Kreator
Phantom Antichrist

Kreator, to celebrate their 30 years of career, with 11 albums behind them including the most important "Pleasure to Kill," "Endless Pain," "Extreme Aggression," and "Coma of Souls," have written a significant piece of thrash metal history that differentiated itself from the American one by greater speed and brutality, with much reduced melodies.

To celebrate their anniversary, Kreator are releasing their twelfth album titled "Phantom Antichrist" under the label of the famous Nuclear Blast.

The sound proposed by the leader Mille Petrozza & Co. is different from the previous "Hordes of Chaos." The fast and "sick" thrash metal that has characterized the band over the years is partially reduced and they make more room for classic heavy metal (specifically NWOBHM) and melody.

The idea of presenting this kind of heavy/thrash metal is good, and in some songs like "United in Hate," "The Few, the Proud, the Broken," "Your Heaven, My Hell," they are the best example of this new musical proposal of Kreator, mixing fast and brutal thrash metal with melody making the songs more catchy and interesting. However, I must say that the only songs that are in true Kreator style are the title track which was released as a single, and it is the best piece of the album thanks to a simple but engaging chorus and a fantastic solo. The other piece is "Civilisation Collapse" with a slow guitar and drum intro that at first listening seems like an invitation to peace, but then comes Petrozza's angrier-than-ever scream attacking society.

The melody that has been inserted into this album, unfortunately, also has negative aspects; for example, the song "From Flood into Fire" is the piece that many have criticized for its excessive amount of melodies, and indeed it seems like listening to a power metal piece, and old Kreator fans have not accepted it. Personally, I find it a decent and very catchy piece. This album also features a semi-ballad entitled "Until Our Path Cross Again," a rather bizarre move by Mille Petrozza, and this is also a reason why old fans have "rejected" the album, and indeed it is not a good piece.

Overall, "Phantom Antichrist" is a good album to celebrate 30 years of career for one of the best thrash metal bands in Europe. I recommend it to any metal lover or anyone interested in catchy thrash metal.