Don’t call it a throwback, they’ve been here for years….okay, enough with the silliness. But to be fair, Toronto’s Phantom High IS something of a throwback with a sound that’s this modernized take on a notorious genre that’s seen an uptick by some young artists in recent years. We’re, of course, talking about Nu-Metal and under Phantom High’s watchful eye the genre is not only updated but, dare we say, elevated??? It’s true! But don’t take our word for it, just listen to the tunes!
I received the promo for latest single “Black Divine” and was initially going to do one of our “Singles!” features for the track but upon diving into the rest of what’s PH has to offer on Bandcamp, decided to just go all out and cover ALL of what they have up there so bear with us, okay?
Self-professed to be “A covenant of demigods fronted by a fallen angel”, the quinet look as if they’d show up to your house unexpected to cause some chaos like The Strangers did a few times so, as a precaution, maybe lock your doors when you dive into their songs.
But I digress. A lot!
As a whole, Phantom High deliver some truly heavy shreddy maniacal madness like the good ole daze of the nu where sounds were being developed and discovered for the very first time. And that’s what latest single “Black Divine” is all about. Kind of like Korn’s refined perfection of the genre on Follow The Leader mixed with the aural chaos of the lost gem that is Crossbreed, “Black Divine” slays and stomps with the fallen angel in question switching between sexy and screamy with ease.
Elsewhere on the current BC page, “Bitchface” is sonic divinity and deserves a listen through headphones at high volumes so you get the full immersive hum when the guitars kick in at the start and a voice playfully calls out “Hey whores/Who’s laughing now?” before a killer crunch collides with the barrage of percussion being throttled towards listeners earholes.
Do you like covers? Because Phantom High has those as well! Lady Gaga’s “Applause” sounds bigger and badder, more anthemic and more nasty than even the Mother Monster probably intended. Childish Gambino’s “This Is America” gets a metallic makeover and even Nu-Metal godfather, Jonathan Davis, gets a turn in the Phantom High sun when PH take on the Queen Of The Damned banger (More like “fanger”, amirite?) “Slept So Long” and transport the L’Estat classic into the 21st Century to make it a contemporary Goth anthem.
Finally, there’s The Shadows which is the debut EP that highlights Phantom High’s penchant for producing powerful Pop paean’s wrapped in a nonplussed and angry sounding sonic blanket. Tracks like “All Been Done” and “Ambiguous” are both headbangers and foot stompers but also heartstring pullers as they take the Electro ecstasy of Strvngers and the Industrial-tinged grandioseness of Professional Murder Music (You should really look them up if you like this and don’t know them already) to craft something new.
“Black Divine” is the latest single from the Canadian quintet so we’re gonna link to that below. But! You can find that and the rest of their current discography over on Bandcamp by heading here. For more on Phantom High, follow the trail of SM (Social Media, obviously) by clicking here, here, or here.