Kreator would eventually become one of the dominant European thrash outfits of the late '80s, but their 1985 debut, Endless Pain, wasn't much more than a musical starting point from which the band sorely needed to grow. Promising moments during numbers like "Total Death," "Storm of the Beast," and "Living in Fear" hint at the group's eventual development into hard music pioneers. Putting all the pieces together into a single cohesive track -- much less a full-length record -- was a skill the German act had yet to acquire. This release is hardly an embarrassment, and it should satisfy any fan of the group looking to complete his or her collection, but new listeners searching for Kreator's best '80s material are encouraged to check out the follow-up, Pleasure to Kill, or the exquisite Terrible Certainty before considering Endless Pain. ~ Vincent Jeffries, All Music Guide
Endless Pain is the debut album of the thrash metal band Kreator released in 1985 by Noise Records. It is noted as the only Kreator album that does not have Mille Petrozza on lead vocals. Drummer Jürgen Reil sang on the album instead, due to Mille's lack of proper vocal training (though he still did vocals on about half the songs on the album).
This album has been known to be viewed upon as a pivotal album to black metal bands that enjoy dabbling in the thrash metal elements, ultimately creating a thrash-influenced black metal sound. It is also considered by some to be a precursor to death metal.[1]
Tracks 11-14, marked with an asterisk, are bonus tracks on the 2000 reissue CD from the End of the World demo, which was released when the band was still known as Tormentor. Track #1 from the demo (Intro) is not included.
The 1989 CD reissue from Noise Records included the two original tracks from the Flag of Hate EP, "Take Their Lives" and "Awakening of the Gods," as well as the replacing "Flag of Hate" with the re-recorded version from that EP.
