UMUR
"Out of the Dark... Into the Light" is an EP release by German thrash metal act Kreator. The EP was released through Noise Records in August 1988 and bridges the gap between the two full-length studio albums "Terrible Certainty (1987)" and "Extreme Aggression (1989)". The original vinyl version features 5 tracks while the European CD version includes 3 additional bonus tracks.
The first track on the EP is "Impossible to Cure", which at the time was a new original track by the band, and if you are familiar with the material on "Terrible Certainty (1987)" and "Extreme Aggression (1989)" you probably won´t be surprised by the aggressive teutonic thrash metal style featured on the track. It´s short, aggressive and effective. "Impossible to Cure" is followed by "Lambs to the Slaughter" which is a Raven cover track. It´s slightly more melodic but still pretty aggressive and it´s certainly delivered with fierce conviction.
The remaining tracks on the EP (including the 3 bonus tracks) are live recordings of early Kreator "classics" like "Riot of Violence", "Terrible Certainty" and "Awakening of the Gods". Taking into consideration that these tracks were recorded live in the late eighties, the sound quality is actually pretty good and the performance by the band is equally satisfying. They are not 100% tight and I hear a few errors here and there, but it´s nice to hear "real" live recordings from a metal act in the more extreme end of the spectrum that sound this good.
"Out of the Dark... Into the Light" is a very successful release to my ears and a reminder that the EP format was something that you took seriously in the eighties. All recordings on the EP were unreleased at the time that "Out of the Dark... Into the Light" was released and therefore the EP was a worthwhile investment back then and still is today as I haven´t found evidence anywhere that suggest that these tracks are available on any of the compilations that Kreator have released so far. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is fully deserved and I might even have set the bar a little low here.