Review: Kreator - Phantom Antichrist [2012]
Country: Germany
Genre: Thrash Metal
Release Year: 2012
Label: Nuclear Blast Records
Format: CD, LP
Buy it From: Amazon.com
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Kreator have always been my favourite band
and I personally consider them as the best and one of the most influential
thrash bands in the history of metal. ‘Phantom Antichrist’ is their new album
which is going to be released in a few days but we managed to find it online
(don’t worry, I’ve pre-ordered it as well…) and gave it a listen. The
self-titled track was made available to the public about a month ago and gave
us a small impression of what we should be expecting from the rest of the
album. In comparison with their latest releases, Phantom Antichrist sounded a
bit more ‘old school’ but with the modern Kreator melody that the band adopted
in the last 10 years. I have to mention that I prefer their first albums,
especially the thrash bible ‘Pleasure to Kill’, than their modern albums; nevertheless
I consider them very respectable releases with good tunes and melodies.
Listening to Phantom Antichrist, I tried to
be as open-minded as I could. The first song after the intro was the
self-titled track which I knew already and then followed ‘Death To The World’,
‘From Flood Into Fire’ etc. The album ended and I was still waiting to listen
to a song that would sound like… Kreator! Listening to it again for a few times
did not help at all. I hoped that I wouldn’t have to say this but ‘Phantom Antichrist’
is the least to say DISAPPOINTING! They have gone from Extreme Aggression to
Extreme Recession! Kreator are indeed a phantom
in this album…
It is full of modern melodies that could be written by any Power Metal band like Blind Guardian, romantic solos
and slow acoustic parts that make it impossible to call this a thrash album,
especially a Kreator album. All people who like their last 3 albums ‘Violent
Revolution’, ‘Enemy of God’ and ‘Hordes of Chaos’ are going to love this album
and it was already named as Album of the Year by many webzines. As for me, I
will just put on any of their first 5 albums and intoxicate from this
abomination called ‘Phantom Antichrist’.
Writing this review I tried to be lenient
as I could as they are still my favourite band. But the truth hurts. I hope
that in the future they will come back with a ‘dynamite’ worthy of their name
and history.
ENJOY THE TRUE KREATOR!
Alexandros Vacanas
Sad when fans can't look beyond a 20+ year old album. Kreator have evolved over the years, and I'm glad they have. Pleasure to Kill is a masterpiece, but releasing albums that sound just like it over and over again would be a stupid idea. Phantom Antichrist is one of Kreator's best works.
ReplyDeleteYou call this an 'evolution' ? They experimented in the 90s with Renewal, Cause for Conflict, Outcast and Endorama and completely failed. Violent Revolution, Enemy of God and Hordes of Chaos are very good albums combining both the 'old-school' Kreator sound with new modern melodies, which to be honest I am not really very fond of, but I can understand their change of direction, or as you say 'evolution'. Phantom Antichrist focuses mainly on these melodies, eliminating nearly all classic thrash (Kreator) elements. Personally I dream of listening to another new album like Pleasure to Kill from Kreator, and believe me, I wouldn't mind at all if they didn't expirement with their sound. You see, I prefer PtK than Phantom Antichrist, I prefer Kill'em All than Death Magnetic, I prefer Beneath the Remains than Kairos, I prefer Reign in Blood than World Painted Blood, and the list goes on...
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