While Rihanna was play-backing her way through a set on the prestigious Orange Stage, we opted to instead follow the long-haired dregs of society to whom we feel more familiarity towards to the Arena tent (earlier known as Green stage) for the international metal band of the day, Kreator.
Ok, not the only international metal band, but for many I suspect it was still THE international metal band if you catch my drift.

“Roskilde, it’s been twenty-two fucking years but the Kreator has returned!”
- Miland ‘Mille’ Petrozza (vocals/guitar)

On the stage we saw the entire Phantom Antichrist setup what with painted wall-cloths, decomposing horse figures, and all the rest, and I was both impressed and happy to see that they had the chance to bring it all along here and be able to use it – this gave a good first impression and put me in a positive state of mind regarding what would happen next...
Mars Mantra was once again used as an effective intro, whereafter the show really kicked into gear with Phantom Antichrist, and to my delight I could hear that there had been placed at least the same amount of care when it came to sound as there had been on setting up the stage – this elevated the atmosphere even further!
The setlist offered up both new and old classics, thus making an effective attempt at pleasing every generation of fans, but even though the songs were certainly well received indeed, it was still the performance that did the trick this evening. To be honest, Kreator didn’t really do anything outstanding compared to what they usually do, but the atmosphere was just right for them. With ease, Petrozza got us split in two for a wall of death (one thing they certainly did NOT try over at the main stage!) in the beginning of Endless Pain, and deafening shouts were raised to Death To The World and many others.
Petrozza was good at utilizing the entire stage, whereas Christian ‘Speesy’ Giesler was no stranger to the very edge of the stage, up close and personal with the crowd.
Kreator were no strangers to using effects either, and showed off their classic smoke cannons in several songs, although without completely covering the stage and themselves in smoke as they have sometimes in the past.

Surprisingly, the inner circle (yes, these exist on several stages at Roskilde) wasn’t very crowded even though a lot of people had shown up for the show, but this of course only meant that there was more room for having fun for us who stood in it.
I have already mentioned that Petrozza was able to get a wall of death going in this rag tag crowd of metalheads and others, and even though this was possibly one of the “metal crowd” participation highlights of the show, it certainly wasn’t the only one. Just as was the case with the band, the crowd was also going through regular moves, like headbanging and moshpits, but also here the stars were aligned so as to bring out a wonderful concert experience. I had a great time, and there is no doubt in my mind that I certainly wasn’t the only one!
Personal favourites included the two sing along friendly tracks Hordes Of Chaos (A Necrologue For The Elite) and the The Patriarch / Violent Revolution combination, and even though I liked it, I still think it’s time to exchange Phobia with something like Leave This World Behind or something. Just to try it out, I’m sure it would be well received.

Anyway, I didn’t really know what to expect of a Kreator show at such an unlikely place such as the Roskilde festival, and maybe that’s the reason that I actually felt they played a genuine and kick-ass show.
If it wasn’t, well, I still didn’t need to watch Rihanna at least...

Setlist:

Mars Mantra
Phantom Antichrist
From Flood Into Fire
Warcurse
Coma of Souls
Endless Pain
Pleasure To Kill
Hordes Of Chaos (A Necrologue For The Elite)
Death To The World
Enemy Of God
Phobia
The Patriarch
Violent Revolution
Under The Guillotine
Civilization Collapse
Flag Of Hate
Tormentor