Kreator - Out of the Dark...Into the Light EP (1988)

With the unbridled success of their Pleasure to Kill and Terrible Certainly albums, spreading the name of Kreator far and wide across the seas, it's not unreasonable to expect a certain amount of exploitation, and thus something like this Out of the Dark...Into the Light EP was born. It's pretty run of the mill as far as the typical 80s short form. Throw on a new song to tantalize the fans, a cover, and then some live content, and that's really all we're given here. Sadly, the new song "Impossible to Cure" is wholly lackluster, with nothing on any of the Terrible Certainty material aside from its cleaner production. Seriously, if this was scrapped for those sessions, I would not be surprised. Busy though it is, there are really only 1-2 choice riffs, and while Mille's delivery of the predictable chorus is functional, there's just nothing special here like a "Blind Faith", "One of Us" or "Storming With Menace".

The cover of Raven's "Lambs to the Slaughter" (from their 1981 album Rock Until You Drop) is arguably superior than the Kreator original here, if only because it's fun. That said, hearing Mille try and bust out the scream at around :45 is pretty laughable. Also, the song shares that very clean, unassuming production of "Impossible to Cure", which is a foreshadowing to the band's next album, Extreme Aggression, which, though good, was a bit of a disappointment to one such as I, so in rapture for Terrible Certainty's twisted, violent, carnal hooks. The live cuts here actually sound a little sloppy, though clear through the mixing board. You get "Terrible Certainty", "Riot of Violence" and the lengthy "Awakening of the Gods", and of these I'd say that the obvious favorite is "Riot of Violence". A few of the riffs in "Terrible Certainty" sound off in the live setting, though "Awakening of the Gods" isn't bad.

If you've got the European version, you'll get a few more lives in "Flag of Hate", "Love Us or Hate Us", and "Behind the Mirror", the second of which is a newer song from the Extreme Aggression album. Yet other editions include another NWOBHM cover, that of Tygers of Pan Tang's "Gangland", which is about the same quality as the Raven. Obviously, if you're collecting this and have the choice, get the one with the most tracks, but the overall value is still weak when you can just invest the money towards one of the band's legendary full-lengths, or perhaps a concert ticket next time they swing through your area. Aside from the somewhat iconic cover image, there's nothing tremendously exciting or worthwhile here to splurge upon.

Verdict: Indifference [5.25/10] (can't you see you're just swimming with the stream)

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