Mexico’s PHANTOM are striking while the iron is hot. It doesn’t seem that long ago that I gave their Tyrants Of Wrath album a big thumbs up. Here’s their follow-up Not Midnight Yet, and this one does everything a follow-up album should do and more. This will certainly be in my Top 10 list this year.
Boasting 12 robust tracks, I feared Not Midnight Yet might have some filler. Instead, the material is so uniformly good that I’m hard pressed to pick a favorite song. Mastermind J.C. Necrohex knows exactly what sound he is after, and he’s a clever enough songwriter to achieve it. This is a defining speed metal record…combining the energy of thrash metal with the melody of hooks of classic metal. The tunes are really well put together…catchy riffs flow into each other effortlessly, solos and frills are issued at just the right times and tempos change exactly when they should. The List of PHANTOM’s influences has got to be a mile long, but you’ll hear MERCYFUL FATE colliding with IRON MAIDEN, KREATOR rushing headlong into EXCITER, MANILLA ROAD hooking up with HELSTAR and much more.
‘Hordes Of Bats’ kicks off with horror movie organs before whipping into a speedy onslaught with those FATE and HELSTAR influences. Like HELSTAR’s James Rivera, Necrohex is obsessed with vampires but there’s more than just that as a lyrical influence. Elsewhere, there are short go for the throat thrash killers like ‘Summoned To Kill’ and ‘Sepulchral Majesty’, but PHANTOM stretch their spectral wings on ‘The Pale Remains Of Time’, which grows on your eardrums like moss. A more subdued vocal approach, a NWOBHM vibe in the songwriting that comes across as moody and sad and some absolutely awesome lead guitar work really push this one over the edge. Another “traditional metal” track is the MAIDEN-ish ‘Solomonari’ which is full of twin guitar action. ‘Curse Your Name’ also mixes the brooding and the brutal to good effect.
Hell, even the 1:08 acoustic track ‘A Trail Full Of Sorrows’ justifies its presence here. All things considered, Not Midnight Yet should cement PHANTOM as one of the most exciting “retro” acts in metal today.
Review By: Dr. Abner Mality
PHANTOM
Not Midnight Yet
High Roller Records