A return to form is what this album should have been. When the title track was released as a single, I bet many Kreator fans was high on excitement, and apparently it stayed that way for many people. But not me, I don't understand all the praise that has been given to this album. The first two times I listened to this album I had to turn it off when I was half way through it. I was really looking forward to Kreator "returning to form" that I pre ordered the album on vinyl, and that is something I really regret.
After the first three tracks, one of them being the intro, the album has already peaked, and from here it goes downhill until the record is done. If you heard the main single of the album, it contains an Iron Maiden cover. Despite a laughable scream in the start of the track the band covers The Number of the Beast quite well. The only problem... That style continued on the full album. I guess Kreator wants people to sing along and wave back and forth because this album feels like a melodic thrash metal tribute to Iron Maiden. There is only two tracks that I would shine some light on from the album, and that is Phantom Antichrist and Death to the World. These two tracks is the only ones I would describe as being worthy of being on a Kreator album. Because the main problem for this album is the band is trying to be something they are not. And when that doesn't ruin the songs, then it is the incredible bad lyrics...
The thing I however want to praise is the album cover. There are two versions, one awesome and one shitty. The awesome cover, which was made by Wes Benscoter who also has been employed by bands like Slayer, Autopsy and Cattle Decapitation. Wes' version of the cover is the red one that could remind you of the artwork for Pleasure to Kill and definitely is their best cover in many, many years. The shitty cover however looks so photoshopped that it hurts, and just doesn't look good. It was made by Jan Meininghaus who also has been working with bands like Falconervane Bolt Thrower.
If you, like me, expected Kreator to return to the tunes of Violent Revolution and Enemy of God, then you are in for a surprise. The phantom that appears on this album is what I would call melodic thrash metal, and a tribute to Iron Maiden. I really want to like this album but it just don't have what it takes. Even though I like some other melodic genres, this one does not please my ears, specially not when it has been kreated by a band that brought me albums like Pleasure to Kill and Extreme Aggression.
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