''Phantom Antichrist'' is the 13th studio album by German

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...

band

Kreator Kreator is a German thrash metal band from Essen, formed in 1982. Their current lineup consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Miland "Mille" Petrozza, drummer Jürgen "Ventor" Reil, lead guitarist Sami Yli-Sirniö, and bassist Frédé ...

, released through

Nuclear Blast Nuclear Blast is a record label and mail order record distributor with subsidiaries in Germany, the United States and Brazil. The label was founded in 1987 by Markus Staiger in Germany. Originally releasing hardcore punk records, the label mov ...

on 1 June 2012. The album entered the US ''Billboard'' 200 at No. 130, selling 3,900 copies in the first week.

Release and promotion

The album's title track was released as a limited edition 7" vinyl single, which sold out very quickly. It has since been released digitally. The B-side is a cover of " The Number of the Beast" by

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...

. Kreator released a music video for "Civilization Collapse" on 28 November 2012.

Packaging

The digipak edition includes a bonus DVD containing a documentary about the making of the album and a live set compiled from Kreator's performances at the

Wacken Open Air Wacken Open Air (, abbreviated as W:O:A) is a rock music festival, held annually since 1990 on the first weekend of August in the village of Wacken in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Almost all styles and subgenres of hard rock and metal are ...

festivals in 2008 and 2011. A very limited edition version of the album is available through the Nuclear Blast online store, which comes in a metal box containing the CD+DVD version of the album, an exclusive live album called ''Harvesting the Grapes of Horror'' which contains the audio from the live portion of the DVD, a red T-shirt bearing the band's logo and the album title, a photocard signed by

Mille Petrozza Miland "Mille" Petrozza (born 18 December 1967) is a German guitarist and singer of Italian descent. He is best known for being the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of thrash metal band Kreator, which he started playing in as Tyrant in 1982 and ...

, an A1 poster of the album artwork, and a numbered certificate of authenticity.

Critical reception

The album has a more progressive and melodic sound than previously explored by the band and was generally well received by critics. It won a 2012

Metal Storm Metal Storm Limited was a research and development company based in Brisbane, Australia, that specialized in electronically initiated superposed load weapons technology and owned the proprietary rights to the electronic ballistics technology ...

Award for "Best Thrash Metal Album".

Track listing

Personnel

''Phantom Antichrist'' album personnel adapted from the CD liner notes. ;Kreator *

– lead vocals, guitars * Sami Yli-Sirniö – guitars, backing vocals, acoustic guitar on the intro of "United in Hate" *

Christian Giesler Christian "Speesy" Giesler (born 4 July 1970) is a German musician. He is best known for being the former bassist of Kreator, where he was a member of the band from 1994 to 2019. He appeared on eight studio albums with Kreator, from ''Cause for C ...

– bass * Ventor – drums ;Production *

Jens Bogren Jens Peter Daniel Bogren (born 13 November 1979) is a Swedish record producer, mixer and recording engineer specializing in heavy metal music. He has worked on albums by Opeth, Dimmu Borgir, Sepultura, Arch Enemy, At the Gates, Katatonia, Babym ...

– mixing, recording, producing at Fascination Street Studios, Sweden *

Ted Jensen Ted Jensen (born September 19, 1954) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered many recordings, including the Eagles' ''Hotel California'', Green Day's '' American Idiot'' and Norah Jones' ''Come Away with Me''. Biography T ...

– mastering at Sterling Sound, New York City * Johan Örnborg – additional recording ;Art *

Wes Benscoter Wes Benscoter is an American artist who is best known for his work album covers, especially heavy metal albums. He also has made covers for magazines and books, and shirt designs, and his art is featured in many galleries around the world. Most ...

– cover artwork * Jan Meininghaus – additional cover artwork, booklet design * Heile for Heilemania – band photos

Chart performance

References

External links

*
''Phantom Antichrist''
at

{{Authority control 2012 albums Albums with cover art by Wes Benscoter Kreator albums Nuclear Blast albums Albums produced by Jens Bogren