Musically, Kreator – a band that fuses New Wave of British Heavy Metal instrumentation with black-metal vocals; think Iron Maiden meets Venom – have always been an acquired taste. But visually, as demonstrated so brutally in Live Kreation-Revisioned Glory, Kreator merits attention. From the possessed appearance of singer and guitarist Mille Petrozza, who hunches over his microphone on stage, thick strands of dark hair obscuring his face, and allows all sorts of creepy things to be done to him in the band's video clips, to the machine-like precision of bassist Christian "Speesy" Giesler's head-banging prowess to the stage itself, which is often showered with smoke bombs and debris, Kreator thrives on khaos.
The main attraction here is a 91-minute concert film that includes about two-thirds of the songs featured on a companion double-CD set called Live Kreation. Filmed in front of typically voracious European and Asian metal crowds on the 2001-2002 Violent Revolution Tour, these performances cover the band's entire career and find Kreator playing a variety of venues with what appears to be a variety of different stage sets – some simple, others elaborate, all trashed. Camcorder footage of fans all over the world, including some surprisingly intense shots captured in the United States, is interspersed every couple songs to provide a break from the aural onslaught. The concert and off-stage footage is often blurry and alternates between black-and-white and color. Althought considered shoddy for some bands, the low-budget appearance is nearly perfect for this band.
Even more visual than the concert are the 10 video clips that are part of a 55-minute documentary-style history of Kreator, complete with narrator. Most of the videos probably never aired much (if at all) in the United States. And with good reason. Graphically violent and disturbingly real, they feature faceless figures walking through barren landscapes, close-range killings, and plenty of blood and religious imagery.
Mixed in 5.1 Dolby Digital Sound, this DVD also includes two bonus videos from Kreator's performance at Germany's With Full Force Festival, discography and merchandise screens and a Web link with DVD Connector. Live Kreation-Revisioned Glory is a worthwhile set for longtime hardcore fans – especially if they pick up the deluxe limited edition, which includes the DVD and two CDs in one exquisitely packaged box – but it could get a tad monotonous for casual viewers. The music is solid and often electrifying, but Petrozza is an alum from the old school of thrash, and when he admits in the documentary in his thickly accented voice, "I try to sing," he speaks the truth.
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