Review by Michael on December 14, 2025.

If there is an actual acoustic equivalent of a demolition hammer it must be named Phantom Corporation. Were the five guys from Germany, already quite brutal on their debut album "Fallout", have notched up their performance on "Time And Tide". They don't take any prisoners here but start directly to lay everything in ruins.

Vocalist Leif Jensen sounds like a rabid maniac performing his brutal screams ("To The Hilt" offers such an insane performance!) and the rest of the band seems to be on a very high dose of speed too. The 42 minutes of their second album have no second where the music is slower than 180 bpm (okay, that is a starry-eyed estimation by myself) but the tempo they are performing their eleven songs is really breathtaking.

Playing a dirty and uncompromising mixture of grind, crust, punk and thrash "Time And Tide" is a late 25 banquet for every metal lunatic who is into these genres. In the tracks you can find a lot of Slayer-vibes, and for example in tracks like "Sorcerer" or "Pound Of Flesh" a lot of these casual Napalm Death grooves. But mainly good old fucking Nasum might be one of the main inspirations this time. First of all when it comes to the vocals (or maybe At The Gates?) but also this rapid, ferocious grind-crust is quite similar to the Swedes. The title track even shows some black metal influences, just check the main riff and don't tell me that it isn't influenced by "On Darkened Wings" by Marduk.

You can clearly hear that the guys are very pissed off with everything and they also show that in their lyrics. Titles like "Western Apocalypse" just scream full of social criticism and if you see the state of the world, this is more necessary than ever in the last decades. But not everything on that album is political, "Krokodil" for example deals with that same-named drug (and isn't a Master's Hammer cover song). Most of the tracks were written by their guitarists Arne and Philipp but this time also Ulf (bass) contributed some lyrics.

But not only the music is well-executed, also the cover artwork has turned out very cool. Last time they had more sci-fi themed artwork, now it is darker and kind of mysterious. One could even say that it could be the artwork of a black metal band. And last but not least the production has become very good once again. Like on their debut they worked with Jörg Uken at his Soundlodge Studios. I guess most of you who are stuck a little bit deeper in the scene know about him and his mysterious powers. As always Jörg has delivered a fantastic job, the album has a crunchy and full sound and so, the album really kicks ass. Time and tide are right for Phantom Corporation!

Rating: 9.5 out of 10

Review by Jack on October 6, 2004.

If you liked the previous album, Phantom, you'll get a lot out of Mørke Gravers Kammer. The songs are more cohesive overall and make for superior record than what Phantom was. However, the same goes if you were sitting on the not so chirpy side of the Phantom fence, as nothing has changed dramatically enough for me to recommend Mørke Gravers Kammer to those who weren't overly nonplussed by what Khold have fashioned in the past.

One thing that never ceases to get old or tired for Khold is the work of Gard on vocals. His interpretation of the black metal style vocals is simply wonderous to behold. I swear if this man released a solo-vocal album I would be the first at the counter for his gurgles, gargles and croons in Norwegian. What else do you need for a dark and morbid black metal record? In all honesty, I don't think there is a better pure vocalist going around in black metal at the moment.

In looking at the plusses of Mørke Gravers Kammer over Phantom it's pretty easy to identify that they've certainly raised the atmosphere a notch or two. Phantom was a bit bland in many respects and I'm certainly glad to see that Khold have created a record that tells a story with a varied amount of atmosphere and feeling within. Certainly production stakes have improved, as you would expect with each subsequent record from a band in the music industry. Mørke Gravers Kammer has a fuller and meatier sound that what was presented in the past.

Still, I can't help but feel disappointed with Mørke Gravers Kammer. Khold are one of my favorite black metal acts, if just for their consistency in the black metal world. This is a good album, but it doesn't push the envelope enough for my tastes. And perhaps this is the problem. Was I expecting too much from Khold? Or more to the point, was I expecting the wrong things from Khold? Who knows, but the follow-up to Mørke Gravers Kammer should convince me.

I'm a little bit dirty at Khold for not challenging themselves enough to push on with their sound more. Everything on Mørke Gravers Kammer is a little too safe. Predictable songs with the trademark Khold stamp of grimness. However, that being said Mørke Gravers Kammer is the sort of record that you'll have a lot of fun with if you like gurgling black metal. I'm expecting big things for record #4.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 7
Atmosphere: 8
Production: 7
Originality: 5
Overall: 5

Rating: 6.4 out of 10