Past Life Trauma (1985-1992)  (Audio CD) 
by Kreator

Every song sounds pretty much the same. They have annoying vocals (either growl or sing, don't do some half-assed excuse for either), pretty standard musicians and they're amatuerish song-writing leaves a lot to be desired. If you want death, listen to Morbid Angel or Cryptopsy. If you want thrash, stick with Metallica and Anthrax. If want a mixture of the two then Sepultura or Slayer will do nicely. Quite frankly, this just an average, unexciting romp through the cliches of how non-metallers view metal and I'd recommend that you don't bother with it.

4 of 4 found the following review helpful:

Good overview; worthwhile rarities  Jun 27, 2001
A nice overall job presenting a compilation from one of the best speed/thrash/death bands. No metal fan should be without Kreator. Many of their best compositions are here. My only beef is that I think the track list draws too heavily from the first couple albums, which were fresh and influential at the time, but not nearly as skillful and powerful as later albums. Their playing, writing, and production improved so much over the first few years, you can really hear the difference, so why bother with so much early stuff, which sounds dated - it's still kid's stuff-- while the middle period stuff does not. Another beef: the classic album "Terrible Certainty" gets only one song here - c'mon! It's as brutal as the earlier stuff but much more accomplished and interesting. Still, the landmark "Coma of Souls" -- their most complex speed/thrash album -- gets a nice 3 tracks, so I can't complain too much. Plus, the rarities are good enough to entice the hardcore fans. "Winter Marytrium" & "Europe After the Rain" are previously unreleased live versions; very good. Trauma is a Renewal demo and great; After the Attack is from '87 and sounds like it's from Pleasure to Kill and is great as well -- simple but strong song with a nice change going into the chorus. The booklet is huge, with lots of pics of Kreator and other bands of the era, artwork, lyrics to all songs, and brief song by song commentaries by Mille. Overall, kudos - this is NOT just a record company hack job pushed out for profits. Or if it is, at least they treated the music, the band, and fans with respect in regard to packaging, good remastering job, and bonus tracks. Be sure to also check out Kreator's more recent albums, like "Endorama" & "Outcast". They've come a long way without compromising.

1 of 1 found the following review helpful:

A best of bests  Mar 09, 2001
A very good best-of album from another german titan in the 80's thrash metal scene.It gives the opportunity to the listener to enjoy all the songs that made Kreator one of the best bands.