Here's an ironic twist: Kreator's debut, released some 20 years ago, was one of the most extreme records of its time, but the band's latest CD sounds positively well-mannered amidst the hyper-brutal metal that pervades the scene now. But that's a good thing, as far as I'm concerned. Enemy Of God, in many ways, harks back to that mid-'80s sound. You can hear classic Slayer, Metallica, Exodus and even Metal Church in the speed metal tempos, hooky choruses and vocals you can actually comprehend without a lyric sheet - all seemingly anathema to most modern metal bands - in these 12 tracks. In fact, Kreator's umpteenth album sounds pretty damn good in an era where there doesn't appear to be much metal to choose from between the total cacophony of the extreme and the total pomposity of the melodic. It's as though the scene has retreated to such opposite ends of the continuum that there's little left in the wide-open space that separates the two camps. Kreator represents the rare band that is able to dish out a full-frontal assault - 'Impossible Brutality', 'When Death Takes Its Dominion' and the title track - without compromising the integrity of its classic melodicism. So, maybe the guitars aren't drop-tuned down to C and there aren't any pit-churning breakdowns, but Enemy Of God is packed with 55-plus minutes of Kreator's well-honed old-school thrash that's been given a modern heaviness courtesy of Andy Sneap's meaty production. As seemingly anachronistic as it may be, I can't think of a better way for Kreator to celebrate its 20th anniversary than to issue an album that so perfectly captures all that was good from that bygone era. Maybe it'll inspire a whole new generation.