Kreator announce new album and release video for new single ‘Seven Serpents’

Metal Titans KREATOR have announced that their sixteenth studio album, KRUSHERS OF THE WORLD, will be released on January 16th, 2026 via Nuclear Blast Records. Following the recent releases of the KREATOR documentary film Hate & Hope as well as Your Heaven, My Hell, the autobiography of front man Mille Petrozza, KRUSHERS OF THE WORLD will be the next step in the evolution of KREATOR – a band that is still at its peak more than forty years into their career.

KRUSHERS OF THE WORLD is not a shy title, it is a statement, an expression of pride and self-awareness knowing how long and hard the band’s path has been and knowing what they still have to say and share with their ever growing following. After the buzz around the movie and book, it is time for KREATOR to let the riffs, the roaring vocals, and thunderous drums do the talking.

Rounded off by a triumphant production courtesy of Jens Bogren at Fascination Street Studios, who previously worked with the group on Phantom Antichrist (2012) and Gods Of Violence (2017), KREATOR return in perfect shape. The stunning cover artwork was created by none other than Polish genius Zbigniew Bielak (Ghost).

Furthermore, KREATOR have announced a massive EU & UK Headline tour with Carcass, Exodus and Nails for March and April 2026. Tickets are on sale NOW! You can find all confirmed dates at the bottom. Please be aware that strictly limited ticket + album bundles for the German live dates are exclusively available via the Nuclear Blast online store: 

Kreator – Krushers Of The World Ticket Bundle + Digi CD | Nuclear Blast

Kreator – Krushers Of The World Ticket Bundle + Vinyl | Nuclear Blast

KREATOR LIVE:

EU & UK Headline Tour
w/ special guests Carcass, Exodus and Nails

Mille Petrozza commented:

“We are beyond excited to kick off the new year with the release of our brand-new album KRUSHERS OF THE WORLD, dropping January 16, 2026!

But that’s not all! On March 20th, we’re hitting the road to bring you our biggest tour production ever. This will be a night of unrelenting metal mayhem, featuring our brothers-in-arms Carcass, Exodus, and the mighty Nails.

This marks an exciting new chapter for the band, and we can’t wait for you to experience the new music live plus a selection of classic Kreator, old and new.

Hail to the hordes! \m/”

Alongside the album and tour announcement, KREATOR have unleashed a krushing new single called ‘Seven Serpents’, accompanied by a cinematic music video, which you can watch below. 

STREAM THE SINGLE ‘SEVEN SERPENTS’:
https://kreator.bfan.link/seven-serpents

WATCH THE VIDEO FOR ‘SEVEN SERPENTS‘:
https://youtu.be/xPRvLYHKD-I

When KREATOR’s earliest incarnation formed under the influence of Kiss and Judas Priest in the early 80’s none of the above was thinkable. For young adults, Essen, back then a 600k plus city in the Ruhr area, was a grim place. Unemployment rates were surging, houses had been blackened by smoke from factories and coal mines, for some alcohol and drug abuse were the only escape route from this dismal, post-industrialized backdrop.

Whereas Birmingham spawned Black Sabbath and undoubtedly became the legitimate birthplace of heavy metal, the bands associated with the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal like Iron Maiden, Venom, Saxon pushed the genre with a street-fighting attitude, US artists such as Metallica, Exodus, Slayer, and Swedes Bathory intensified the style even more, and altogether concocted a dangerous brew KREATOR poured down their throats in gallons. For today’s remaining founding members Mille and drummer Jürgen “Ventor” Reil, music was the way out from these dire surroundings, and provided an outlet for the frustration and contempt boiling in their guts. And KREATOR went all in. Naive, chaotic yet utterly determined.

And they left their own mark on heavy metal history, radicalizing thrash and inspiring legions of musicians including Arch Enemy, Cannibal Corpse, Behemoth and Ghost, with Papa Emeritus joining a TV performance of ‘Satan Is Real’ in 2017.

Their newest studio album, Krushers Of The World, shows a band that has lost none of its bite kicking off with the rabid aggression of ‘Seven Serpents’. It also tackles Petrozza’s love for horror flicks by paying tribute to Dario Argento’s Suspiria in ‘Tränenpalast’ with extreme metal vocal coach Britta Görtz (Hiraes) adding her own vicious tone over dark yet catchy melodies. And of course, you shall have hefty doses of pure, thrashing aggression as well! ‘Barbarian’, ‘Deathscream’ or ‘Psychotic Imperator’ deliver your fix of merciless riffs, majestic leads by Sami Yli-Sirniö and some of Ventor’s fastest parts ever. Are you looking for powerful mid-tempo sections allowing bassist Frédéric Leclercq to shine? Then the monumental groove of the title track and stunning chorus of ‘Satanic Anarchy’ will have you covered. Rounded off by a triumphant and – no pun intended – krushing production courtesy of Jens Bogren at Fascination Street Studios, who previously worked with the group on Phantom Antichrist (2012) and Gods Of Violence (2017), KREATOR return in perfect shape.

A novelty to Krushers Of The World is immediately obvious when staring at its cover. With Zbigniew Bielak, renowned for his work for Ghost, art and design offer an interesting twist to KREATOR’s history. Transforming classic visual trademarks dedicated fans will recognise from Coma Of Souls (1990), Out of the Dark… into the Light (1988) and Pleasure To Kill (the font!) into a highly detailed tapestry garnered with occult symbolism, Bielak crafted an outstanding piece paying homage to a band he loves since his teenager days yet with a daring and unique flair. The cover of Krushers Of The World rewards everyone willing to analyze the grandiose sleeve design.

In essence, Krushers Of The World is of course not a throwback to KREATOR’s past, it is furious, massive sounding and creative in its own right, gifted with a songwriting quality honed over years. It displays a band which earned its spot among the giants of the genre, and developed its youthful anger further into a professional, internationally successful, nonetheless intimidating creature. Krushers Of The World underlines the fact that fueled by the reflective look at their own legacy sparked by 2025’s Hate & Hope movie, KREATOR nowadays appear more mindful of their early days while simultaneously progressing uncompromisingly, unstoppable in their search for new realms to conquer and new worlds to krush.