Phantom Antichrist

Phantom Antichrist is the 13th studio album by German thrash metal band Kreator, released through Nuclear Blast on 1 June 2012.^[1]

Phantom Antichrist
Cover art by Wes Benscoter
Studio album by Kreator
Released	1 June 2012 (2012-06-01)
Studio	Fascination Street Studios, Sweden
Genre	Thrash metal
Length	45:26
Label	Nuclear Blast
Producer	Jens Bogren
Kreator chronology
Hordes of Chaos (2009) Phantom Antichrist (2012) Dying Alive (2013)
Alternative cover
Deluxe edition artwork
Singles from Phantom Antichrist
"Phantom Antichrist" Released: 3 May 2012 "Civilization Collapse" Released: 9 November 2012

The album entered the US Billboard 200 at No. 130,^[2] selling 3,900 copies in the first week.^[3]

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.

Kreator released a music video for "Civilization Collapse" on 28 November 2012.^[4]

Packaging

The digipak edition includes a bonus CD containing a documentary about the making of the album and a live set compiled from Kreator's performances at the Wacken Open Air 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, an A1 poster of the album artwork, and a numbered certificate of authenticity.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
About.com	[5]
AllMusic	[6]
Exclaim!	favorable[7]
Metal Forces	9/10[8]
Metal Storm	8.4/10[9]

The album has a more progressive and melodic sound than previously explored by the band and was generally well received by critics.^[10] It won a 2012 Metal Storm Award for "Best Thrash Metal Album".^[11]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Mille Petrozza.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Mars Mantra" (Instrumental)	1:18
2.	"Phantom Antichrist"	4:31
3.	"Death to the World"	4:53
4.	"From Flood into Fire"	5:26
5.	"Civilization Collapse"	4:13
6.	"United in Hate"	4:31
7.	"The Few, the Proud, the Broken"	4:37
8.	"Your Heaven, My Hell"	5:53
9.	"Victory Will Come"	4:14
10.	"Until Our Paths Cross Again"	5:49
Total length:		45:26

Japanese edition hidden bonus track

No.	Title	Length
11.	"Iron Destiny"	4:31

Bonus DVD

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Conquerers of the Ice - The Making of Phantom Antichrist" (Directed by Matthias Kollek)	20:00
2.	"Harvesting the Grapes of Horror" (Live at Wacken Open Air 2008 / 2011)	55:00

Harvesting the Grapes of Horror - limited boxed set edition bonus CD

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Choir of the Damned" (Live at Wacken Open Air 2011)	0:40
2.	"Hordes of Chaos" (Live at Wacken Open Air 2011)	5:21
3.	"War Curse" (Live at Wacken Open Air 2011)	5:01
4.	"Coma of Souls / Endless Pain" (Live at Wacken Open Air 2011)	4:09
5.	"Pleasure to Kill" (Live at Wacken Open Air 2011)	3:15
6.	"Destroy What Destroys You" (Live at Wacken Open Air 2011)	3:26
7.	"The Patriarch" (Live at Wacken Open Air 2008)	0:52
8.	"Violent Revolution" (Live at Wacken Open Air 2008)	5:17
9.	"People of the Lie" (Live at Wacken Open Air 2008)	4:49
10.	"Europe After the Rain" (Live at Wacken Open Air 2008)	3:50
11.	"Phobia" (Live at Wacken Open Air 2011)	3:32
12.	"Terrible Certainty / Reconquering the Throne" (Live at Wacken Open Air 2011)	6:04
13.	"Flag of Hate / Tormentor" (Live at Wacken Open Air 2011)	7:35

Personnel

Phantom Antichrist album personnel adapted from the CD liner notes.^[12]

Kreator

• Mille Petrozza – lead vocals, guitars
• Sami Yli-Sirniö – guitars, backing vocals, acoustic guitar on the intro of "United in Hate"
• Christian Giesler – bass
• Ventor – drums

Production

• Jens Bogren – mixing, recording, producing at Fascination Street Studios, Sweden
• Ted Jensen – mastering at Sterling Sound, New York City
• Johan Örnborg – additional recording

Art

• Wes Benscoter – cover artwork
• Jan Meininghaus – additional cover artwork, booklet design
• Heile for Heilemania – band photos

Chart performance

Chart	Peak position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[13]	31
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[14]	75
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[15]	84
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[16]	87
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[17]	11
French Albums (SNEP)[18]	87
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[19]	5
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[20]	13
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[21]	63
South Korean International Albums (Circle)[22]	35
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[23]	39
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[24]	89
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[25]	30
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[26]	31
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[27]	37
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[28]	14
US Billboard 200[2]	130
US Top Hard Rock Albums (Billboard)[29]	8
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[30]	1
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[31]	47