Review by Felix on May 3, 2020.

Kreator have made a lot of dubious decisions during their career. Or was it just Mille? It doesn’t matter… I know, the objective situation speaks another language, but this is my review and here I am the dictator who has the final say. I mean just think of Endorama, think of the day they took Ventor's mic away or of the crude justification why they did not give 'Wolf Child' a place on Phantom Antichrist (“it did not fit the context of the album” – thank God, an honorable reason. How could I be so naïve to think they just wanted to make some extra bucks with the Civilization Collapse EP?). Nevertheless, I admit the band has reached a very professional level of musicality, for better or for worse. From this it follows that the dudes are able to pen and perform smooth and partly catchy songs without killing their vehemence completely. Phantom Antichrist documents this. It is no bad album, but it rather scores with non-typical elements for a thrash album. However, it is still thrash and not that overly polished, pretty meaningless kind of material they presented on their stinker from the year 2017.

Unfortunately, the band has totally lost its once uncontrolled aggression. I know, no new finding, but again and again, it’s sad to experience it. No, I am not still waiting for “Endless Pain Part II”, but a few elements of insane brutality would have been fine. The formation stays within a frame of calculated violence. It’s not an overly narrow one, but it seems as if they have taken fright at their own courage. Sometimes calm sequences stop the rise of intensity and that’s a pity. Solid riffs and a basic heaviness do not deserve this kind of variety and it feels good to listen to a more or less real neck breaker like 'Civilization Collapse'. Thank God, this song fits the context of the album and my worst fears did not come true!

Moreover, the tribal drumming that opens this song also sounds the bell for the best part of the album.'United in Hate' has, despite its nonsensical title, enough fire to burn all barricades that stand in its way. The truly swift drumming drives the verses forward and the voluminous chorus delivers catchiness minus cheesy elements. A good tune; it shows that the band is still ambitious without always falling victim to pretty commercial patterns. 'From Flood to Fire' represents the other side of the band’s ambitions – a comparatively commercial track that wants to be moving, yet it sounds rather lachrymose. Yet I wanted to describe the best segment of the album. 'The Few, the Proud, the Broken' finishes this part, it offers inter alia a very strong instrumental part where the guitars mix straightness and power. Once again catchy parts show up, the main riff leads the listener to the core of the song and even Mille’s wannabe-evil voice does not hurt the coherent overall picture. No doubt, this piece boasts with a very good balance between aggression and melody.

Needless to say that the sound is flawless for “overground thrash”. It’s not too dry and not too juicy. In its best moments, Phantom Antichrist delivers a fine slap in the face of the listener due to its clearly defined, vigorous sound. On the other hand, tracks like 'Your Heaven, My Hell' do not detonate. The pretty unmotivated chorus is going nowhere, and both the silent beginning and the more powerful verses do not provide anything new. Generally speaking, the last three songs of the album do not impress with an overdose of tension, even though 'Victory Will Come' has some mighty (yet very typical) sequences. Anyway, Phantom Antichrist can give you the impulse to bang your head and have a - partly - good time. The eighties are gone and even I-don’t-listen-to-metal-when-I’m-at-home dudes like Mille have the right to development. By the way, this private banishment of metal is another one of his dubious (or simply wrong) decisions.

Rating: 7.3 out of 10

Review by Death8699 on February 4, 2019.

Definitely a step up from their previous release entitled Hordes of Chaos, this release is heavier and way more aggressive thrash metal played with utmost intensity. I'd say it's about as good as Enemy of God, but nothing tops Coma of Souls. However, these guys flourished during the 80's (1985) and then went to hell during the 90's, then came back with vengeance with Violent Revolution. Here the lead guitar work is much more well played out plus of course rhythms that are definitely original with a combination of tremolo picked riffing plus some fretboard chaos. A solid production definitely with an even keel of mixed tempos, but overall plainly original.

45+ minutes of brutality and mixture of thrash with some clean guitar playing. However, most songs are heavy and filled with monumental distortion and utmost speed. The riffs themselves are wholly well constructed. Mille's vocals have never changed and they fit well with the guitar and intensity. This album is just so much more enthusiastic with riff-writing frenzied guitar featuring amazingly fast frets played with vigor. A great one to pick up and a Kreator release that can't be outplayed. I really think that this is a monument because it's so aggressive and catchy.

Some clean tone guitar exhibited here, however, mostly what is gripping are the distorted riffs. A lot of it reflects the past with all of the aggression and utmost originality. I dug most of the guitar on here because it's played with precision. These guys don't fool around when it comes to belting out fury in their music within the genre of thrash metal. This is definitely what they play their best. The leads are definitely much better than on Hordes of Chaos. They don't overdo it with them either. The bulk is within the rhythm guitar work. Much better played than their predecessor.

The music is the highlight of this release. It contains all elements of metal and they mix up some songs with a bit of clean tone guitar. Not the whole album is wholly aggressive, just most of it. Mille sounds extremely pissed off here which fits well with the distorted guitar work. A lot of their lyrical topics have been exceptionally interesting to me, just the music and the vocals. The recording quality here is phenomenal. Everything is well mixed in there. The quality here is exceptional and everything flows diligently. The bass guitar could have been a bit louder and that's my only complaint.

If you want an album that is fast and furious, thrash metal galore, and just overall a plain original sounding and awesomely well played out, Phantom Antichrist hits home with vigor. You'll find everything here so balanced out. The lead guitar, rhythms, clean tone melodies, great chorus pieces, and mastermind production sound, this album is for you. I didn't think too highly of it until I listened to it maybe 4-5 times. Then everything to me seemed to fit into place. Again, nothing tops Coma of Souls, but this band really makes a dent in their discography meaning that it's an album that hits home in all aspects.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Review by Felix on January 13, 2020.

During the last years, Mr. Petrozza has begun to stylize himself as a politically interested, reasonable guy, socially competent and thoughtful. A brainy man who knows more than the somewhat narrow-minded heavy metal universe, a man who has something to say. Something very important, of course.

Well, that's definitely fine and everybody has the right (or even the duty) to keep a close eye on his personal development. Nevertheless, whenever Mille opens his mouth in order to vitalize our poor brains with a very thoughtful message, I have to think of lines like this one: "My only aim is to take many lives, the more the better I feel" or that one: "He eats the heart of your wife and rips her cunt inside". I know that we have to separate the artist from the person, yet this contrast always irritates me. Frankly, the entire lyrics of Pleasure to Kill are nothing else but a pile of shit (and the artwork is not much better). But here comes the good news: lyrics are absolutely irrelevant as long as we are talking about unleashed thrash metal. Pleasure to Kill contains exactly this music and furthermore, it holds a couple of excellent compositions.

As soon as the deceptive intro fades away, three berserks start immediately to demonstrate their Pleasure to Kill their instruments. Mille is ahead of the pack and spits out the nonsensical lines with a maximum of hate and anger. Ventor, who delivers the lead vocals on three tracks, makes sure that there is a certain variety. His voice sounds less hateful, but more masculine and more controlled. Anyway, both singers convince with a highly aggressive performance. Anything else would have been inappropriate in view of the musical content. Kreator use the heavy artillery. Pleasure to Kill is more vehement than "Agent Orange", it sounds much more brutal than "Zombie Attack" and it delivers a rougher form of violence than "Infernal Overkill". The songs are characterized by high velocity, stormy riffs and flattening leads. Furthermore, the smell of decay fills the air. Although I am not a fan of the artwork, I must admit that it reflects the atmosphere of this milestone of German thrash metal very well.

Kreator manage the challenge to integrate tiny melodies without hurting the brutality of their songs. "The Pestilence" holds a short, almost melodic part from 4:45 to 5:33, but even the here presented melody line does not lack of a specific gruesomeness. However, violent sections dominate the album. A small number of sequences borders on chaos. "Carrion", for example, is kicked off by a noisy solo. Shortly afterwards, hectic guitars are accompanied by equally nervous drums and both create a violent staccato. Nevertheless, the band does not lose control. Instead, the three-piece delivers some jewels of extreme thrash. Both the title track and "Riot of Violence" score with surprisingly catchy choruses, "Ripping Corpse" impresses due to its sheer fury and the closer "Under the Guillotine" leaves a final trace of devastation with regard to its piercing guitar work and the simple yet sustainable chorus. "The Pestilence" wins the award for the most epic battle. But it goes without saying that I also want to provide you with the titles of the downers of this work. Here they are: ---- . That's not much? Sorry, but there is nothing more to say in this context. Only a real human competence center, Mille for example, would be able to add an intelligent comment.

Rating: 9 out of 10

Review by Elijah on January 10, 2020.

Don't get me wrong, this album is cool, it's awesome, it's heavy, it's one of the first albums to mix the aspiring new death metal and thrash. This album isn't BAD, but it's not flawless or "amazing" at all I'd say. I really do enjoy this album but at the same time I'm not that big on this at all.

I absolutely adore tracks like 'Ripping Corpse' (especially that song, it's my favorite on the album), 'The Pestilence', and 'Under the Guillotine'. Mostly every song is very good and great. But my main issue is how sloppy everything is. The skank beats, pretty much a lot of the drumming is half off tempo, the guitars fail to catch up with the drums at sometimes, and a lot of the time the vocals are just shouted out randomly instead of being structured and placed accordingly throughout songs as they should be. Some people like this album mainly because it's messy. It appeals to them because it has a relentless pummeling evil sound, and I totally get that; but in my opinion I don’t think it's all that great. Endless Pain actually used the "messy" type of shit in a good way, on that album the messy vibes feel good and it just feels right, like it should be there, where on Pleasure to Kill it feels forced and not fully processed.

Aside from all that which is the biggest issue for me, the songs are good. As I said before my favorite is 'Ripping Corpse'. It has an awesome riff followed by skanks and fills on the drums, and Mille's vocals sound heavy and plain evil. So good. On the other hand, tracks towards the end of the album heavily decrease in quality. The guitars lose their heaviness and the riffs get stale, and the drums sound completely different as they did on the first half of the album. Especially the snare, oh god did the snare loose it's greatness. Makes me sad. Can't stand that soft gross snare. Those songs are just alright but not as enjoyable as the first few songs, not at all; and that's for sure.

I do like this album, but I find myself not being fully pleased every time I listen to it. I'm not a huge fan of how unorganized it is. I would enjoy it far more if it wasn't so much like the way it is. It's pretty hard to explain for me. I do love this album, but I also just don't like it compared to other albums. Terrible Certainty is far better than this. Overall this is just a good album. It's cool but needs some fixing up.

Rating: 8.2 out of 10

Review by ChadL on May 9, 2002.

Around the time California's Slayer released the seminal "Reign In Blood" on the other side of the globe, Germany's Kreator released a monstrous album of their own, entitled "Pleasure To Kill". The fierce, unrelenting songs on this album would become a blue print for what would become death metal.

Despite being released sixteen years ago, "Pleasure To Kill" is still brutal by today's standards. The calm guitar/keyboard intro is the only moment on this disc that will give your neck a break. In fact, the latter half of the intro is completely misleading, because just when it gets almost, dare I say "pretty", the sheer fury of 'Rippin' Corpse' blasts through the speakers like a wild beast that has been caged for far too long. This song is a great introduction to what awaits you; furious guitars and drums, along with a pounding bass line and spiteful vocals. Next up is 'Death Is Your Saviour', which if anything, will kick your arse even more than the previous song. Despite its ferocious pace, this track is very memorable and contains some great riffs that will stay in your head. The title track is my favorite on the album and just rules any way you look at it, this song is a classic if I've ever heard one. I could go on and on and go through every track on this CD, but it would be pointless, as they all kick your arse. Besides the ones I've mentioned, other standouts include 'The Pestilence', 'Command Of The Blade' and album closer 'Under The Guillotine'.

Overall, "Pleasure To Kill" is a great album, and to me it is the definitive Kreator album. Even though this is overall a very aggressive thrash album, there is certainly some "death metal" elements in here as well. Many of the songs are more aggressive than anything I've heard from this time period, and still knock you on the floor, even today!! Once this album sinks into you and becomes part of your subconscious like "Reign In Blood", you will start to notice just how large of an influence this band and this album, in particular had on the current death metal scene. While the music itself isn't very technical by today's standards, it was very extreme when it was released, and is played with conviction, heart and energy, which are a very important part of making a great record. That is a big part of what makes this CD great, Kreator sound like they are having fun and like they believe in and enjoy the music they are playing. The only thing that keeps this album short of thrash perfection is the production, which isn't bad, but not great either. All in all, this is a great album by a legendary band. A must for anyone who likes aggressive, no-frills thrash/death metal.

Bottom Line: A timeless metal album. This album is a true gem in the metal world, and fans of thrash/death metal will not be disappointed, you will be headbanging the whole way through! You need this!

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 9
Atmosphere: 9
Production: 7
Originality: 10
Overall: 9

Rating: 8.8 of 10

Review by Elijah on April 28, 2020.

The 1990's, a terrifying era for thrash metal because most of the bands converted to a rock/alternative sound or filler thrash. Sure, Renewal may fall victim to not being pure thrash, but it's definitely not a bad album, not at all.

My absolute favorite part of this album are the drums. They sound absolutely amazing, the snare is solid, tight, poppy, and it fills in every beat and measure greatly. You can't ever go wrong with a solid and amazing snare, absolutely beautiful. The guitars do have a thrashy sound, but rather than being used to create pure thrash riffs and songs, it's designed to have a more laid back and restricted feel and focuses more on the pure sound rather than ability. I suppose you could call this "industrial thrash metal", this is Kreator's first experimental album, and thankfully it's not bad.

When thrash bands try out new things in the 1990's it's usually a shitshow, but gladly Renewal isn't. It's far from a shitshow actually, this is truly a beautiful album and it's really overlooked and mislabeled as a "flawed 90's 'thrash' album". The songs display a huge array of emotion, and it really does speak to me. Whenever I'm in a sad mood, or a chilled-out mood, or even when it's raining outside and it's fucking peaceful and relaxing, this album is perfect for any of those scenarios, especially the rain. Match made in heaven. The simplistic riffs do their own thing throughout the songs and the album, and the more you listen the more you'll appreciate it all. I'd say to fully appreciate and see the true beauty of this album, you have to be in the right setting or a certain state of mind. Like rain, a perfect example. It's just an album that absolutely FITS with an atmosphere like that. It's simply gorgeous, can't really form it into words.

The standout tracks are for sure 'Winter Martyrium', 'Renewal', 'Reflection', and 'Brainseed'. Pretty much the first few songs are the best standout ones, even though every track is realistically. 'Winter Martyrium' is a pretty flexible song, it has several different sections and it's pretty cool. It gives me happy and positive upbeat vibes and I love the drum patterns on it. 'Renewal' is where it starts to get more emotional and where the beauty starts to stand out. The start of the song has a few hallowed strums of guitar with drums that follow, the beginning of that song makes me think of a setting where you're in a city, or a big deserted area, and it's raining and you're all alone. It just makes my head expand and think about the settings each song depicts. The main riff of the song is catchy and pleasing to the ear. 'Reflection' sounds like you're walking in the middle of a small blizzard/snowstorm, you're going against the tough weather while the harsh snow is being blown everywhere all around you, a lengthy challenge, but it'll be all worth it at the end point. 'Brainseed' is a pretty in-itself track, the main aspect of the song is a metallic-sounding smack/hit that's basically a beat that repeats itself over and over. It's simply catchy and it's the main hook of the song. These 4 tracks are the greatest parts and are the backbone of the album that start it off properly and in a good direction.

There may be best tracks that stand out the most compared to others, but pretty much every track has all the elements that I previously described. Every song matter, every song is cool. Nothing really fails here, the band manages to properly maintain an ongoing formula.

The tone of the guitar followed by the song structures and patterns in every song creates a little story or experience I should say. I just think this is entertaining and catchy, I like listening to the whole album and going on a cool adventure and waiting for all my favorite parts, it's an intriguing experience that's super fun and makes me feel an array of emotions. Especially when you're in the right setting, it'll HIT THE SPOT.

Renewal isn't all that bad, it's an album you have to get used to and spend time with to understand it. Is it absolutely perfect? No. Is it terrible? Not in the slightest. Every track has a personality, some may be a little lazy, but at some point in any of the songs it'll have something interesting, and that's fine. Kreator wanted to try something different, and it's not bad. Experimental doesn't ALWAYS mean bad, this is a prime example. Renewal is an acquired taste that's appreciated only by a certain amount. I love this album and I always will, definitely one of my top favorites by Kreator. 

Rating: 9.5 out of 10                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

Review by Elijah on April 28, 2020.

The 1990's, a terrifying era for thrash metal because most of the bands converted to a rock/alternative sound or filler thrash. Sure, Renewal may fall victim to not being pure thrash, but it's definitely not a bad album, not at all.

My absolute favorite part of this album are the drums. They sound absolutely amazing, the snare is solid, tight, poppy, and it fills in every beat and measure greatly. You can't ever go wrong with a solid and amazing snare, absolutely beautiful. The guitars do have a thrashy sound, but rather than being used to create pure thrash riffs and songs, it's designed to have a more laid back and restricted feel and focuses more on the pure sound rather than ability. I suppose you could call this "industrial thrash metal", this is Kreator's first experimental album, and thankfully it's not bad.

When thrash bands try out new things in the 1990's it's usually a shitshow, but gladly Renewal isn't. It's far from a shitshow actually, this is truly a beautiful album and it's really overlooked and mislabeled as a "flawed 90's 'thrash' album". The songs display a huge array of emotion, and it really does speak to me. Whenever I'm in a sad mood, or a chilled-out mood, or even when it's raining outside and it's fucking peaceful and relaxing, this album is perfect for any of those scenarios, especially the rain. Match made in heaven. The simplistic riffs do their own thing throughout the songs and the album, and the more you listen the more you'll appreciate it all. I'd say to fully appreciate and see the true beauty of this album, you have to be in the right setting or a certain state of mind. Like rain, a perfect example. It's just an album that absolutely FITS with an atmosphere like that. It's simply gorgeous, can't really form it into words.

The standout tracks are for sure 'Winter Martyrium', 'Renewal', 'Reflection', and 'Brainseed'. Pretty much the first few songs are the best standout ones, even though every track is realistically. 'Winter Martyrium' is a pretty flexible song, it has several different sections and it's pretty cool. It gives me happy and positive upbeat vibes and I love the drum patterns on it. 'Renewal' is where it starts to get more emotional and where the beauty starts to stand out. The start of the song has a few hallowed strums of guitar with drums that follow, the beginning of that song makes me think of a setting where you're in a city, or a big deserted area, and it's raining and you're all alone. It just makes my head expand and think about the settings each song depicts. The main riff of the song is catchy and pleasing to the ear. 'Reflection' sounds like you're walking in the middle of a small blizzard/snowstorm, you're going against the tough weather while the harsh snow is being blown everywhere all around you, a lengthy challenge, but it'll be all worth it at the end point. 'Brainseed' is a pretty in-itself track, the main aspect of the song is a metallic-sounding smack/hit that's basically a beat that repeats itself over and over. It's simply catchy and it's the main hook of the song. These 4 tracks are the greatest parts and are the backbone of the album that start it off properly and in a good direction.

There may be best tracks that stand out the most compared to others, but pretty much every track has all the elements that I previously described. Every song matter, every song is cool. Nothing really fails here, the band manages to properly maintain an ongoing formula.

The tone of the guitar followed by the song structures and patterns in every song creates a little story or experience I should say. I just think this is entertaining and catchy, I like listening to the whole album and going on a cool adventure and waiting for all my favorite parts, it's an intriguing experience that's super fun and makes me feel an array of emotions. Especially when you're in the right setting, it'll HIT THE SPOT.

Renewal isn't all that bad, it's an album you have to get used to and spend time with to understand it. Is it absolutely perfect? No. Is it terrible? Not in the slightest. Every track has a personality, some may be a little lazy, but at some point in any of the songs it'll have something interesting, and that's fine. Kreator wanted to try something different, and it's not bad. Experimental doesn't ALWAYS mean bad, this is a prime example. Renewal is an acquired taste that's appreciated only by a certain amount. I love this album and I always will, definitely one of my top favorites by Kreator. 

Rating: 9.5 out of 10