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(https://thoseonceloyal.wordpress.com/wp-login.php) • Entries feed (https://thoseonceloyal.wordpress.com/feed/) • Comments feed (https://thoseonceloyal.wordpress.com/comments/feed/) • WordPress.com (https://wordpress.com/) Review: Phantom – Not Midnight Yet Posted: July 8, 2026 in Reviews (https://thoseonceloyal.wordpress.com/category/reviews/) Tags: Holly Roller (https://thoseonceloyal.wordpress.com/tag/holly-roller/), Not Midnight Yet (https://thoseonceloyal.wordpress.com/tag/not-midnight-yet/), Phantom (https://thoseonceloyal.wordpress.com/tag/phantom/), Review (https://thoseonceloyal.wordpress.com/tag/review/), Speed Metal (https://thoseonceloyal.wordpress.com/tag/speed-metal/) 0 (https://thoseonceloyal.wordpress.com/2026/07/08/review-phantom-not-midnight-yet/#respond) https://www.metal-archives.com/images/1/4/2/6/1426637.webp?1454 Review by Sandre the Giant Released: 26th June 2026 Mexican speed metal heroes Phantom have just released their third full length record, ‘Not Midnight Yet’, on High Roller Records, the label who has just made their back catalogue more available to fans, and this new record should be ready to take advantage of that and give Phantom a boost up in the minds of speed and heavy metal fans. ‘Not Midnight Yet’ is out now. Opener ‘Hordes of Bats’ comes hard with atmospheric organ before the galloping, thrashy speed metal kicks in, complete with a delightfully old fashioned production to it. This record sounds like it could be the demo version of a King Diamond album in the best way possible. It has all the great old school riffing, fluid leads and killer solos but without any suggestion of the dramatics. Phantom are balls to the wall from the word go, rampaging through all sort of classic riffing, including a nice little Tetris reference at the end of ‘Out of the Mausoleum’. ‘Morgenstern/Iron Strike’ is so quick and relentless but so catchy as well, which I think has always been an underrated part of Phantom’s game. Their songs have more hooks than Hellraiser, but they never let that get in the way of an excellent solo or fast section. ‘The Pale Remains of Time’ is their melodic, heavy metal epic centrepiece; somehow channeling classic Maiden with more than a touch of 90s grunge in there too, before galloping into pure NWOBHM at the end. It’s a gorgeously subtle example of just how impressive Phantom’s songwriting has become. It’s one of those records where each track has at least one little moment that makes you think “fuck yeah, what was that?!”, my favourite probably being the liquid gold solo of ‘Solomanari’. ‘Not Midnight Yet’ is a superb record that channels King Diamond, Exciter, old school horror, vintage thrash and all the best riffs you’ve ever heard. Phantom are totally locked in on this record, with ludicrously catchy songwriting and plenty of headbanging moments too. ‘Not Midnight Yet’ feels like a real low key record this year, but it needs to be on everyone’s radar ASAP. https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61583939232552 https://phantombandgdl.bandcamp.com/ https://www.hrrecords.de/ Video 3 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCKY3om0ToM) Leave a comment Cancel reply (https://thoseonceloyal.wordpress.com/2026/07/08/review-phantom-not-midnight-yet/#respond) Δ This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. (https://akismet.com/privacy/) 2026 Anniversary Series 063: Sacramentum – Far Away from the Sun (https://thoseonceloyal.wordpress.com/2026/07/06/2026-anniversary-series-063-sacramentum-far-away-from-the-sun/) • Blog at WordPress.com. 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