There are very few bands in the history of metal who have been able to carve out a successful career for themselves with multiple lineups. Protector is one of those few. The German death/thrash pioneers got their start in the late 80s, making a name for themselves with the Misnathropy EP (1987), as well as their first two full lengths, Golem (1988) and Urm the Mad (1989). After that lineup fell apart, drummer Michael Hasse would soldier on with multi-instrumentalist Olly Wiebel to release A Shedding of Skin (1991), and after Hasse himself left, leaving zero original Protector members left, Wiebel would use the moniker to release the devastating The Heritage (1993).
From that point forward, the Protector name was essentially up for grabs, with various incarnations popping up on the euro fest circuit through the 90s to play the classics. It wasn’t until 2011 that original singer Martin Missy properly revived Protector with his own lineup to back him. This new Protector (Who knows what mach they’re on by now?) has lasted together longer than any other Protector lineup before them, playing shows all over the globe and regularly releasing albums in the vein of those late 80s landmarks, the latest being the appropriately titled Excessive Outburst of Depravity.
If you know and love Protector, then you’ll know and love exactly what you’re getting on here. If you don’t, allow me to fill you in. Protector plays one of the most orthodox brands of death/thrash you’ll ever hear. With the exception of a few cuts throughout (“Referat IV B 4” is especially deadly), at no point does one genre outweigh the other. The line is towed between violent thrash and demented death with effortlessness. The riffing, atmosphere, and attitude of cuts like “Last Stand Hill”, “Pandemic Misery”, and “Perpetual Blood Oath” are ripping, merciless, and unapologetically old school.
As if this wasn’t enough, Protector seems to get more extreme with age, as various moments throughout Excessive Outburst‘s latter half tap into the black metal vein. There’s a slight tinge of blackness on the menacing and doomy “Thirty Years of Perdition”, but these undertones are further accentuated and explored on the sinister “Toiling in Sheol” and raging “Shackled by Total Control”. This isn’t a case of a veteran band co-opting tremolo riffing and frantic blast beast to fit in with the kvlt crowd. Hell, if it wasn’t for them, half of the corpsepaint clad bands you nerds hype up probably wouldn’t even be around today. As the old saying goes, “What comes around goes around.” Ask Stephen Pearcy. He’ll tell you why.
Poor 80s metal puns aside, Excessive Outburst of Depravity is yet another brilliant late career entry in Protector’s damn near flawless catalog. This thing will snap your neck, crush your skull, and take you to hell in back with no time to catch your breath. And that’s exactly what I look for in an extreme metal release. If I wanted repetitive drop D riffs, pseudo-melodic forays, and duets with pop singers, I’d listen to any number of bands whose shirts grace the Hot Topic wall (totally not calling out one of Protector’s peers right now). Lucky for both of us, I don’t. Let’s keep it that way and let the metal flow!
8 out of 10
Label: High Roller Records
Genre: Death/Thrash Metal
For fans of: Kreator, Sodom, Possessed