We caught up with Mille Petrozza, frontman of the legendary German thrash metal band Kreator, during their North American tour with Overkill and Warbringer. Mille spoke candidly about the chemistry within the band, the history of Kreator, his gear, and the evolving thrash metal scene.
Todd Owens: All right, this is Todd Owens with Capital Chaos TV, and we’re here with Mille Petrozza from the legendary Kreator. How you doing, Mille?
Mille Petrozza: I’m very good today! How are you?
Todd: Doing well! So, you’ve been on this tour with Overkill and Warbringer for about a month now. How’s the tour going?
Mille: Very nice, very nice. We all get along, and we all have—especially with Overkill—such a huge history in common. I mean, they’ve been around just as long as we have. We’ve toured with Warbringer before, so we’re good friends with those guys. It’s like one big happy family on this one.
Todd: How much input do you have into the bands you tour with?
Mille: Oh, I was definitely involved in planning. We’d never toured with Overkill before, but there had always been talks about it. We’ve always respected them, and we thought it would be a perfect match. A band like Overkill and Kreator touring together—it just makes sense.
Todd: You guys also share a label now, right?
Mille: Yes, we do. So everything came together in the end. I’m really happy it finally happened. The audience loves it. It’s a great match—people enjoy all the bands equally. No drama, no egos—just a great time.
Todd: You also released a new DVD recently, Dying Alive, about two months ago?
Mille: Yes! It’s a hometown show, filmed with 24 cameras, mixed by Jens Bogren. Very intense. It gives you a real impression of what a Kreator live show is all about. Of course, the best thing is to actually experience us live, but the DVD gives you a good feel for it. It’s our first live release since 2003, so it was definitely time.
Todd: Are there different editions of it?
Mille: Yes, there’s one edition called the “E-book” version. It’s almost like a vinyl-sized book, with great photos taken by our tour photographer. Then there are other editions—vinyl, DVD, etc. Tons of stuff out there.
Todd: Let’s go back a bit. You’ve had some lineup changes over the years, but this lineup has been stable for about 12 or 13 years, right?
Mille: Yes, we’ve been together since 2001 and have done four albums together. The chemistry just works. We get along most of the time, and we’ve figured out how to deal with each other. Being in a band can be psychologically stressful, especially when you’re on the road for months. But with this lineup, we’ve found a way to keep everyone happy.
Todd: Going way back, your first band was Tyrant around 1982, right? That was with Jürgen?
Mille: Yeah, but we were really young—not even a real band yet. That wasn’t really the beginning of Kreator, even though some people say it is. We started in 1982 when Ventor got his drum kit, but it took another three years to become a decent band. We only played two shows before we recorded our first album. The real birth of Kreator was 1985.
Todd: So Tyrant and Tormentor weren’t really Kreator?
Mille: Not exactly. Tyrant was just kids learning to play instruments. We played British Steel covers, Twisted Sister, Steppenwolf—whatever had three chords. Then we became Tormentor, which was more chaotic, almost black metal-ish. But still very different from Kreator. It was all part of the learning experience.
Todd: I’ve seen you mention Venom as a big influence?
Mille: Absolutely. We had all these typical heavy metal songs, and then one day I brought in Welcome to Hell by Venom. I suggested, “Let’s play everything faster—like Venom.” I rewrote the lyrics to be more satanic and aggressive. Very naive, very childish—but that was the start of Kreator.
Todd: And then Slayer, Metallica?
Mille: Yes, Metallica felt like gods to us. Too good to cover, but Venom was simple enough to play. Slayer felt like a mix between Venom and Metallica. Then we discovered Exodus, the whole tape-trading scene—bands like Hawaii (with a future Megadeth member), Savage Grace—a lot of great stuff that inspired us.
Todd: Over the last decade or so, thrash seems to have had a revival. Older bands like you, Overkill, Testament, Death Angel—even newer ones like Warbringer, Municipal Waste. What are your thoughts on the thrash scene today?
Mille: It’s healthy and strong. We recently toured in Europe with Fueled by Fire—great band, great guys. Warbringer too. Violator from Brazil. Municipal Waste—they’re almost considered “old” now, even though they still feel new. But we’re still waiting for that one band to drop a truly revolutionary thrash album. That hasn’t happened yet.
Todd: But the old bands are still strong?
Mille: Definitely. Testament just put out a great album. Overkill released two killer albums. Death Angel’s new one is great too. And yeah, I think Kreator’s recent work is strong, though I don’t want to talk about my own band too much. The old bands have learned from their past and are focused on doing what they do best—no more experimenting just for the sake of it.
Todd: Let’s talk about gear. You’ve played Jackson guitars forever, right? I think your first was a Randy Rhoads model?
Mille: Yeah, I got my first Jackson when I was 19, touring the U.S. with Voivod. It was a green Randy Rhoads model—got stolen in Amsterdam, unfortunately. But from that point on, I’ve only played Jackson. They’re simple, fast, durable, and always stay in tune. No drama. I now have a signature model, and it’s the exact same one I play on stage—not some custom shop special. What you buy is what I use.
Todd: Do you use Jackson exclusively in the studio too?
Mille: Mostly, yes. For specific parts, we might use a different brand or an acoustic, since Jackson doesn’t make acoustics. But live? Always Jackson.
Todd: What about amps?
Mille: I now have my own signature ENGL amp—the Extreme Aggression. It just came out in Europe and is available in the U.S. too. It’s super aggressive, designed for metal. The only “extra” is a really sharp noise gate because I use so much gain. I tweaked the EQ for my sound. No tricks—just pure, heavy tone.
Todd: You guys also played the 70,000 Tons of Metal cruise earlier this year. How was that?
Mille: Surprisingly relaxing! I expected it to be wild—people throwing up, drunk everywhere—but it wasn’t like that at all. Very civilized. It was actually a lot of fun. Almost like a big family trip with metalheads from all over the world. I can highly recommend it. One of the smoothest things to ever happen in metal.
Todd: That’s all I’ve got. Anything else you’d like to say to the fans?
Mille: Just thanks for your support!
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