Thrash metal formed the perfect gateway for your average
thirteen-year-old Led Zeppelin fan to enter extreme music. Largely thanks to a
band called Metallica, this popular threshold has endured for decades. I was
one who travelled such a path in my youth, and yet while peeling back the
obscure layers of the genre I discovered that there were greater heights being
achieved in thrash than the big M’s conversionary milestones of fandom. After
Slayer, Kreator were one of the first bands I discovered in my blossoming
metalheadism, and as most know they were instrumental in influencing the
musical ideals of many headbangers before and after me. And they’re still
Kreating with twenty-seven years and thirteen LPs under their belts. Kreator
for the most part have had a successful metal career, following a typical
pattern seen in many earlier benchmark bands: A strong set of first albums followed
by a number of weak albums during which time diehard fans burned their T-shirts
and cried into their mother’s laps. After this weak point the pattern splits
into three different paths:
1)
Death. Either literal death of a band member or
the permanent disbanding of the group for some other reason.
2)
Shit comeback. The band attempts to make a
comeback and fails miserably, inciting criticism and hatred upon themselves.
3)
Rad comeback. The band returns to something akin
to their former style and are welcomed back into the metal community.
With Violent Revolution in 2001 Kreator fell into the
third category, and they’ve been marching strong ever since. Some people had
their quibbles with Hordes of Darkness, but I’ve very much enjoyed the
remade Kreator over the past ten years (although being generally open to
musical change and progression I must admit that the only Kreator album I didn’t
enjoy was Endorama). Every album has basically continued in the vein of Violent
Revolution, experimenting with slightly different shades of their new style
of thrash, and Phantom Antichrist is a stalwart installment in the
series.
The past is irreversible. Kreator will never truly regain
what happened on their first five albums. They and no one will ever regain
their youth. Phantom Antichrist is not as wild and ruthless as Terrible
Certainty. Mille’s vocals and riffing no longer really hold the mad rage
they once did. In fact the vocals are one of the only things I don’t like about
Kreator these days. I find them slightly annoying for some reason. But anyway, Phantom
Antichrist holds essentially to Kreator’s thrash basis, but these songs are
slightly more anthemic in a trad metal way, if mainly only by way of
atmospheric qualities. There are many moments you can happily sing along to on PA
(“We are legion united in hate!”). Overall it’s quite a melodic thrash record,
but this doesn’t seem to be detracting the interest of the fanbase. Practice
makes perfect they say, and it really shows through in these songs. Each one is
masterfully balanced and counterbalanced, simple, effective pieces of
straight-up thrash metal. No bullshit, just good thrash. All instruments work
together with admirable comfort, resulting in a triumphantly energetic performance
destined to raise horns in the air. It’s great how Kreator have not lost any of
their tightness over the years, evidenced by the bands popularity with both
older and younger generations of metalheads.
There is no question about it, Kreator are solid. Few
bands release as many good albums as this one does. An arch of classic records
overshadowing a strong return to style creates an applause-worthy legacy. If I
have deducted any points from PA’s score it is only for my minute
aversion to the vocals and also because it doesn’t hold the scathing anger that
made us fall in love with Kreator back in the day. Despite the undoubtedly more
mature songwriting you will find here, they live in a shadow like any band who
has put in this many hard years. But the important thing is just how much this
album proves Kreator’s unshakeable solidarity.
In short: Old thrash and new combined with deft hands.
Legends continuing the legend. A record anyone interested in thrash will be
listening to this year.
Standout tracks: “Phantom Antichrist”, “Civilization
Collapse”, “Until Our Paths Cross Again”
Score: 8.5
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