In the pantheon of Teutonic thrash, Protector occupies a somewhat interesting place. On one hand, they’re a truly oft-unsung and overlooked outfit, rarely if ever mentioned alongside the Holy Trinity of that particular scene, or even beside Tankard. On the other hand, they aren’t exactly an unknown quantity, merely one lurking just beneath the surface and ready to be (re-)discovered and given a due they’ve never quite gotten hold of. For whatever reason, they’ve been stuck in the shadows of giants for their entire existence, even with a discography that certainly merits attention.
After the Little Big Horn-themed opener “Last Stand Hill,” “Pandemic Misery” is the album’s first true highlight, detailing the isolation and agony (and the coping mechanisms) so many will understand from the past few years. The historical “Referat IV B 4” delves into the well-trodden thrash metal inspiration of Nazi Germany, but focuses on the bureaucrats that massacred millions from the safety of their offices, those to whom Hannah Arendt famously ascribed “the banality of evil.” The blistering “Perpetual Blood Oath” references one of Missy’s favorite topics, the “Sons Of Kain,” harking back to a song on the first post-reunion album, suitably titled “Reanimated Homunculus,” which in turn harks further back to one of the band’s earliest classics, “Kain Und Abel.” Rivaling “Blood Oath” in sheer intensity, “Toiling In Sheol” is a ripper, followed closely by the groovier swagger of “Shackled By Total Control,” a tandem proving that, while Protector is not pushing themselves outside the creative formula they established decades ago (or beyond the parameters of death / thrash as we know it), they’re certainly not losing any steam.
I hate to talk one band up while putting others down, but of the latest efforts by German thrash giants across the board, only Sodom’s most recent output has hit as strongly as Excessive Outburst Of Depravity. Destruction’s Diabolical left me disappointed (as have the few before that, although I will admit that they appear to be trending back in the right direction); Kreator landed a few punches in the past decade, but their embrace of arena-baiting, sloganeering melo-thrash undermines their ability to deliver total knockouts. There may be no surprises on Excessive Outburst Of Depravity, but sometimes, consistency is king. If you’ve kept up, the previous three Protector albums weren’t far removed from this one, in sound or execution or overall quality, and yes, while we’re laying it out there, none are quite as fierce as the first three, however many moons ago. Still, they’re consistent and consistently good, and they deserve more of the spotlight than they’ve often been given. Now four albums into this second act, Protector may not be the biggest German thrash act around, but they can take solace in knowing that they’ve released 2022’s best Teutonic thrasher thus far.