People surrounding me (both in meatspace and cyberspace) absolutely lost their shit over this album, and I can't count how many times I was asked if I had 'heard the new Testament' record. And I HAD heard a track or two, and was a little confused over the hype, not that I disliked the material, but from the way people were speaking about it I thought this was the second coming of The Legacy or The New Order. Granted, I am an odd duck with regards to this band's catalogue. The Ritual is my favorite, with its washed out, heavy metal leanings, not at all typical of their output, and appreciated by few; but I do also really love that first run of three albums, as well as others (Formation of Damnation) which hearken back to that very sound. So I allowed myself to get excited...
And I probably shouldn't have. This is a Testament album, through and through, with a few stylistic embellishments that are added to try and round it out, namely the more black metal and death metal elements. It's not their first rodeo with the latter, records like Low and Demonic walked that line, and often quite well, but the black metal here in "For the Love of Pain", obviously included as some sort of paean to Eric Peterson's run in Dragonlord, feels fresh. It's well performed, with incredibly drumming from Chris Dovas as well as Chuck Billy adapting his unmistakable voice with ease. But I don't think it actually adds anything I was really expecting to hear, even with Steve DiGiorgio laying in some awesome swerving bass lines to give it a more unique feel. Para Bellum is far, far better when it's sticking to the thrash that put them on the map, that's where I can really appreciate Chuck's more melodic chorus parts, and there are a bunch of tracks I enjoyed like "Witch Hunt", "Shadow People", and the awesome titular closer which is probably my favorite of the bunch with the technical riffing from Eric and Alex.
The ballad, "Meant to Be", clearly a callback to some of my fave material from The Ritual, doesn't quite land with me, but overall I think Para Bellum is a better listen than Titans of Creation. That album was rock solid, doing what Testament do, but it didn't impact me beyond the surface level. I think all the musicians in Testament are flexing a lot more throughout this record, and that's where the most curious details lie, because it rewards you for a number of listens with something you might not have noticed. I also think there's an EP worth of top shelf songwriting present, but even then none of the chorus parts or riffs necessarily stand out against their classics. Production and performances are exceptional, and so this is worth picking up for that alone, but it never amounted to AOTY material for me, despites its numerous strengths and the utter perseverance of this band to sound as energetic as it still does. That aspect of Para Bellum is humbling, for sure, and maybe the rest of this will grow on me more.
Verdict: Win [7.75/10]
Sunday, March 29, 2026
Testament - Para Bellum (2025)
Tuesday, March 17, 2026
Kreator - Krushers of the World (2026)
I've been with Kreator for nearly 40 years at this point; no, not as a member, but as a fan of this institution that has swept the thrash metal genre for pretty much all its existence. The band has rarely stumbled, much less fallen, and even then they were at least trying to experiment within the dimensions of their own sound and not prime themselves as radio sellouts. But since their 1999 nadir Endorama, which really isn't that bad, there's been nothing but upside, consistent and professional quality which you can count on every time a new record is sitting on the shelves. There was a point where they modernized their production to keep with the times, and some melodic death metal influences crept into the sound tastefully (and continue to do so), but you also had some albums where they were returning to the structure of their later 80s stuff.
If you're still guarding the gates of old and never made it passed Pleasure to Kill or Terrible Certainly, two of their best albums to be fair, then Krushers of the World is probably not going to be for you. It's a modern marvel of production, busy yet accessible, but a pretty far cry from the savage Teutonic thrash of Endless Pain or Pleasure to Kill. That's okay, we still have those albums and can listen to them as long as we breath (hopefully beyond). This is more of an omnibus of the ideas they've implemented in the 21st century, from Violent Revolution to Hate über alles, and yeah, while few of the songs are going to be as stick as they once were back in the 80s when this was all so much more novel...this is still a pretty damn good album. In particular they manage to get these anthemic tunes like "Tränenpalast", "Krushers of the World" or "Satanic Anarchy" where you've got the strong melodies in the chorus that can contrast against Mille's barking. And yes, the guy still sounds much the same, but he's got that timeless, raving thrash vocal that works as well alongside the modern studio glitz as it did back in the flesh-peeling debut. Recognizable in an instant, charismatic and plays well with melody and harshness in equal measures.
The guitar playing is top shelf, with atmospheric chords running against semi-complex, dextrous riffing patterns, keeping the ears' attention throughout, and great leads whipping out on top of the refined German engineering. Mille and Sami are quite a duo by now, and they never let you down here. Ventor's drumming is spotless and Leclercq, the newest member (but quite a veteran himself from DragonForce, Loudblast and a metric ton of other bands) solidifies himself as the anchor to the sound. You even get a guest vocal growl from Britta of Cripper and Hiraes, which was a little unexpected. Not a weak song here, and even though it's not reshaping my life as the band did with Pleasure to Kill, Terrible Certainty, Coma of Souls, nor does it even have some of the throwback infectiousness of Hordes of Chaos and Enemy of God, I still love this arena-oriented modern Kreator sound, it's almost infused with a bit of Angela-era Arch Enemy. Young me, 40 years ago, would be totally blown away to think this band would even still exist! But to be doing it in style, that's just a testament to a band that loves what it is.
Verdict: Win [8.25/10]
Friday, January 30, 2026
Protector - Excessive Outburst of Depravity (2022)
By title, Excessive Outburst of Depravity might give you an impression that this is somehow going to be a leveling up of filth and aggression in Protector's reunion phase, but in fact it's a very good, controlled record that offers a little bit of a course correction from the ailing (but still decent) Summon the Hordes. The style hasn't moved an inch, but I thought the production here felt smoother and better captured all the vocals and instruments more than its predecessor, at the cost of not feeling quite so retrospective. Granted, the material here is still blazing thrash of an 80s Sodom variety, like a mix of Agent Orange and Better Off Dead, two of my faves from that band, but the balance and QOL improvements place it more within the 21st century spectrum. You won't miss out the nostalgic vibes this time around, but it takes the thrust and professionalism of Cursed and Coronated to another level, and it's my favorite of this 'MK II' era.
Bunch of tunes here feel like the boys are ammoed up, slinging on their ballistic helmets and headed for the battlefield, like "Open Skies and Endless Seas" with its well-paced intro, "Thirty Years of Perdition" with the same sort of setup but amazing verse riffs, or "Perpetual Blood Oath" which feels like a Bolt Thrower intro colliding into a vintage Destruction section. The rhythm section is incredibly tight, the leads are uniformly good without overindulging, and Martin Missy's vocals feel more brutal and full and charismatic than they were on the 2019 effort. You're still not getting anything highly unique here, this is all directly from the lexicon of German thrash with some seasonings of US flavor, but it's executed with skill, variation, and most importantly, songs that are memorable enough that you'll probably want to play them a few times in succession, which is really the hallmark of quality for most records. I'm not talking super sticky, infectious riffs, but more like a 'comfort food' for those who have been listening to this style for the last 3+ decades.
Even though this album came in the same three-year patterns and those leading up to it, it feels like all the interim time since Summon the Hordes had been better spent composing stronger material, and it never really lapses once throughout its 47+ minutes of existence. There's no goofy tail-end track for filler, "Morse Mania" here is a rager and commands the same respect as opener "Last Stand Hill". The production is from Robert Pehrsson (of Death Breath no less), the mix from Patrick Engel of a dozen German bands, and you can tell they both put a lot of love into making this sound like the de facto Protector album of the new century. This one ranks up there with A Shedding of Skin, The Heritage for me, and it's actually my favorite with Martin Missy's vocals, a blasphemous opinion perhaps, but here we are. Timeless and totally reliable Teutonic thrash from one of the first bands anyone should check out after they've opened the 'starter pack' and a few other brilliant outliers from the 80s era.
Verdict: Win [8.25/10] (All swords on the sacred stone)
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Wednesday, January 28, 2026
Protector - Summon the Hordes (2019)
Summon the Hordes arrives right on queue, at another 3-year interval which seems to be the efficient standard Protector is maintaining for this newer phase of their career. Which I like: they're taking their time between each release, they're not burning themselves out or spamming my CD rack. On the other hand, I wish I could report some evolution in style or quality, but this record is much like those before it. the cover is a bit more cliche and cheesy with the crossed guitars and skull, and the production here seems a little more primitive, almost like they were trying to emulate Golem's mix a little more directly rather than having a more modern, ironclad take on that formative sound. I felt like Missy's vocals here were also a little less vibrant or inspired, he's spitting out some monotonous snarls and growls on numerous tunes and it's just not helping to elevate a bevy of pretty average riffs that you'll always feel you've heard before, whether in this and's own backlog or the style in general.
So this all adds up to what is my least favorite Protector full-length of the revival period, but it's telling that even the worst album from this band is still actually pretty solid. There continues to be a bit of Destruction in a lot of the riffing, in fact if you took out the difference between Missy and Schmier, there's a feel like this album is Sentence of Death Evolved, it just has those dexterous riffing patterns and a much more demo/basement level authenticity to the mix. The guitars are raw, the vocals have no bells and whistles either. Having said that, there's a decent variety to the songs, from the measured cruising thrash of "The Celtic Hammer" to the frenzied hustle of "Steel Caravan" or the title track. Once more, the death metal influence is explored strictly through Martin's vocals, the music itself never really delves into that territory, remaining upbeat and peppy and bristling with 80s mosh pit energy. Not for the first time, there's also one of those shorter, goofier tracks to close out the album, "Glove of Love", which was also the very 80s thing to do, kind of like a thrash tribute to punk or grindcore, the 'super quick' song that you'd laugh about with your mates.
Had this record come out even in 1985-1986, I still doubt it'd have the legs to stand on other than it's legacy and chronological placement, and might end up in a similar category to Necronomicon from Germany. As it was, it felt more like a proper 'throwback' in production and not just songwriting, to the band's yesteryears. They likely wanted to go more 'retro' which is honestly all the rage with a lot of the newer black/thrash/speed bands who are themselves influenced by the German scene along with a Slayer or Possessed. I think Summon the Hordes has that sort of appeal, only a bit more of the torn denim and hi-top sneakers feel than the spikes and leather. It's solid stuff, with a few tunes like the opener "Stillwell Avenue" or "Realm of Crime" that I occasionally spin, but for me it's the Protector full-length I'm least likely to revisit.
Verdict: Win [7.25/10] (See the posters, see the pentagram)
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Monday, January 26, 2026
Protector - Cursed and Coronated (2016)
Cursed and Coronated is a difficult record to write about because it is so ridiculously close to its predecessor in production, songwriting and style that it's practically a clone of that. The lineup is the same, the level of aggression and dynamic range the same, they've even gotten another Krisian Wåhlin cover artwork (which is admittedly cool to see). So this is going to come down to the individual songs, blow by blow, and I think that if there's any one difference, it's that there is a little more confidence here. The 'comeback' album is out of the way, the band has proven itself, and can now settle down and just to try to pen some material which will make more of an impact, and I think to that extent, Protector's sixth LP does exactly that, slightly edging past its predecessor in quality.
It's reliable, meaty thrash, with riffing familiarities to their more famous countrymen. Still a whole lot of Sodom parallels, but I thought there were tunes here that reminded me a little more of Destruction, like "Six Hours on the Cross" or "Crosses in Carelia", which have those exciting Mike Sifringer-like riffing patterns saturated throughout. Actually you can play a fun game here where you're closing your eyes and imagining Angelripper singing on one of Destruction's Thrash Anthem rerecording compilations and you'd be straight in that ballpark with this album. That's not to speak down to this band, because they are energetic and authentic as hell, having been around during that formative 80s period when the genre was taking off, but just so you can get a clear idea of who is going to enjoy the hell out of this. There are some nice, eerie guitar melodies throughout the tunes, like the intro to the title track, which feel like the band is writing in its own little horror them jingles, and they balance well against the harder rhythms. Their also old hands at balancing the tempos and riff choices to make a fully fleshed out experience.
Rhythm section is tight as freshly-hammered nails, the guitarist is obviously reared on this genre because he's just battering out an endless stream of patterns you'll appreciate, at any speed, with even a few of the good old American mid-paced mosh rhythms circa Exodus or S.O.D. poking through in a piece like "Terra Mater". The 'death metal' aspects of the record are strictly relegated to Martin Missy's vocals, which are that early sort of abusive thrash/death hybrid, snappy enough for the former but guttural and brutal enough for the latter, with some backing vocals created in a more snarled timber which also emphasize that. Cursed and Coronated is another fun record, I spun it a bunch when it was released. Though it doesn't quite stand out in its field overall, and I wouldn't reach for it over Golem, The Heritage, A Shedding of Skin, it's potent and professional and the sort of disc I'll listen straight through without skipping anything.
Verdict: Win [7.75/10] (Facing the masters)
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Saturday, January 24, 2026
Protector - Reanimated Homunculus (2013)
Like many other thrash bands of the 80s and early 90s, Protector would enter its torpor around the time the genre died down on the world map, its superstars surviving through their established reach, and/or accessible sound shifts, the rest retreating into death metal, black metal, grunge, groove metal or electronics. This was not a total hibernation period for the Germans, a bunch of obscure compilations were released, a couple tracks demoed by Marco Pape and a shifting roster, but effectively the band dissolved for 20 years, until original vocalist Martin Missy would 'reanimate' it with a trio of Swedes by his side who had played/were playing in some lesser known bands like Grief of Emerald, Axis Powers and Suicidal Winds. For those who had missed Missy's presence on the 90s material, this was surely exciting, and though the band seemed hijacked by the unshakable metallic presence of Sweden, this would initiate the most stable portion of the band's career!
Reanimated Homunculus blazes forward with a complete return to that Sodom-like sound the band had manifest on records like Golem or Urm the Mad, but it definitely doesn't ignore some of the evolutions during the Olly Wiebel era. There is no pettiness, Missy and his new crew are attempting to catapult the entire Protector legacy forward and beyond (I know he's even brought Wiebel on stage to sing a few of the tunes from records like A Shedding of Skin). But what you are immediately confronted with is a continuation of that aggressive late 80s Teutonic thrash meat-grinder, Martin's vocals straddling the lines between thrash and death metal, much like Tom Angelripper did, but with some backups that are pure gutturals barking off in counterpoint to the verses in a place like "Deranged Nymphomania". The riffs are chunky, propulsive, and true to form, not the catchiest things you'll ever hear, but exciting and dynamic enough for fans of the genre that you'll be banging your head while throwing your milk cartons against the nearest wall. These guitars spit caustic intensity throughout "Holiday in Hell", "Birth of a Nation" and "Road Rage" at a level the band had rarely arrived at in the past, often like a mix of old Sodom and Holy Moses; and the rhythm section matches them with ease.
It's a good thrash album for purists, with the only drawback that it sometimes feels a little generic in structure and riffing. I've mentioned before that the band never quite rises to the level compositionally as Kreator or Destruction during their finer hours, the material just isn't possess of that timelessness, but they feel like a damn solid 'second-stringer' that will be replacing any of the starters out on the field should they fuck up or become injured. Beyond that, Reanimated Homunculus plants its heels out on the defensive line, ready for any tackles, and proves beyond any doubt that Protector is back, ready to fucking thrash with abandon, and continue their mission regardless of who is in the active roster. Hell, the title track is even a lyrical continuation of the "Golem" concept.
Verdict: Win [7.75/10]
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Monday, January 12, 2026
Protector - The Heritage (1993)
If A Shedding of Skin was my favorite of the earlier Protector catalog, The Heritage was directly on its heels, and in fact some days I might actually reverse the decision. This is clearly the best produced of that run, and the most intense and exciting in terms of how so many of its tight, fast, thrashing tunes are executed. By 1993, it might have felt dated against the emergence of more brutal and technical strains of death metal, with grunge and black and nu metal and all that starting to explode, but you can't accuse the Germans of not trying to keep pace, because The Heritage feels like faster Sepultura, Sadist and mid 80s Dark Angel in a three-way slugfest, and even 33 years later you can press Play and it's violent, infectious, and still has the more matured songwriting which embodied its predecessor.
There's some new blood here to help Olly Wiebel will all that heavy lifting, including drummer Marco Pape who would try and keep the band alive through all its later hiatus. He and bassist Matze help add a level of professionalism here, and I don't mean that in a bad way. But what's even more impressive is how Wiebel has managed to balance off the spiked, thrashing attacks with some more moody, atmospheric and melancholic progressions. The slower bridges and leads in songs like "Lost Properties" feel so much more composed, and through the album there's a level of restraint which helps make its explosive cuts like "Scars Bleed Life Long" all the more memorable by contrast. Marco's drums were clearly the caliber that could land him any gig in a death metal act of the day, propulsive kick drums and flawless snares which add loads of pep and energy to Olly's riffs. Bass also sounds pretty fleshed out here compared to A Shedding of Skin, and the production just blows straight out my speakers, especially some of the howled vocal effects on "Protective Unconsciousness" or the escalating acoustic intro to "Palpitation".
The frenzied little instrumentals "Paralizer" and "Outro" might have been better served by expanding them into proper songs, they seem a bit incomplete, but otherwise all the tunes are ragers, and The Heritage is an album I'd easily recommend to fans of early 90s thrash and death metal and all the combinations thereof. Sadist, Defiance, Malevolent Creation, Deicide, or even the stuff some of the band's German peers were up to that that very time, any fans of that would do well to have this record sitting in their collections. As I said, it's right on par with its predecessor with me, but a lot of that is just nostalgia, the personal memories I attach with A Shedding of Skin. In so many ways, The Heritage is better sounding, more refined, and its dynamic range more impactful. The lyrics have gotten a little more socially and environmentally conscious, which isn't what I always demand in thrash since they get a little too obvious and tacky, but it fits the sound here at least. This 1991-1993 era is my favorite of the band, as much as I enjoyed the first two releases, they certainly felt like they upped the ante right before their (debatable) 20-year slumber, and left (but didn't) us on a high note at that time.
Verdict: Win [8.25/10] (You dare not to speak)
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Saturday, January 10, 2026
Protector - A Shedding of Skin (1991)
While it still imports a lot of the ballistic thrash of previous Protector recordings, A Shedding of Skin felt like a matured album risen up to meet the growingly extreme scene surrounding it. While this is still mostly thrash metal (almost all their catalogue is), this could certainly be heard as a more committed blend of that and its death metal offspring. A lot of vocal and guitar queues reminiscent of what Deicide, Cannibal Corpse and Sepultura were spitting out around the same time, and I also hear some parallels to Texans Devastation. The material is easily intense enough to have held the attention of extreme metal fans during that transition from 80s to 90s, and I can only attribute its lack of success to a lack of proper international distribution and the fact that thrash was just about to fall off a cliff outside of its primary practitioners.
Olly Wiebel, who had joined the band only recently for the Leviathan's Desire EP, had pretty much been given the reins here, performing everything other than the drums of Michael Hasse, for whom this would be the last Protector recording (he left afterwards and sadly passed away in 1994). To Wiebel's credit, he did not attempt to completely transform the band into his own image, but took the direction they were already headed with the newer EP material and made it angrier. Stylistically, this is nothing out of the ordinary for 1991, but it definitely feels evolved from its predecessors. The riffs hammering, sinister and have the most slicing distortion yet, with an array of faster, blasting riffs that alternate with your Exodus-style palm muted moshing fare. Wiebel's vocals are ghastly, with a protracted guttural that he can flesh out with more snarled lines or 'hwah' throat-clearings. They are a little blunt at times, and don't offer a lot of interesting syllabic patterns, but he can be forgiven for the amount of effort he's putting into everything else. I think the bass guitar also falls behind a little here, more than any prior offering, but the crunch of those riffs and the volatile, ripping leads compensate.
Lots of good tracks here, from "A Shedding of Skin" which sounds like a German response to something off The Bleeding, or "Doomed to Failure" which has a cool West Coast thrashing foundation reminiscent of Vio-Lence but with guttural vocals. "Whom Gods Destroy" has that cool lead snaking out against the caustic thrashing, and "Tantalus" is a pit crusher which manages to convey the doomed after-existence of its titular character. While consistent, A Shedding of Skin does follow in the band's legacy of providing enough variety that you won't grow bored, so the pacing is evenly distributed throughout, and the acoustic "Intro" and interlude "Necropolis" provide some breathing room, in particular the latter which its cool, synth-driven mystique and guitar effects that sound like scarabs or spiders creeping through a tomb. There is definitely a 'dryness' to the mix which resonates with other stuff by Harris Johns (who produced this with a few engineers), perhaps a similarity could be drawn to the masterwork Mallevs Maleficarvm by Pestilence, thought the composition and clinical feel here is nowhere near that level.
1991 was a strange year where a number of bands won huge success off albums I felt were somewhat lacking, whether for production or musical direction, and something like A Shedding of Skin appealed to me much more than Blessed Are the Sick or Arise. Although I can appreciate and even concur why some fans' hearts would remain back with the earlier Martin Missy era, Misanthropy and Golem having a sense of timelessness about them, this one is actually my favorite full-length of that earlier Protector run. It doesn't build up anything new upon the components which influenced it, but it still feels vile and aggressive even today, and some of the songs just resonate with me the most. Add that it's the unlikely product of just the drummer and the new guy who had to deliver on several instruments, and I think it punched well above its potential.
Verdict: Win [8.25/10] (Strip away the garments of sin)
Thursday, January 8, 2026
Protector - Leviathan's Desire EP (1990)
Leviathan's Desire has another of those evocative covers where you've got this dad-bod troll or goblin hanging out at at some sort of bathhouse in an evil castle, incense pouring out of a jeweled goblet nearby, and then for whatever reason some ugly cat or wolf or something leaping up behind the title. It's absolutely ridiculous and yet intriguing because it reminds us that Protector must be evil nerds, kind of like Tankard with the drunken alien mascot on so many of their efforts. This is a shorter clocking EP than Misanthropy from 1987, includes one extended version of a tune from that ("Kain & Abel"), and then a trio of newer tracks. I believe that there's also another version where you are getting more of Misanthropy included as a bonus, and that would ramp up the value a little, but here it's just the basic intro + four.
Right away, the new material sounds more scathing and sinister than on Urm the Mad, like a volatile and ballistic parallel to Sodom in the later half of the 80s, only maintaining the growls from that last full-length. Only this time, it's a new vocalist, Olly Wiebel, taking them into an even more carnal direction than Martin Missy had; he's also got more of that snarl and guttural exchange, not to the extent of Glen Benton or Carcass, but it helps keep this material sounding deadly. The riffs are far from exceptional, but they buzz and bludgeon along with more confidence than they had on the last outing, and the drums and bass anchor down and control all the intensity. You really feel like you're on a knife's edge with a "Mortal Passion" or "Subordinate", they are rooted it some of that vicious thrash circa Darkness Descends or Bonded by Blood, only more Sodom-like in note choices. The lead guitars are really messy and zippy throughout, but help capture that reckless atmosphere which is really the goal. And for those who want to headbang, they trot out some of those mid-paced sequences for you to strain your neck, and you really feel them against the faster sequences.
As for "Kain & Abel", this is almost two minutes longer and Olly's vocals make it feel more fresh and vile, although clearly not as Teutonic or thrashy as Martin's originals. I don't know that this was in any way necessary over including another new tune, but it does sound good and streamlined with this other material and assumedly future direction. All told, Leviathan's Desire is a treat for the 15 or so minutes it exists, content with tearing your face off and then eating it before a good scented bath. For 1990 it also felt fairly orthodox since so many other genre bands were trying to evolve towards the soon-shifting landscape. This is pretty much 1986-1987 all over again with few bells or whistles.
Verdict: Win [7.5/10] (The burnt magicians prophecy)
Tuesday, January 6, 2026
Protector - Urm the Mad (1989)
Urm the Mad was the first Protector album I managed to come across out in the wild, and I recall being thrown off a little at the beginning moment of "Capitascism". A horror synth transmutes into a plodding hard rock riff, which was way less intense than I was expecting. That soon changes as they roll out some thicker, darker rhythms and a blast beat, or whatever the equivalent of a blast beat was for 1989 in what was still largely a thrash metal band. We were off to the races, but I certainly struggled at being impressed with most of this at first. This is absolutely where the death metal vocals become dominant, which sounded great over the simpler neck-jerking thrash rhythms; Martin just had this brutal sustain which created an impact with ever lyric he barked out, but the music itself isn't anywhere near what a Death or Pestilence was up to at the same time, and it's still written in a ballistic mesh of Teutonic, West Coast and the Arizona-like thrash I mentioned I heard on parts of Golem.
The dynamics remain intact, as the band will shift between a plodding, almost thrash/doom vibe in a tune like "Nothing Has Changed" with its swaying rhythm and slightly spongy distortion circa Hellhammer, to the more mid-paced rhythms which remind me more of Sacred Reich, Exorcist or Hallows Eve, and then lastly the faster barrages where the riffs can almost resemble a bit of vintage grindcore. Not a lot of riffs stand out individually, even for 1989 they didn't sound too unique, and there still exists some traces of their earliest work where they let the end of riffs ring out before transitioning into a burst or vice versa. On the other, the drumming is damn tight, with a speed and intensity to the blasts that was somewhat rare for its day, and the leads are really good, whether they're more melodic and structured or just being used as wild sound effects to create a windy hostility that blows across all the workmanlike rhythm guitars. I felt the bass on this record didn't stand out as much as Golem, it's audible and functional but doesn't poke out as much as it did there.
There's also another throwaway short track, the noisy grind explosion of "Molotow Cocktail" which is less than a minute, just some chaos that doesn't wrap up the disc in any memorable or meaningful way. So my first impressions of Protector weren't the highest accolades. The cover art was cool, the logo stood out to me from other thrash or early death metal acts, the title is awesome (again with that dark fantastical vibe), the vocals were gruesome enough to warrant the death/thrash tag, and there's a purity and atmosphere to the material which is synonymous with its era. Over the years, I've come to appreciate it for what it was, but truth be told it's the record I'm least likely to revisit of their earlier 1987-1993 run and it's just eviscerated by so many of the other beasts of '89 like Consuming Impulse, Altars of Madness, Leave Scars, Realm of Chaos, etc. If you love the production and construction of extreme metal at the tail end of the 80s, maybe a prelude to the style Sodom would explore on Tapping the Vein, then this one's worth a listen for sure.
Verdict: Win [7/10] (The cloven one will rule)
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Sunday, January 4, 2026
Protector - Golem (1988)
Still a huge Sodom influence throughout this one, shadowing Agent Orange, but it struck me that this album also had a more American influence through it. "Delirium Tremens" reminds me a lot of the Arizona bands, the faster riffing circa Atrophy's Socialized Hate while the slower, meaty mosh part was very Sacred Reich. Likely more of a case of parallel musical evolution, but still notable as I think fans of those groups would go bananas over this. You get some gang shouts, a little bit of Speak English or Die era S.O.D. in some of the slower riffs, but then when they burst out into the faster stuff, it's got a lot more of that Sodom style. The guitars aren't always the catchiest, but they know how to succeed dynamically between the different tempos, atmospheric wails and leads that keep it from ever being boring. This record is where a lot more of the sustained death metal growls rear up, especially in the lumbering title track, which is one of its true highlights, loads of great weird guitar work in there, bedrock grooves in the verses and probably the best written lead they'd done yet, if brief.
The rhythm guitars definitely have a boxier tone to them, not as brash or violent sounding as the earlier EP, but still will club your brains into mush, especially on those slower moments ("Germanophobe", "Golem", etc). The distortion always gave me an ever-so-slight off-tune vibe, but whether that's just me being mental or the reality of the recording, it works regardless, and I enjoy the frenzied bursts into the choppier riffs like in "Germanophobe" where the riff resembles Possessed. The bass is more present here and they're doing some whacky sound effects to keep the tunes entertainment, which is one of the band's sure strong points, that they might be rolling along in the treads of others, but they're certainly testing the limits of those tracks. It's not the best of the Protector albums...a few riffs get samey with one another, the "Space Cake" outro, which shifts from acoustics to what feels like a mere portion of another song, and has really goofy vocals made even sillier when they go into the gang vocals before the fadeout. But there is really no questioning the craft and personality they were bringing to their scene, and easily deserve recognition alongside other acts like Holy Moses, Vendetta, Iron Angel, and that second strata of German thrash acts who were just shy of international potential.
Verdict: Win [8/10] (Muscles filled with life)
https://www.facebook.com/Protector.666not777
Friday, January 2, 2026
Protector - Misanthropy EP (1987)
A little over a decade back, I wrote an exhaustive amount of reviews covering the German thrash scene that I came up with through the 80s and beyond, not only the bigger names but a lot of obscure records as well that were interesting to go back and cover. I neglectfully decided to exclude Protector at that time, as I always associated them with a little more of a death/thrash hybrid sound, but in reality the first half of that equation is pretty scant throughout their catalogue, and I should have taken a run through the first 'half' of their career. Well, now is the time, because while they're not a group that's reached the highs of their better-known countrymen, this is a damn consistent band which has also never visited any of the lows of said peers.
Their albums were impossible to find when I was young, and in fact my first encounter with any of their music wasn't until the sophomore full-length Urm the Mad, but they started out pretty damn strong with their Misanthropy EP, which ironically showed the most in common with the developing 'Big Three' in their scene. Not a clone by any means, but if you had changed the logo here and tucked this into the Sodom discography between Obsessed by Cruelty and Persecution Mania, it would have fit like a glove. This especially applies to the faster material, where the churn of the guitar riffs is so reminiscent, but also in the vocals or Martin Missy, which sound a lot like Tom Angelripper with a little of Mille's bloodthirsty timbre. That said, the more mid-paced, headbanging material bears a little more resemblance to US thrash of its day, and as with their Teutonic fellows, there's always that Slayer undercurrent, especially in tunes like "The Mercenary" with those evil little guitar trills. Tankard is another comparison, at least the debut Zombie Attack, if only for that raw but rich rhythm guitar tone.
Despite the slight lack of novelty, this is still a superb start, with a good variety to the material that balances out the blitzkriegs with the more dialed-back, atmospheric riffs as in "Holy Inquisition". Most of the tracks hook you from their inaugural riffs, like the shuffle of "Agoraphobia" or the crushing simplicity of "Kain and Abel", and Missy's voice is the perfect complement to the dangerous and primitive edge of the guitars. Leads feel like steel whipcords being sliced through the meat of the rhythm section, never really 'catchy' but always added another level of atmosphere to the din of the recording, while the bass is present and creeping. They use a lot of breakdowns for introducing new fast riffs, not in a mosh sense but the stop/starts of the songwriting, and while that might show a lack of confidence in transitional moments, it's quite charming and 80s and they sound so authentic and fresh to this day that I wouldn't want it any other way. The drums are also really good, crashing and loud with some thunderous fills to again enhance the ballistic presence (i.e. the close of "Holocaust").
All six of the tracks here are good, and Misanthropy is easily the work which I'd point anyone towards if they were looking for more of what they enjoy in mid 80s-Kreator or Sodom, just that raw, evil, basic German thrash metal, but formed into solid, balanced tunes that you'll spin a lot more than once. Expurse of Sodomy, Pleasure to Kill, Zombie Attack, Sentence of Death, and then this. Though the DNA here will persist through their entire discography, in some cases more obviously than others, they will evolve away from this even as soon as Golem the following year, but this is 22 minutes of undeniable flesh-tearing glory from one of the unsung second-tier acts of that scene.
Verdict: Win [8.25/10] (You drank of the evil source)
https://www.facebook.com/Protector.666not777
Sunday, November 30, 2025
Deströyer 666 - Bitter Scorn EP (2023)
Bitter Scorn is little more than a bite-sized after mint to the phenomenal Never Surrender record, Deströyer 666 riding high on another success, and I have to admit it delivers. Partly on the strength of the cover song; K.K. Warslut and friends do not mess around when they decide to include something like this, and whilst Dio's "I Speed at Night" is a much different pick than something like "Prometheus" from the Terror Abraxas EP, it's another awesome execution which fully translates the driving, simplistic heavy metal number into their more volatile, armored and aggressive style, which feels flush with the increased elements of speed and thrash metal that have dominated their last two albums, but have always been in the DNA to some degree.
The new original, the title track, is also pretty good, with a great chorus and a vocal break that reminds me of something Venom would have done in their heyday. Like a lot of their recent material, it's largely built upon a speed/heavy metal structure but then injected with some of the blackened thrash elements, and yet they just don't sound a lot like the myriad of other bands doing their style. Perhaps because they've built up such a unique foundation from which to approach it, or the way they produce the guitars, Deströyer 666 has been fairly original for some time. Now, this is a 7", it's limited, collectible, and there are those restraints, most people will have to check out the Dio cover (at least) online, but it's worth hearing, and "Bitter Scorn" itself I think is available on one of the deluxe editions of Never Surrender, where it's probably a better fit. So as an individual PRODUCT, this has limited appeal beyond collectors, but the tunes will please those into the last decade of Deströyer 666.
Verdict: Indifference [6/10]
https://www.destroyer666.uk/
Thursday, November 27, 2025
Deströyer 666 - Never Surrender (2022)
If the biggest criticism I can level at Never Surrender is that it partly sounds like a couple of outtakes from Wildfire with some new ideas spliced in, then you know it's a pretty awesome time. And it is. I think nearly anything would have disappointed me after that masterpiece. The Call of the Wild EP left me a little dry, sure, but if Deströyer 666 had simply called it a day and hung up the bulletbelts, I would have had no cause for complaint, because they'd capped off a pretty strong career with a pinnacle of excellence and they'd only be headed back down the other side. To the great credit of K. K. Warslut and crew, they managed the descent with one scorcher of a follow-up that strikes a lot of the same nerves while revealing a couple new ones to bite into.
The vocals aren't quite on the level of Wildfire, but they still sound pretty great, especially with the exciting gang shouts and the continued use of that reverb effect that makes him sound so sinister on the prior outing. Some of the speed metal elements here show a fraction more of a straight punk or hardcore feel to them, but at the same time there are tunes like "Andraste" where they even let a little of that old Hellhammer/Celtic Frost influence return. That track is actually a great example of some of the 'new' here, because they're using more of the ritual chant rhythms with cleaner vocals, and it contrasts very well with the harsher inflection and those tremolo-picked guitars. Some of the songs use a similar approach to the guitars but with a more mid-paced tempo, and it actually lends a darker and more epic vibe to the writing than even on Wildfire, but the shouts and the punk-laced riffs bring it right back to that exciting street level. There are some absolute banger riffs in tunes like "Guillotine", and "Grave Raiders", the latter of which sounds like almost a German heavy metal song via Grave Digger.
But there are definitely a few like the title track and "Rather Death" that would have fit right in on the previous album. Warslut does experiment with some even more Kreator-sounding vocals on the latter, and I'm half-convinced it's really Mille singing those parts. Elsewhere, he does some more pure trad BM rasps just because why the fuck not, and the closer "Batavia's Graveyard" even reminds me of a more twisted version of Rock'n'Rolf from Running Wild, with some of that epic Bathory Viking metal influence circa Hammerheart. It's these little nuances and tributes that prevent Never Surrender from sounding like a total unswerving sequel to Wildfire, and I appreciate them, because this is pretty powerful stuff and proves there is plenty of space left for them to explore and expand their overall sound. And maybe that's a deterrent for some who might have just wanted Phoenix rising or Unchain the Wolves, but to that I say: those albums haven't gone anywhere, you can still listen to them. I just love hearing an already good band hit a great stride decades into their career and if this record's any indicator, this trend is in no danger of slowing down. Phenomenal.
Verdict: Epic Win [9.5/10]
https://www.destroyer666.uk/
Monday, November 24, 2025
Deströyer 666 - Call of the Wild EP (2018)
It's a difficult thing to follow up a masterpiece, or at least what I personally perceive to be a masterpiece, and so Deströyer 666 did the exact opposite. They released a humble EP, the Call of the Wild, with a title and cover art that resonate with the bestial mascots and warlike energies they've associated with in the past. While the style throughout these four tracks isn't a long distance from Wildfire, the production does feel a little more controlled and claustrophobic, there is still a good atmosphere created through the vocals and higher string guitar work, but there's something less affecting about it all, like they had torn the roof off in 2016 but for some reason it's been repaired or replaced. That's not a deal breaker, because the tunes here are still solid, but I'd be lying if I didn't describe this as somewhat of a disappointment.
"Trialed by Fire", the closer here, is a re-recording from the Terror Abraxas EP, and I'm juggling which of the two that I find superior; this one is slightly more atmospheric, and the cleaner vocal barks are more pronounced, but I think in terms of the production I'd go with the old one. The other three tracks are all pretty solid, especially "Violence is Golden" and "Call of the Wild" itself, which sound like outtakes from Wildfire but with that denser, cramped production I mentioned above. I don't know that they would have fared better on the full-length, they're actually a little redundant with better tracks, but they are certainly the highlights for me when I'm spinning through this, and the latter has that droned chorus part where the little guitars and counter-vocals spike out and it's pretty much the high point of the 20 minutes, an idea that I hadn't quite heard from them before. The mix is fine, the vocals standout but the instruments often seem to muddle together a little...drums, bass and rhythm guitars. That does help distinguish the leads, but I just think it felt a little more rushed and less impressive than Wildfire.
And I keep repeating that title, but hey, that's what you get when you've set my expectations so high and then tempered them a bit! Call of the Wild is decent, but other than Terror Abraxas, Deströyer 666 does not have a high success rate for me with their shorter releases. They are, to me, a full-length sort of band where I want to be blown over by that full 40-ish minute experience, sure I can lean into certain tracks on a playlist, but they put a lot more effort into the albums (obviously) and so I'd rather put my own effort into listening to them.
Verdict: Win [7/10]
Friday, November 21, 2025
Deströyer 666 - Wildfire (2016)
Wildfire might lean a lot more heavily into the band's thrash/speed metal side than any of the other Deströyer 666 albums, but it also feels to me like the album I had been awaiting from them for a quarter century. The most memorable and resonant production, the best songwriting, the strongest riffs, and for my money, the best K. K. Warslut vocals across their entire discography. In fact, this album is so fucking good that I was quite surprised it had any sort of divisive reaction at all; this is the once in a lifetime sort of effort that I spend endless time spinning, replaying individual tracks to hear the cool bits but also able to run through the whole 40 minutes. There's no fat to trim, it's one of the most distinct records in this whole blackened speed/thrash trend that's been the rage for the last 20 years, and it was my top heavy record of 2017.
It's got a fairly uniform style to it, but enough variation within to entertain endlessly. All performances sound amazing, but I think where this album differs slightly is in how the higher-pitched guitars are so prominent in the writing. Between the trilly speed metal lines and the bleeding tremolo picked melodies, this album reaches for the stratosphere like no other in their backlog. Bash in some bluesy, burning leads, loads of gang shouts and a diabolical, raving and barking vocal delivery that is K.K.'s best, and then a few twists and turns back into a more traditional black metal territory and you've got a real beast. Most of the cuts are instantly catchy, with a few like "White Line Fever", "Die You Fucking Pig!", "Artiglio del diavolo" and the title track which shot up to my favorite Deströyer 666 tunes within minutes of hearing them. Those brighter and yet still threatening guitar lines burrow themselves directly into your spikes & leather psyche, and the balance of the mix against the vocals is perfectly effective. The drums are crashing and splashing and yet the bottom end also thunders all over the place, with all manner of interesting beats and fills that keep your attention whenever you can break away from those riffs.
There is a hurried intensity to the whole record that's beyond engaging, and it hasn't aged a day in almost a decade since I've heard it. A few of the lyrics to songs like "Hounds at Ya Back" and "Live and Burn" are a little more cliche or straightforward, less scathing than others they've written before, but that's a minor complaint when the music itself and the EXECUTION of those lyrics is spot on. There's also a cleaner singing/guitar section in "Tamama Shud" the closer which will come out of nowhere, but it's a tribute to a fallen friend and shows the band is still capable of a surprise, not that any more surprise is needed than a nearly perfect record kicking back after seven years with a slightly modified style that feels fresh but not wholly novel since you heard traces of this on at least three of the prior full-lengths. It's the chef's kiss, if that chef just cooked your meal with a blowtorch. I mean I enjoy thousands, but this is one of those hundred or so metal records I'd be proud to be buried with.
Verdict: Epic Win [9.75/10]
https://www.destroyer666.uk/
Tuesday, November 18, 2025
Deströyer 666 - Defiance (2009)
Defiance might have arrived after a six-year gap in releases, the longest Deströyer 666 had gone since their inception, but when it did arrive, it was like a crushing tank phalanx committed to destruction, one of the heaviest albums they've ever done while still retaining a lot of those core aesthetics. It's almost like if Phoenix Rising were forced, Alex from Clockwork Orange-style, into a chair and forced to listen to the Bolt Thrower catalogue from 1989-1995, to the point that it threaded that more warlike aspect back into their style, but in a different way than the reckless black/death of the early years. Obviously it's got a lot more dynamic range than that band, not to mention speed, but there's a similar grim purpose to tracks like "Weapons of Conquest" and "Path to Conflict", especially on the mid-paced, double-bass driven sequences.
That said, they've also got a lot of melody and airiness rising to the top here which continue to set up the material to follow, and there's a great deal of musicality here while simultaneously sounding much more muscular than Cold Steel...for an Iron Age. This is where those upper-range guitars, especially the leads really shine, with just enough flange or other effects spun onto them to make them scream out across the hellish battlescape. There are bolder, louder production aesthetics, after all the needle had moved in this regard for most of the genre, but it still sounds brazen and fiery and pissed off, just not as nasty and raw as the prior full-length because the hammering volume and intensity won't allow for it. Chris Menning aka Mersus, returning from Cold Steel..., has a great performance here, not just of technicality, but how thunderous and potent his drumming comes across in the mix, creating a foundation for the great rhythm guitar and Warslut's noxious, nihilistic vocals which also resemble Phoenix Rising to me.
I realize some folks had dropped off Deströyer 666 by this point, perhaps by the slight stylistic shifts, production standards, controversy, or geographical relocation (they'd since moved from Australia to Europe and London), but I have to admit I'm in the opposite direction, because these last couple decades have really ramped up my appreciation of the band. I already enjoyed the other full-lengths, some quite so, but Defiance just ushered in an entire new era which is never far from my stereo...not only do they check the black metal boxes I require, but this record gives me a little more of a death metal fix than I'd have expected, the sound is enormous and atmospheric, they're always willing to embellish their more predictable rhythm riffs with just a minimalistic but memorable level of melody, and lyrics that live up to the record title for sure. The longer pauses between albums would also continue, but this well worth the wait, and so too its successor.
Verdict: Win [8.5/10]
Saturday, November 15, 2025
Deströyer 666 - Terror Abraxas EP (2003)
Terror Abraxas is a shorter release than the albums before it, an EP released through Iron Pegasus Records in Germany, which more or less continues the style expressed on Cold Steel... for an Iron Age, with a similar commitment to that raw production, although at points I think the vocals here are a little louder and the instrumentals a little less balanced. It's charmingly crude, however, so you can still make out everything well enough and nothing can detract from the hellish energy that their hybrid of black and thrash metal creates. But the best thing I can say is that all of the originals her are full-length worthy, had they written and released these alongside Cold Steel... then I think they'd have blended in with only a little rhythmic redundancy.
I really like the pacing here, with some faster, more volatile tunes to lead things off, especially "Those Who Dare Beyond" which has a great rhythm and riffs, plus I like K.K.'s barking over this one as those more burning, melodic lead-lines erupt. "Trialed by Fire" is another standout, a longer and more epic rack where they play around with some cleaner chanted vocals and bring back a lot of that Blood Fire Death/Hammerheart vibe, perhaps to an extent that they'd never gone before. I was also very impressed with the band's cover of Wendy Rule's "Prometheus". I had never heard of the woman, nor the song, I guess it's some sort of neofolk/pop from Australia, and I went back to listen to the original and really enjoyed it with her voice, the percussion, the bass, strings, etc. That said, it's just as awesome in the hands of Deströyer 666, they totally adapt it to their own style, with little walls of melody that connect it to the original. Pretty much the best tribute you can pay when doing a cover song, transforming it rather than copying it, showing how timeless its ideas are across numerous genres.
Ultimately, this is great stuff, the idea being to tide over the fans for a follow-up to Cold Steel..., but that would end up taking a lot longer than anyone probably thought.
Verdict: Win [8/10]
Wednesday, November 12, 2025
Deströyer 666 - Cold Steel...for an Iron Age (2002)
Cold Steel... was an interesting album because it almost does a 180 spin back from the polished Phoenix Rising back to the more feral appeals of the Violence EP. The cover art is quite primitive and forgettable (and don't get me wrong, I much prefer the black white artwork on the reissue). The production is a little more raw and searing, although not in a bad way whatsoever, because the musicianship and songwriting are still on the save level of the previous album, and for my money, there's a lot more personality here. Regardless of whatever tweaks the band has made to its musical formula throughout the decades, and whichever of its fundamental styles becomes the focus, K.K. Warslut and Deströyer 666 are full on-board the underground.
This record is great. I liked the two before it well enough, but this one just has a certain pulse of charming vitriol coursing throughout it that draws me in. Warslut's vocals are definitely more natural and devilish, with a little more versatility than on Phoenix, perhaps they've leaned a little more into the carnal, traditional black metal rasp, but something about them appeals, and I'm saying that even after praising how well-implemented they were the last time out. The writing here is definitely black with little threads of speed and thrash metal running through it, a portent of later records for sure, but also tying them back to the beginning. The guitar tone here is more incendiary and ear-piercing, but you still have a fine balance with lots of the tremolo-picking and melodies and then those thicker walls of Bathory chords wrestling with the attention beneath. You get a couple little licks that remind me of stuff like vintage Slayer, but there's also a lot of material where the Marduk blast-fests take off ("Sons of Perdition").
Similar to Phoenix Rising, I feel like the deeper you go into the track list, the more interesting and atmospheric the material becomes, so a lot of my favored tunes like "The Calling" and "Witch Hunter" thrive back there. You definitely want to track down a reissued version, not only for the superior cover artwork but also a couple extra tunes like "The Dragon" that fit right in and are also pretty good. Some of the production and riffing here serves as yet another foreshadow to Wildfire (I'll explain why that is important to me later), and while it's not as clear and technically proficient sounding as the album before it, I'll take the more sinister sincerity of this one just because it's more memorable and resonant. In fact, this might be the first album where I went past 'liking' the band's output to actively being more interested in following them.
Verdict: Win [8.25/10]
https://www.destroyer666.uk/
Sunday, November 9, 2025
Deströyer 666 - Phoenix Rising (2000)
Altogether, the album has pretty great production, with no muddling or imbalance to the levels of the instruments, and a clear delivery which highlights all of them. The guitar tone isn't anything too striking, but it's got a good balance where the tremolo-picked melodies and lower rhythms feel evenly distributed, with the bass poking through all the time on its own crusade. The drums are a pretty noticeable technical improvement and these also sit evenly, while the vocals are at the fore, but not enough to smother any of the playing. I think this was K.K.'s best performance to date, especially his sustained rasps, they just seem a little more in tune with the music and slice a little harder when you pay attention to the diabolic details. The songs are all solid, though some of my favorites are nestled deeper into the track-list like the swaggering, almost folkish black metal of "Ride the Solar Winds" and "The Birth of Tragedy", or "Lone Wolf Winter" with its urgent sense of melodies and an atmospheric vibe that foreshadows records like Wildfire.
Also, that song's title and lyrics seem like a callback to the cover art for the first full-length; and speaking of callbacks, they have a new version of "The Eternal Glory of War" from the Violence EP and it's quite tidied up. This will please some, and piss off others, but I think this is the more effective incarnation. However, I'd say that about 5 of the tunes here are top notch, while others are held back by a few generic riffs that don't do much for the imagination, but at least have the production to maximize their impact. And there isn't that much of a gulf in the quality, I can definitely sit through all 40 minutes without any impatience; Phoenix Rising is consistent and well-balanced enough to get its points across and catapult the band into more of a contender against their Scandinavian and American peers.
Verdict: Win [8/10]