The official documentary about German thrash metal veterans KREATOR, “Kreator – Hate & Hope”, premiered on July 2 at the 42nd Munich International Film Festival and will receive a theatrical premiere on September 4. The 110-minute film was directed by Cordula Kablitz-Post, who previously helmed the 2019 documentary about the German punk rock group DIE TOTEN HOSEN.

At the August 23 premiere of “Kreator – Hate & Hope” in Berlin, Germany, Kablitz-Post and the four members of KREATOR spoke to Kati Rausch of Music Interview Corner about the making of the documentary, which uses private archive material to tell the story of one of the longest-running and biggest bands of the German thrash metal scene.

Asked how he balanced the need to tell KREATOR‘s story while also retaining his privacy, KREATOR frontman Mille Petrozza said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “I think we found a very nice compromise of showing a little bit of personal stuff without getting too private. But I think the movie really benefits from the fact that there is more personal stuff and then there’s the audience, and then there’s stuff in the studio, then there’s behind-the-scenes and backstage stuff. So it’s a nice variety of — it shows all the facets. And it’s the whole band… This is also like a certain… How do I put this? There’s almost like a relationship with four people, plus the crew and plus the audience. So Cordula really managed to give the viewer a nice insight of how it is to be in a band. And it’s not just the glory of the concerts, but also the waiting around and the stuff at the airport and there’s so much more to it than just what people see on stage. And if you’re interested in that, the movie is really, really good. And it’s interesting. We take you kind of behind the scenes and also to some more personal stuff.”

Petrozza also talked about the upcoming official German-language version of his autobiography, which he wrote with journalist, author and presenter Torsten Groß, “Your Heaven, My Hell – Mein Leben, Heavy Metal Und Wie Das Alles Passieren Konnte” (“Your Heaven, My Hell – My Life, Heavy Metal, And How It All Could Happen”) will be published on August 28 via Ullstein Verlag. The book is available for pre-order now.

Regarding how opening up for his book compared to telling KREATOR‘s story in the documentary, Mille said: “The book is different, because this is present, and Cordula was on tour with us and the book was stopped at ’93, I think, or ’94, or maybe even ’92. And so to me that didn’t seem so private, because it almost seems like another life; it is long time ago. And it’s probably more private… I decided both — I mean, I was making my peace with both the book and Cordula. So it was a decision to make, to open myself up and do this documentary and do this book. So it’s all good. It’s all good. I think the book is entertaining, and the movie is amazing. So I think it was about time to share some stuff. And, yeah, I never thought about it, but yeah. It wasn’t hard. It was a decision.”

A trailer for “Kreator – Hate & Hope”, is available below.

Official “Kreator – Hate & Hope” description: “To their fans worldwide, they are gods, but their music seems possessed by the devil — more aggressive, faster, and more uncompromising than others. The German band KREATOR has long since reached the pinnacle of the thrash metal scene. The film ‘Kreator – Hate & Hope’ tells the forty-year history of the celebrated metal band for the first time, from their founding as a school band in 1982 in the Ruhr area to the grand international stages of their current world tour. Then as now, they stand against the hatred and the abysses of our society. Shrill tones, virtuosic guitar riffs, and energetic drumbeats process the turmoil in our civilization with tremendous willpower and creativity. Between Hannah Arendt quotes and headless corpses, emerges a well-crafted poetry of chaos full of symbols of horror — a musical Molotov cocktail against evil with a cathartic effect.

“For her new documentary, director Cordula Kablitz-Post (‘Die Toten Hosen – You Only Live Once’) goes on tour with the legendary thrash metal band from the Ruhrpott for a year: Wacken Open Air, Tokyo, Osaka, Bangalore, Los Angeles and finally ‘Klash Of The Ruhrpott’ in Gelsenkirchen, where Germany’s metal greats gather. With private archive recordings and exciting interviews (Scott Ian / ANTHRAX, Chuck Billy / TESTAMENT, Bela B. / DIE ÄRZTE, guitarist Phil Demmel / formerly MACHINE HEAD, Maik Weichert / HEAVEN SHALL BURN, Nergal / BEHEMOTH, Lars Eidinger, Andy Sneap) they embark on a very honest and humorous journey into the wildly beating heart of German music history.”

Last fall, Petrozza told Oran O’Beirne of Fistful Of Metal magazine about the KREATOR documentary: “I have to be honest with you, this documentary was not our idea, and in fact, we are not involved in the production side of it. The whole concept came from Cordula, who approached us with this proposition and she has full creative control. She is a very well-respected director who has produced some incredible cinematic documentaries in the past, so I’m very excited to see the finished film.”

He continued: “I’m usually a control freak when it comes to things like this, so it’s a very surreal experience not being in the driving seat when it comes to creative decision making, but I have total faith and trust in Cordula.”

Regarding his upcoming book, Mille said at the time: “Well, I can tell you that the book is done. A friend of mine and I have been co-writing a book together looking specifically at the early years of the band, specifically up to 1992. The thing is, we have a German publisher and they’re, hopefully, going to be making this book available in English. But as of now, we are looking to release the book in 2025.”

He continued: “I can also tell you the working title of the book is ‘Your Heaven, My Hell’, and we go very deep into the struggles of starting the band, the impact of the tape-trading community back then, and loads of stores and interesting moments that led to the band being where we are today.”

In 2001, Cordula founded Avanti Media Fiction, through which she primarily produces feature films and high-quality television and theatrical documentaries.

KREATOR recently entered Fascination Street Studios in Örebro, Sweden with producer Jens Bogren to begin recording its sixteenth studio album, tentatively due in early 2026. Bogren previously helmed KREATOR‘s “Phantom Antichrist” (2012) and “Gods Of Violence” (2017) LPs.

KREATOR‘s upcoming effort will be the follow-up to 2022’s “Hate Über Alles”, which was recorded at Hansa Tonstudio in Berlin, Germany. Helming the sessions for that LP was Arthur Rizk, who has previously worked with CAVALERA CONSPIRACY, CODE ORANGE, POWER TRIP and SOULFLY, among others.

“Hate Über Alles” marked KREATOR‘s first album with bassist Frédéric Leclercq, who joined the group in 2019.

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.