Fantom |Lucifer Jelenj Meg! + Rehearsals 1987 |F.O.A.D. Records (Reissue/Remastered)

Fantom formed in Budapest in 1987, operating during the final years of the Iron Curtain. Driven by early extreme metal forces like Hellhammer, Celtic Frost, Venom, Bathory, Possessed, Slayer, Kreator, and Sodom, the band focused their lyrical themes on Satanism and death. Their brief initial run lasted only until 1988, leaving behind a cult footprint in the underground Eastern European scene before splitting up.

Patrick Engel handled the remastering from a rediscovered tape source, and the audio retains the original tape-trading spirit without burying the performance. It has a stronger shape on vinyl without sanding away its primitive character. That matters here, because Fantom was never about fancy playing or modern studio shine. The guitars scrape and slash, the vocals come across with a cursed tone and the drumming has that raw demo era force from 1987.

The extra 1987 session material gives the release more value, especially since these tracks were not included in the previous 2016 vinyl edition. It makes the LP more than a simple reissue, it turns it into a fuller document of Fantom’s early black/thrash form. The silver laminated LP, inserts, lyrics, rare photos and original artwork also give collectors the physical dirt they want with this kind of release.

There are limits, of course. The songwriting is primitive, the production remains raw and anyone expecting refined extreme metal will get slapped by the past. Some parts are more historical than devastating by today’s standards, and the rough nature of the material will not convert outsiders. For those already into early black/thrash, obscure demos and Iron Curtain metal, this has real value. "Lucifer Jelenj Meg!" is a rough, grim and important piece of Hungarian extreme metal history. Fantom sounds cruel, simple and infected with old underground darkness.

|7.5