society through his music. He believes that the themes of Kreator’s music will always be relevant, an internal struggle of good versus evil. Good is subjective and the music aims to lead attitude towards acceptance of all kinds of people, views and beliefs. This belief runs into his personal life, where despite being a vegan, he is close friends with a hunter.
In terms of equipment and skill, Petrozza prefers to experiment with a varieties of instruments. From playing a B.C. Rich Mockingbird in the mid 1980’s – a guitar very similar to the one played by Kerry King of Slayer at the same time – he now uses Jackson Live models.
Kreator has the talent and skill to become one of the “Big Four.” Petrozza’s lyrics, skillful playing, excellent musicianship could easily replace and of the “Big Four.”
Despite his violent playing style and threatening vocals, Petrozza uses music as nothing if not a tool for social change. His style reflects the anger an ideal teenager would feel when faced with the injustices in the world. Perhaps this is why the lyrics of Kreator are what draws people to dissect every piece ever produced – an almost magical remedy to the pain in this world.
Follow Kreator @ http://kreator-terrorzone.de/