Teutonic Thrash veterans Protector’s new album completes what one can only describe as a classical hat-trick. After a glorious return to original form on “Reanimated Homunculus” with a wholly new line-up and its successor “Cursed and Coronated”, Martin Missy and company again hit the proverbial bull’s eye with “Summon the Hordes”, an epitome of consolidation and rejuvenation at once.
Involving his younger fellow-musicians even more than as of late makes perfect sense for the frontman, because “they have become an integral part of Protector since 2011 and understand very well what a good thrash song in the 80s vein needs.” yet while “Summon the Hordes” harks back to that groundbreaking decade as one could have expected, Protector would not be themselves if they had not build in certain twists and updated their working procedures. Most prominently, the new material boasts the production values of the iconic Harris Johns.
“In 1991,” Missy elaborates, “I I was not in the band anymore, so Olly Wiebel sang on ‘A Shedding of Skin’ when Protector went to Harris. I got to know him at one of our shows in Berlin in 2013 and wanted to collaborate with the man ever since. Five years later, it eventually happened and could not have been easier or relaxed.”
Content-wise though, “Summon the Hordes” is far from laid back. From the partly groovy ‘Three Legions’ across the furious ‘Meaningless Eradication’ to the truly heavy ‘Two Ton Behemoth’ and ‘The Celtic Hammer’, a tribute to Tom G. Warrior’s artistic work, the instant success of “Summon the Hordes” amongst several generations of thrashers seems almost guaranteed.
1. Stillwell Avenue
2. Steel Caravan
3. Realm of Crime
4. The Celtic Hammer
5. Two Ton Behemoth
6. Summon the Hordes
7. Three Legions
8. Meaningless Eradication
9. Unity, Anthems and Pandemonium
10. Glove of Love