of Gods of Violence, Petrozza mentioned a follow-up album, saying, "Maybe we should work with a different producer. Maybe we should go to a different country to record the album. Maybe we should write a more metal or more full-on thrash metal. Whatever we feel, first and foremost, that is the most important thing. Time will tell." In a September 2017 interview with Australia's Silver Tiger Media, Petrozza stated that Kreator could do another album after Gods of Violence but "not yet." When asked in February 2018 about the band's future, Petrozza said, "I think we're gonna take next year off and write a new record. That's the plan at least. We'll see what happens. I don't put myself under pressure. Let's see how I feel after this tour, and if I have ideas for new music, I will book a studio and start working on demos as soon as I have the time. And then I'll come up with some new stuff." He told Guitar Interactive magazine in July 2018 that Kreator would take 2019 off to focus on writing the new album, which was planned for release in the summer of 2020. Petrozza later stated their new album was not expected to be released until the summer of 2021. In the beginning of December, Kreator embarked on a tour of Europe, entitled the European Apocalypse, with the bands Dimmu Borgir, Hatebreed and Bloodbath. It was also announced that the final concert of the European Apocalypse in London would be filmed and produced as a live DVD in 2019; titled London Apocalypticon - Live at the Roundhouse, this DVD was released on 14 February 2020. Kreator supported Slayer on their final world tour, appearing at the Santiago Gets Louder festival in Chile on 6 October 2019, along with Anthrax and Pentagram Chile. On 16 September 2019, it was announced that Christian "Speesy" Giesler had left Kreator after 25 years as their bassist, and was replaced by Frédéric Leclercq, who had recently left DragonForce. On 26 March 2020, Kreator released a music video for "666 - World Divided", which marked their first song in three years and their first one since Leclercq joined the band. On 20 July 2020, Petrozza posted a picture of himself in the studio on his Instagram page, which indicated that Kreator were working on their new album. Petrozza confirmed two months later that Kreator had