It was just a little over a year ago that Phantom came thrashing their way onto our radar with their sophomore full length, Tyrants of Wrath. A compelling fusion of blinding speed, punishing thrash, and ancient black metal, it was far from the most revolutionary album that one could conjure up these days, but it hit all the right spots for a release of said nature. It was fast, evil, and even flirted with touches of traditional metal, just like the earliest black/thrash/speed acts themselves did in the mid ’80s. The band takes this last trope to new heights on their third and latest album, Not Midnight Yet.
Though only 14 months have passed between the release of Tyrants and this latest affair, Phantom have made quite the drastic leap as musicians and songwriters. There’s no denying that Midnight is their most musical release to date, and by that I don’t mean they sacrifice their initial speed demon tactics for faceless fretboard wankery and unnecessary time signature changes. Rather, they expand upon what is an already rock-solid foundation by tapping the traditional metal vein even deeper than before, resulting in what is their strongest and most unique effort to date.
Much like Tyrants before it boasted the Manilla Road homage, “Nimbus”, “The Pale Remains of Time” is the outlier on this album, showcasing the band go full Maiden mode with a driving bass hook, riffs guaranteed to drive a football stadium full of headbangers into a frenzy, and an aura of pomp metal majesty. One could easily envision Bruce Dickinson wailing over this one. The traditional leanings don’t end there. “Solomonari” comes off like a hybrid of Satan and At War with Satan era Venom, pseudo-sophisticated NWOBHM worship at its sharpest, while my choice cut, “Curse Your Name”, is a masterclass in epic thrash grandeur. There’s also a plethora of King Diamond derived maneuvers abound, which feeds into the ethos of the album.
In case you didn’t notice, Midnight sees Phantom hone hard into the horror aesthetic, not just visually or with their song titles, but musically as well. Songs like “Hordes of Bats”, “Dracula’s Curse”, and “Sepulchral Majesty” could easily fit on an old school horror soundtrack. Perhaps their horror-obsessed tourmates and fellow rising thrashers, Void, left a strong impression on them. It is quite a refreshing take, especially for a genre so set in its satanic ways. Fear not, purists: Much like the Phantom albums that predated it, Midnight is still rife with unadulterated blackened thrashing speed, channeling the intensity of Show No Mercy era Slayer, Destruction, Kreator, and even modern day heroes, Cruel Force.
As impressive as the songs themselves are is Phantom’s ability to sandwich nearly a dozen cuts into the span of roughly an hour, and not have a single song fall short. Not that this was necessarily the case with Tyrants, but come the halfway marker, you knew what you were getting. Midnight keeps things wild and unpredictable from start to finish. If it’s at all a sign of things to come for these maniacal Mexicans, there’s no telling what the future has in store for them, though at this rate, will probably find out come late 2027. Keep striking while the iron is hot, mi amigos!
8 out of 10
Label: High Roller Records
Genre: Black/Thrash Metal
For fans of: Cruel Force, Vulture, Kreator
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