Released By: Nuclear Blast Records
Genre: Thrash Metal
Links: http://kreator-terrorzone.de/
Lineup:
Miland Petrozza – Vocals, Guitar
Sami Yli-Sirnio – Guitar
Christian Giesler – Bass
Jurgen Reil – Drums
Tracklist:
01. Mars Mantra
02. Phantom Antichrist
03. Death To The World
04. From Flood Into Fire
05. Civilization Collapse
06. United In Hate
07. The Few, The Proud, The Broken
08. Your Heaven, My Hell
09. Victory Will Come
10. Until Our Paths Cross Again
For a band that is deemed as such an important and integral part of Thrash Metal history, KREATOR sure have had an extended slump. It started all the way back in 1992 when the band released RENEWAL, which was a sort of failed attempt at refreshing their sound for the then current era. It seems the band never really got themselves back on track since that record, releasing a handful of albums most people will agree were sub-par at best. 2009’s HORDES OF CHAOS hinted that maybe there was life in this band yet, so where does the new album PHANTOM ANTICHRIST sit amongst all of this then?
Well firstly, those hoping for a true return to early day form are likely to be disappointed there may well still be enough value here to get at least a little bit excited about. The modernish, melodic tinge that has encompassed the band’s last few outings are still evident, but this time around they are little less in your face than in the past and there’s a little bit more traditional thrash metal here than the band have managed to muster up over the last decade or so. The most improved element here is the very thrashy guitar riffing, which is a long way improved from some of the near groove metal sounds of previous albums. The speed metal guitar solos help a lot too. Petrozza’s lyrics are still as cheesy as ever, but his vocal approach is a bit more aggressive than it has been in a long while which also helps add to the illusion.
The modern melodeath influences do make it hard to really get stuck into this album, a story all to familiar to KREATOR fans of old by now I’m sure, but considering just how long these guys have been releasing ordinary albums at least there’s a few things here to hang your hats on. It’s hard to see exactly how the epic metal styled influences fit into all of this, but they are here this around and replace some of the modern groove influence, which has to be a good thing right?
Those of you who have had no problem with the overall vibe of KREATOR’S last four or five albums will undoubtedly love PHANTOM ANTICHRIST. However, the rest of us will still have to go back to COMA OF SOULS and PLEASURE TO KILL to get our fixes. Old-school thrash fans are probably suggested to hang onto their coin at the moment as the upcoming TESTAMENT album looks the goods so far, or you could always grab OVERKILL’S latest effort…that one was a ball-tearer.
Written by Zeezee
Ratings   Zeezee   7/10
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