rates of physical violence resulting in death, per 100,000 inhabitants by country in 2002.]] Violence is the use of physical force to cause injury, damage or death. Worldwide, violence is used as a tool of manipulation and also is an area of concern for law and culture which make attempts to suppress and stop it. The word violence covers a broad spectrum. It can vary from a physical altercation between two beings to war and genocide where millions may die as a result. The Global Peace Index, updated in June 2010, ranks 149 countries according to the "absence of violence".

Psychology and sociology

The causes of violent behavior in humans are often topics of research in psychology and sociology. Neurobiologist Jan Volavka emphasizes that for those purposes, “violent behavior is defined as intentional physically aggressive behavior against another person."

Scientists do agree violence is inherent in humans. Among prehistoric humans, there is archaeological evidence for both contentions of violence and peacefulness as primary characteristics.

Since violence is a matter of perception as well as a measurable phenomenon, psychologists have found variability in whether people perceive certain physical acts as 'violent'. For example, in a state where execution is a legalized punishment we do not typically perceive the executioner as 'violent', though we may talk, in a more metaphorical way, of the state acting violently. Likewise understandings of violence are linked to a perceived aggressor-victim relationship: hence psychologists have shown that people may not recognise defensive use of force as violent, even in cases where the amount of force used is significantly greater than in the original aggression.

Riane Eisler, who describes early cooperative, egalitarian societies (she coins the term "gylanic", as it is widely agreed that the term matriarchal is inaccurate), and Walter Wink, who coined the phrase “the myth of redemptive violence,” suggest that human violence, especially as organized in groups, is a phenomenon of the last five to ten thousand years.

The “violent male ape” image is often brought up in discussions of human violence. Dale Peterson and Richard Wrangham in “Demonic Males: Apes and the Origins of Human Violence” write that violence is inherent in humans, though not inevitable. However, William L. Ury, editor of a book called "Must We Fight? From the Battlefield to the Schoolyard—A New Perspective on Violent Conflict and Its Prevention” debunks the "killer ape" myth in his book which brings together discussions from two Harvard Law School symposiums. The conclusion is that “we also have lots of natural mechanisms for cooperation, to keep conflict in check, to channel aggression, and to overcome conflict. These are just as natural to us as the aggressive tendencies."

James Gilligan writes violence is often pursued as an antidote to shame or humiliation. The use of violence often is a source of pride and a defence of honor, especially among males who often believe violence defines manhood.

Steven Pinker in a New Republic article “The History of Violence” offers evidence that on the average the amount and cruelty of violence to humans and animals has decreased over the last few centuries.

Gender and violence

"Criminological studies have traditionally ignored half the population: Women are largely invisible in both theoretical considerations and empirical studies. Since the 1970s, important feminist works have noted the way in which criminal transgressions by women occur in different contexts from those by men and how women experiences with the criminal justice system are influenced by gendered assumptions about appropriate male and female roles. Feminists have also highlighted the prevalence of violence against women, both at home and in public."

Of all crimes reported in 2006, 76.2 percent of arrestees were men and also there was a huge imbalance in the ratio of men to women in prison. In 2004, women only made up 7.1 percent of the prison population.

At the school of Psychology at Birmingham University, links between violence viewed from a young age can have a dramatic effect on violent youth. Research into media violence with young people has started as a result of the theory that they are a “vulnerable audience.” Contributing factors such as poverty, one-parent families, and a lack of parental care support and affection, along with inconsistent discipline are the most susceptible to be influenced by violent images through the mediums of television, Web 2.0 and more increasingly video games. A 1960’s UNESCO review stated that television viewing is a contributory factor to delinquency and crime, but it is likely to affect only those children who are already indifferent and prone to commit crimes. “In any of these cases, television by itself cannot make a normal, well-adjusted child into a delinquent.” Television was seen as dangerous from the point of view of an already aggressive child being able to gain hints of how to actually express their hostile feelings, rather than in terms of it being capable of making a non-aggressive child actually become aggressive.

According to the book, The Effects of Race and Family Attachment on Self Esteem, Self Control, and Delinquency, children who are raised by both parents and receive proper affection are more than likely to grow into a non-violent individual. It is believed that a child needs to bond with their parents during the early ages of childhood. As a result, the child has a higher chance of not growing into a violent person. Many children who do not receive the affection they need from their parents often turn to other sources to fill that void with a common source being a gang.

Targeted violence

Several rare but painful episodes of assassination, attempted assassination and shootings in schools and universities in the United States led to a considerable body of research on ascertainable behaviors of persons who have planned or carried out such attacks. These studies (1995-2002) investigated what the authors called "targeted violence," described the "path to violence" of those who planned or carried out attacks, and laid out suggestions for law enforcement and educators. A major point from these research studies is that targeted violence does not just "come out of the blue." (see Fein, R.A., Vossekuil, B. & Holden, G. Threat Assessment: an approach to prevent targeted violence. NCJ 155000. Research in Action, September, 1995, U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice, Washington, D.C.; Fein, R.A. & Vossekuil, B. Assassination in the United States: an operational study of recent assassins, attackers, and near-lethal approachers. Journal of Forensic Sciences, 1999. 50: p. 321-333; Vossekuil, B., Borum, R., Fein, R.A., & Reddy, M. Preventing targeted violence against judicial officials and courts. ANNALS, American Academy of Political and Social Science, 2001, 576: p. 78-90; Fein, R.A., Vossekuil, B., Pollack, W., Borum, R., Reddy, M.,& Modzeleski, W. Threat assessment in schools: A guide to managing threatening situations and creating safe school climates. U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Secret Service, May, 2002; Reddy, M., Borum, R., Vossekuil, B., Fein, R.A., Berglund, J., & Modzeleski, W. Evaluating risk for targeted violence in schools: Comparing risk assessment, threat assessment, and other approaches in Psychology in the Schools, 2001. 38 (2): pp. 157-172; Borum, R., Fein, R.A., Vossekuil, B. & Berglund, J. Threat assessment: Defining an approach for evaluating risk of targeted violence. Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 1999. 17: p.323-337)

Diagnosis of violence related psychiatric disorder

The American Psychiatric Association planning and research committees for the forthcoming DSM-5 (2012) have canvassed a series of new relational disorders which include Conflict Disorder Without Violence or Marital Abuse Disorder (Marital Conflict Disorder With Violence). Couples with marital disorders sometimes come to clinical attention because the couple recognize long-standing dissatisfaction with their marriage and come to the clinician on their own initiative or are referred by an astute health care professional. Secondly, there is serious violence in the marriage which is -"usually the husband battering the wife" ''. In these cases the emergency room or a legal authority often is the first to notify the clinician. Most importantly, marital violence "is a major risk factor for serious injury and even death and women in violent marriages are at much greater risk of being seriously injured or killed (National Advisory Council on Violence Against Women 2000)." The authors of this study add that "There is current considerable controversy over whether male-to-female marital violence is best regarded as a reflection of male psychopathology and control or whether there is an empirical base and clinical utility for conceptualizing these patterns as relational." on the course of violent marriages which suggests that "over time a husband's battering may abate somewhat, but perhaps because he has successfully intimidated his wife. The risk of violence remains strong in a marriage in which it has been a feature in the past. Thus, treatment is essential here; the clinician cannot just wait and watch." Serious complications can occur in conjunction with the use of sedatives creating the opposite effect as to that intended. Malcolm Lader at the Institute of Psychiatry in London estimates the incidence of these adverse reactions at about 5%, even in short-term use of the drugs. The paradoxical reactions may consist of depression, with or without suicidal tendencies, phobias, aggressiveness, violent behavior and symptoms sometimes misdiagnosed as psychosis.

Law

One of the main functions of law is to regulate violence.

Sociologist Max Weber stated that the state claims, for better or worse, a monopoly on violence practiced within the confines of a specific territory. Law enforcement is the main means of regulating nonmilitary violence in society. Governments regulate the use of violence through legal systems governing individuals and political authorities, including the police and military. Civil societies authorize some amount of violence, exercised through the police power, to maintain the status quo and enforce laws.

However, German political theorist Hannah Arendt noted: "Violence can be justifiable, but it never will be legitimate ... Its justification loses in plausibility the farther its intended end recedes into the future. No one questions the use of violence in self-defence, because the danger is not only clear but also present, and the end justifying the means is immediate". Arendt made a clear distinction between violence and power. Most political theorists regarded violence as an extreme manifestation of power whereas Arendt regarded the two concepts as opposites. In the 20th century in acts of democide governments may have killed more than 260 million of their own people through police brutality, execution, , slave labor camps, and sometimes through intentional famine.

Violent acts that are not carried out by the military or police and that are not in self-defence are usually classified as crimes, although not all crimes are violent crimes. Damage to property is classified as violent crime in some jurisdictions but not in all.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation classifies violence resulting in homicide into criminal homicide and justifiable homicide (e.g. self defense).

War

armored car in Paris during World War II]] War is a state of prolonged violent large-scale conflict involving two or more groups of people, usually under the auspices of government. War is fought as a means of resolving territorial and other conflicts, as war of aggression to conquer territory or loot resources, in national self-defense, or to suppress attempts of part of the nation to secede from it.

Since the Industrial Revolution, the lethality of modern warfare has steadily grown. World War I casualties were over 40 million and World War II casualties were over 70 million.

Nevertheless, some hold the actual deaths from war have decreased compared to past centuries. In War Before Civilization, Lawrence H. Keeley, a professor at the University of Illinois, calculates that 87% of tribal societies were at war more than once per year, and some 65% of them were fighting continuously. The attrition rate of numerous close-quarter clashes, which characterize endemic warfare, produces casualty rates of up to 60%, compared to 1% of the combatants as is typical in modern warfare. Stephen Pinker agrees, writing that “in tribal violence, the clashes are more frequent, the percentage of men in the population who fight is greater, and the rates of death per battle are higher.”

Jared Diamond in his award-winning books, Guns, Germs and Steel and The Third Chimpanzee provides sociological and anthropological evidence for the rise of large scale warfare as a result of advances in technology and city-states. The rise of agriculture provided a significant increase in the number of individuals that a region could sustain over hunter-gatherer societies, allowing for development of specialized classes such as soldiers, or weapons manufacturers. On the other hand, tribal conflicts in hunter-gatherer societies tend to result in wholesale slaughter of the opposition (other than perhaps females of child-bearing years) instead of territorial conquest or slavery, presumably as hunter-gatherer numbers could not sustain empire-building.

Religious and political ideology

are an example of religious violence taken to its extreme.]] Religious and political ideologies have been the cause of interpersonal violence throughout history. Ideologues often falsely accuse others of violence, such as the ancient blood libel against Jews, the medieval accusations of casting witchcraft spells against women, caricatures of black men as “violent brutes” that helped excuse the late 19th century Jim Crow laws in the United States, and modern accusations of satanic ritual abuse against day care center owners and others.

Both supporters and opponents of the 21st century War on Terrorism regard it largely as an ideological and religious war.

Vittorio Bufacchi describes two different modern concepts of violence, one the “minimalist conception” of violence as an intentional act of excessive or destructive force, the other the “comprehensive conception” which includes violations of rights, including a long list of human needs.

Anti-capitalists assert that capitalism is violent. They believe private property, trade, interest and profit survive only because police violence defends them and that capitalist economies need war to expand. They may use the term "structural violence" to describe the systematic ways in which a given social structure or institution kills people slowly by preventing them from meeting their basic needs, for example the deaths caused by diseases because of lack of medicine. Free market supporters argue that it is violently enforced state laws intervening in markets - state capitalism - which cause many of the problems anti-capitalists attribute to structural violence.

Frantz Fanon critiqued the violence of colonialism and wrote about the counter violence of the "colonized victims."

Throughout history, most religions and individuals like Mahatma Gandhi have preached that humans are capable of eliminating individual violence and organizing societies through purely nonviolent means. Gandhi himself once wrote: “A society organized and run on the basis of complete non-violence would be the purest anarchy.” Modern political ideologies which espouse similar views include pacifist varieties of voluntarism, mutualism, anarchism and libertarianism.

Health and prevention

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines violence as "Injury inflicted by deliberate means", which includes assault, as well as "legal intervention, and self-harm". The World Health Organization ( “WHO”) in its first World Report on Violence and Health defined violence as "the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person or against a group or community, that either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, maldevelopment or deprivation."

WHO estimates that each year around 1.6 million lives are lost worldwide due to violence. It is among the leading causes of death for people ages 15–44, especially of males.

Recent estimates for murders per year in various countries include: 55,000 murders in Brazil, 25,000 murders in Colombia, 20,000 murders in South Africa, 15,000 murders in Mexico, 14,000 murders in the United States, 11,000 murders in Venezuela, 8,000 murders in Russia, 6,000 murders in El Salvador, 1,600 murders in Jamaica, 1000 murders in France, 500 murders in Canada, and 200 murders in Chile.

Violence in the media

Classification & nomenclature

Abuse

Child abuse

Domestic violence

Psychological abuse

Cyber-bullying

Sexual abuse

Structural violence

Symbolic violence

School bullying

Targeted violence

See also

Aggression

Aggressiveness

Anarchism and violence

Consensual violence

Genetics and violence

Meekness

Nonviolence

Response based therapy

Terrorism

Violence against women

Violent crime

War crime

War

References

Sources

Walter Benjamin's Critique of Violence

Arno Gruen psychoanalyst who has written extensively on the origins of violence

Flannery, D.J., Vazsonyi, A.T.& Waldman, I.D. (Eds.) (2007). The Cambridge handbook of violent behavior and aggression. Cambridge University Press, NY.

Nazaretyan, A.P. (2007). Violence and Non-Violence at Different Stages of World History: A view from the hypothesis of techno-humanitarian balance. In: History & Mathematics. Moscow: KomKniga/URSS. P.127-148. ISBN 9785484010011.

Malesevic, S. (2010). The Sociology of War and Violence. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Gad Barzilai.(2003). Communities and Law: Politics and Cultures of Legal Identities. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. ISBN 0472113151.

External links

International Handbook of violence research

Information on James W. Prescott's work

1986 Seville Statement on Violence

Introduction and Updated Information on the Seville Statement on Violence

The Meanings of Violence and the Violence of Meanings Intercultural discussions on violence

Text of Dom Helder Camara's classic 1971 "Spiral of Violence"

Institute for interdisciplinary Research on Conflict and Violence

Historical Violence Database

American Psychological Association's Violence Prevention Office

How Violence has Change Ciudad Juarez

THE ORIGINS OF PEACE AND VIOLENCE.Deprivation of Physical Affection as a Main Cause of Depression, Aggression and Drug Abuse

Category:Crime

Coordinates	°′″N°′″N
Name	Kreator
Landscape	Yes
Background	group_or_band
Origin	Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
Genre	Thrash metal
Years active	1982–present
Label	Epic, Steamhammer, Drakkar, G.U.N., Noise, Nuclear Blast
Associated acts	Sodom
Url	www.kreator-terrorzone.de
Current members	Miland 'Mille' PetrozzaJürgen 'Ventor' ReilChristian 'Speesy' GieslerSami Yli-Sirniö
Past members	Michael WulfJörg "Tritze" TrzebiatowskiFrank "Blackfire" GosdzikTommy VetterliRoberto "Rob" FiorettiAndreas HerzJoe Cangelosi

Kreator is a German thrash metal band from Essen, Federal Republic of Germany at that time, formed in 1982, under the name Tormentor. They originally performed a speed metal style with Venom influences. Their style of music is similar to their compatriots Destruction and Sodom, the other two big German thrash metal bands. All three of these bands are often credited with helping pioneer death metal, by containing several elements of what was to become the genre.

Kreator's work began in the vein of pure thrash metal but ventured into industrial and gothic from 1992 to 1999, before eventually returning to their classic thrash sound to date.

Biography

Formation and early releases (1982-1987)

The band was formed as Tyrant in 1982 in Essen, Germany. The original lineup featured vocalist/guitarist Mille Petrozza, drummer Jürgen 'Ventor' Reil, and bassist Rob Fioretti. They soon changed their name to Tormentor and released two demos. They changed the name of the band again to the final one, Kreator and signed to Noise Records in 1985. The name change came from the label, as there already was a band by the name Tormentor from Hungary.

Kreator recorded their debut album, Endless Pain, in just 10 days. Many black and death metal bands consider it to be a very influential release. The band hired the late Sodom guitarist Michael Wulf for the album's tour.

Wulf was in the band for a few days and didn't play on the band's next album, 1986's Pleasure to Kill, despite his getting credit. A new guitarist, Jörg "Tritze" Trzebiatowski joined the band and he played on this album, which is widely considered a thrash classic. Produced by Harris Johns (Helloween, Voivod), it is arguably one of the heaviest, fastest albums in metal, while showing the band growing in talent and technical ability. The song "Flag of Hate" became an early hit, and the band became one of the most promising up-and-coming European metal acts. With Tritze the band started their first tour ever (before the release of Pleasure to Kill they had only played 5 gigs total). The band closed out the year with their first EP, Flag of Hate.

Rising popularity (1987-1991)

In 1987, Kreator released their third studio album, Terrible Certainty, which is often considered a high-quality Kreator album as the arrangements on the album were more complex and the tempos more varied. The album featured another hit "Behind the Mirror", and the band's popularity continued to grow and a video for "Toxic Trace" was created for MTV play. They managed to find enough time and money (coming from the concerts) to finance another EP Out of the Dark ... Into the Light.

Berlin based Independent NOISE Records licensed KREATOR for the territories outside of Europe and Japan to the major label Epic Records in 1988. Their fourth studio album and debut with Epic (for limited territories) Extreme Aggression, recorded in Los Angeles, became a metal hit in Europe upon its release in 1989. Continuing the Terrible Certainty formula while showing the band still progressing musically and with better production by the well-regarded Randy Burns (also Megadeth among others), the album featured the band's first major singles and music videos, the title track and "Betrayer", becoming major hits on MTVs Headbangers Ball. They toured North America with Suicidal Tendencies, which greatly expanded their popularity outside of Europe.

In 1989, German director Thomas Schadt made a documentary about Kreator (focusing on the social aspect of heavy metal in the Ruhr Area) titled Thrash Altenessen (named after the band's hometown, a suburb of Essen). Tritze left Kreator after Extreme Aggression. In 1990, with new guitarist Frank "Blackfire" Gosdzik (also formerly of Sodom), the band released Coma of Souls. The album was not quite as praised as the bands previous few albums (many felt the album was "rushed" and repetitive), but still managed sell and maintain popularity quite well, with the singles "When the Sun Burns Red" and "People of the Lie" becoming a hits.

Experimentation (1991-2000)

The early 1990s brought a decline in the popularity of traditional thrash metal. With many other thrash bands such as Metallica and Anthrax changing their sound for a more commercial approach, Kreator began experimenting with death metal and industrial metal around this time.

The result was Renewal, released in 1992, which featured heavy death metal and industrial influences. While reaching a newer, more commercial audience, the band upset many longtime fans, accusing them of "selling out".

Return in style and recent events (2000 onward)

In 2001, with new guitarist Sami Yli-Sirniö, Kreator released their "comeback" album Violent Revolution, which saw the band returning to their classic thrash metal style. Despite containing a lot of melodic and so called "Gothenburg metal" riffs, it was praised by fans and critics alike. The tour was extremely successful and introduced Kreator to a younger generation of metal fans. Yli-Sirnio, who lived in Germany, was known to be a good guitar player, so the band recruited him. A live album Live Kreation and live DVD were released in 2003, and a new studio album - emphasizing more on the gothenburg influences – Enemy of God was released in 2005. This album also saw a special edition re-release in 2006 called Enemy of God: Revisited. In early 2006, Kreator toured North America with Napalm Death, A Perfect Murder, and The Undying. Kreator were to tour 2008 with King Diamond, Leaves Eyes, and Cellador, however the tour was canceled due to back issues with King Diamond.

In March 2008, the At the Pulse of Kapitulation DVD was released, featuring Live in East Berlin and Hallucinative Comas on one disc. Both had previously been available on VHS only and were long out of print. The band had also began working on their 12th full length album in late 2007/early 2008 and began recording in July 2008. Recording for the album, dubbed Hordes of Chaos, was wrapped up in late August, with the album being released in January 2009. On 23 January 2009, the band began their "Chaos Over Europe" tour in Tilburg (the Netherlands) with Caliban, Eluveitie and Emergency Gate as other acts. In April 2009, the band embarked on a North American headlining tour, co-headlined by Exodus, and featuring Belphegor, Warbringer, and Epicurean. In late 2009, Reil was forced to sit out some tour dates due to personal issues, with Marco Minnemann temporarily taking his place.

The band signed with Nuclear Blast in early 2010, before embarking on a North American tour in March to celebrate their 25th anniversary. A European tour with Exodus, Death Angel and Suicidal Angels, called 'Thrashfest', took place in late 2010. The band is currently working on new material.

Members

Current line up

Miland 'Mille' Petrozza – vocals, guitar (1982–present, founder)

Sami Yli-Sirniö – guitar (2001–present)

Christian 'Speesy' Giesler – bass (1994–present)

Jürgen 'Ventor' Reil – drums, vocals (1982–1994, 1996–present, founder)

Former members

;Guitar

Michael Wulf (deceased) – guitar (1986, one show only) (ex-Sodom)

Jörg "Tritze" Trzebiatowski – guitar (1986–1989)

Frank "Blackfire" Gosdzik – guitar (1989–1996) (Mystic (Bra), ex-Sodom)

Tommy Vetterli – guitar (1996–2001) (Coroner)

;Bass

Roberto "Rob" Fioretti – bass (1982–1992, founder)

Bogusz Rutkiewicz – bass (1988, one gig in Budapest) (Turbo)

Andreas Herz – bass (1992–1994)

;Drums

Joe Cangelosi – drums (1994–1996) (Whiplash, Massacre)

Marco Minnemann – drums (2009 September - October Tour Drums)

Discography

Endless Pain (1985)

Pleasure to Kill (1986)

Terrible Certainty (1987)

Extreme Aggression (1989)

Coma of Souls (1990)

Renewal (1992)

Cause for Conflict (1995)

Outcast (1997)

Endorama (1999)

Violent Revolution (2001)

Enemy of God (2005)

Hordes of Chaos (2009)

See also

List of songs by Kreator

References

External links

Official website

Category:Kreator Category:German thrash metal musical groups Category:German heavy metal musical groups Category:Musical groups established in 1982 Category:Musical quartets Category:1980s music groups Category:1990s music groups Category:2000s music groups Category:2010s music groups Category:Essen