Germany has a long and rich history when it comes to thrash
in the 80’s. While Kreator, Sodom, and Destruction always rule the discussion,
it seems like everybody has their secondary favourites, whether it is Deathrow,
Darkness, or any other number of bands. The one band I rarely hear about is
Protector. The only logical reason I can come up with for this is that none of
their albums are easily available anywhere. Luckily, however, the band has reunited
and is back to bring us more great death/thrash, meaning that come September,
you’ll be able to get your hands on a Protector album.
“Reanimated Homunculus” gets started with “Sons of Kain”,
which is probably the strongest song on the album. The chorus, despite being
brutal beyond belief, is very easy to sing along to. The main reason for this
carnage is the hellish vocals of original vocalist Martin Missy. On this
release, Missy sticks to a range not unlike the brilliant David Vincent on
“Altars of Madness”. His vocals are a low-pitched growl, that pushes the limit of how harsh vocals can be in thrash, yet are still completely understandable. In many other respects, this album is
clearly taken from the late 1980’s/early 1990’s death/thrash realm. In
“Deranged Nymphomania”, for example, the drums almost reach blastbeat level
intensity. The bass drum is slightly clickier than any album from that era, but
rest assured that this is not a modern sounding production. The guitars have
more of a buzzsaw tone than the Swedish death metal scene could ever muster. You’ll notice this in the mid-paced, heavy
chugging of the title track, as well as in just about every tremolo-picked riff
(and there are quite a few of them!). In general, the title track is the only
song where things slow down for an excessive period of time, but even this tune
eventually picks up the speed as it launches into a Slayer and Kreator-inspired
guitar solo. Fear not, however, as the soloing also makes use of a more standard,
style of playing, such as in “Birth of A Nation”.
Protector may not be the most popular band around, but this
release will definitely turn some heads. Any fan of that fantastic transitional
phase between death and thrash metal will love this album. While I don’t feel
that all of the songs are necessarily as developed or memorable as they could
be, it’s still very easy to get into “Reanimated Homunculus”. The production
alone will draw in plenty of fans, and these riffs will keep you coming back to
this album for quite a while!
Highlights
"Sons of Kain"
"Reanimated Homunculus"
"Birth of A Nation"
Final Rating
4.1/5 or 82%.