Review by UnhinderedbyTalent for Protector - A Shedding of Skin (1991)

Well, chalk me up another hit on the new discovery front.  There's a lot to like here with these German thrash/death metallers as they deliver my preferred brand of vicious and aggressive of the genre. I knew what to expect of any picture of the band before I saw their promo shots on the wonderful world wide web.  Studs, bullet belts, battle vests and a range of tees encompassing Motorhead through to Sadus.  Fuck yeah!

There's enough riffs here on this album to capsize a cruise liner.  They rain down like blows from multiple, hefty fists.  They pummel the fuck out of your scrawny and pathetic existence, leaving you breathless, winded and yet still begging for more.  They are the monster under your bed, the strangers in dark shadows of the night, an army with razor sharp swords ready to behead all in their wake.

The band are excellent and balancing pace and tempo also.  For every rampant and racing passage they aren't afraid to drop a big open riff in there to control the pace as required and to emphasise the menace and threat of these thirteen tracks.  It is hard to maintain presence and energy levels over forty minutes but they do a sterling enough job.  It is a tad too long a release for the style of thrash that they are delivering and would work a little better at around the half hour mark.  That's the only thing that keeps that elusive half a star off the rating though.

Pleasingly, the band are still active today so I have a few more of their releases parked on my "to do" list for the next few months.