KREATOR Has '15 Songs And Counting' For Next Studio Album

German thrash metal veterans KREATOR have written 15 songs for their next album, tentatively due in 2021 via Nuclear Blast.

The news of KREATOR's songwriting process was revealed by the band's guitarist/vocalist Mille Petrozza, who took to his Instagram earlier today (Thursday, December 31) to write: "Ok, let's wrap up 2020.

"Maybe one of the most productive years for me. I have 15 songs and counting for the next @kreatorofficial! We released our live album 'London Apocalypticon', plus the new single '666 - World Divided' earlier this year. Apart from this, my personal highlight was connecting with old and new friends on a deeper level. Something touring doesn't allow me to do sometimes, since I am always somewhere.

"I got to read tons of cool books, discovered amazing new music and watched some great movies. Most importantly, I stayed healthy, and I hope you did too!

"Ok, sometimes I was bored, so see my top 10 playlist in the comment section. What's yours?

"What were your highlights and lowlights in 2020?

"See you in 21! The new year will be spectacular! I can feel it."

Last month, KREATOR bassist Frédéric Leclercq confirmed to Moshpit Passion webzine that the band had entered a studio in Essen, Germany to begin writing, arranging and recording demos for its next album. The follow-up to 2017's "Gods Of Violence" will mark KREATOR's first album with Leclercq, who joined the group last year.

This past September, KREATOR guitarist Sami Yli-Sirniö described the sessions for the band's new album to Italy's Poisoned Rock as "a lot of fun," adding that the "mood" in the band "is great. And the general vibe and the atmosphere is very good," he said. "[These are] creative times for KREATOR at the moment."

Speaking about the KREATOR songwriting process, Sami said: "The main composer for KREATOR is for sure Mille. And then he likes to send us some demos over. But then we all arrange them together and bring new ideas to it and try to enhance them and sometimes bring our own ideas, of course, as well. That's what we're doing right now, and just try to make the best possible result imaginable, because we really want to work hard on the next album."

On the topic of KREATOR's musical evolution, Yli-Sirniö said: "I like to think that there's a progression all the time and we're always looking for something new. That's always what you become most afraid of, with an older band like us, after doing so many albums together — is to find a new angle and a new perspective for every album. And that is the difficult part, but it's also the challenging part and the part that I like the most. And now that we have a new member in the band, Fred, he brings a lot of new ideas and a different angle, and it's fantastic. He's also an amazing guitar player."

This past March, KREATOR surprise-released a new single, "666 - World Divided". The song was produced by Andy Sneap and Markus Ganter and was recorded at Hansa Tonstudios in Berlin, Germany.

The music video for "666 - World Divided" was created under the direction of Jörn Heitmann, who was responsible for the music videos for "Radio" and "Ausländer" by RAMMSTEIN.

KREATOR played its first show with Leclercq in October 2019 in Santiago, Chile.

Before joining KREATOR, Leclercq rose to fame with U.K.-based extreme power metallers DRAGONFORCE for whom he handled bass duties from 2005 until August 2019.

KREATOR's previously announced "State Of Unrest" European tour with LAMB OF GOD has been rescheduled for 2021 in the wake of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

KREATOR released a new live set, "London Apocalypticon - Live At The Roundhouse", in February via Nuclear Blast. The effort was professionally filmed and recorded on December 16, 2018 at the Roundhouse in London, England.