Review by Michael on August 6, 2022.

There is almost no thrash band that didn't release at least one “stinker” in their career. There is just one real exception that comes to my mind – Protector. Even The Heritage which was released in 1993 (and we all know that this wasn't the best time for metal) was a very old-school album that didn't have too many flaws. After their reunion in 2011 they always delivered great stuff and so do they with Excessive Outburst Of Depravity.

Starting with 'Last Stand Hill' the German-Swedish collaboration don't take any prisoners. Old-school thrash riffing meets some classic heavy metal riffs and a few death metal influences (especially in Martins vocals) and this all happens with 100mph. There are almost no parts on the album where the band decreases their tempo in the songs ('Open Skies And Endless Seas' and 'Thirty Years In Perdition' (with a casual Jew's Harp intro) are the more mid-tempo exception but therefore they are some brutal thrash avalanches that cannot be stopped once it started) and fortunately they never appear to be boring or repetitive because they put some breaks and bridges at the right time so all is very diverting and you don't get the impression of having heard this all before. The songs all appear from a single casting and are absolutely coherent. Maybe 'Perpetual Blood Oath' with its demonical voice intro and 'Cleithrophobia' are the most brutal and aggressive tracks on Excessive Outburst Of Depravity because they both don't leave any space to breathe and rest. But probably everybody will find their own personal faves on this album; it will not be too difficult because of the very entertaining songwriting. It is very hard to find a weaker point on the album and I have to confess that I am still searching for the first one to discover. Also the production is done very well, powerful and well-balanced which also isn't a big surprise was the album mixed and mastered by Patrick W. Engel.

Martins voice is as rasp and hateful as always and this time they have focused pretty much onto WWII and the things happening in that time like title like 'Referat IV B4' (that was a part of the Nazi Gestapo department where the Holocaust was organized) or 'Open Skies And Endless Seas' reveal. Besides the topic of 'Referat IV B4' goes very deep into the German history of the Third Reich and is much more beyond the usual historic knowledge one may have. But also tracks like 'Last Stand Hill' or 'Thirty Years Of Perdition' deal with historical background and what are maybe the most amazing lyrics are them in 'Cleithtrophobia' where Martin wrote about his personal fear and explains with this why he doesn't fly anymore. A very brave step I would say.

So thrashers, get your album of the year right now!!!

Rating: 10 out of 10

Review by Felix on May 18, 2022.

Diabolical hate über alles is surely a very thrashy feeling… no, not really. It is a very sad truth that authenticity is not Mille's core competence any more and Destruction have catapulted themselves into meaninglessness a long time ago by releasing one mediocre work after the other. I will always respect these pioneers for the groundbreaking creativity and the uncompromising courage they had in their early days, but sometimes we have to broaden the scope. Germany had more to offer than the "Big Teutonic Three" and Protector is one of these more or less overlooked units that deserve our attention as well. Despite numerous line up changes, they never showed commercial ambitions. No "Endorama" far and wide! Either way, their best album so far is A Shedding Of Skin, at least in my humble opinion. But this full-length gives no indication for Excessive Outburst Of Depravity, because it was recorded by a completely different line up.

Nevertheless, most of us will know what they can expect when it comes to a new, well, outburst of the now German-Swedish institution. Protector still swears by the old, rough thrash metal. The death metal elements are present as well, but they do not play the main role here. It is not only the performance of Martin Missy, who rather nags and shouts instead of offering death metal growls. It is also the absence of down-tuned guitars and groovy elements that makes Excessive Outburst Of Depravity to an almost pure thrash metal work. And finally, it is the energetic riffing – and right now, right here we are at the best element of the material. An amazingly high number of the riffs hits the bull's eye. This feature makes it clear early on that we are getting to hear an extremely good work here. The riffs sound sharp, edgy and fresh and they drive the songs brilliantly (and me almost insane). Missy's voice is good, no doubt about it, but it does not make the difference. Instead, the guitar work lets the record shine in bright light.

Needless to say that the four musicians do not deliver any kind of soft sounds, right? A title like 'Open Skies And Endless Seas' may indicate a romantic view on the world, but only graduated fools connect the name Protector with romanticism. This track combines dragging mid-tempo with fast sequences and its substance justifies the playtime of five minutes with great ease. Usually, the quartet acts with a higher quantum of velocity. The excellent opener 'Last Stand Hill' sets the direction and its power, directness and strength are absolutely exciting. This song with its merciless verses, the comparatively catchy chorus and the mosh part before the solo marks a perfect entry point. Moreover, it is great that it goes straight to the point – no intro delays the onset of musical violence.

But a thrilling introduction alone does not make a good album, if I am not mistaken, and we have seen so many bands that forgot that somehow annoying rule. However, don't worry, Protector swings the axes competently during the entire work. It's cool to experience how juvenile and lively the songs break out of the boxes. 'Pandemic Misery', the second track, is almost even better than the opener. It seems to have the power to kill the Covid virus in a battle one against one. But bad luck, I have heard that the virus is an invincible coward. Either way, the outstanding and churning guitar work is fantastic again and the whole song sounds like an ingenious leftover from the eighties (if we forget for a moment that forty years ago nobody was talking about pandemics – so let us rename the song, call it "Nuclear Misery" and then everything fits perfectly).

A detail I like very much on Excessive Outburst Of Depravity is that the mid-paced parts are as powerful as the dominating high-velocity eruptions. 'Perpetual Blood Oath', for instance, scores inter alia with its mighty, slowed down mid-part. The dynamic and spiky lines of 'Cleithrophobia' add another cool feature. Yet it is almost senseless to pick out single tracks, because all of them enrich the record. Well, this statement brings me to the conclusion. Excessive Outburst Of Depravity is an album each and every thrasher with an affinity for the Teutonic approach will enjoy – with one single exception! Tom Angelripper cannot be sure any longer that he and his comrades are the "Lords of Depravity". Maybe Protector will challenge him for this title.

Rating: 9 out of 10

Review by Greg on August 3, 2025.

Ah, do you remember the early days of revival thrash metal? There was a time, approximately around 2006, when you could release the least ambitious albums imaginable and focus on reminding people how fuckin' good the genre was back in the day, and you would have been hailed as a pioneer of the scene in the blink of an eye. I'm not gonna lie to you and say I enjoy none of those albums nowadays, but honestly, stop to think about it: the only thing Spread the Fire, Chemical Assault, or War Without End had in common was a complete rejection of any possible idea that could be traced back to another subgenre or period. Slightly behind said efforts, although amazingly predating all of those, was 2005's debut by Cali thrashers Avenger of Blood, Complete Annihilation.

In all honesty, the issue about this kind of album is, precisely, context. I have no doubt that, upon its release, a work like this had looked refreshing, albeit devoid of anything new, for a world that had completely forgot about the whole genre, the stubborn Teutonic scene and the odd Hypnosia or Dekapitator popping up every once in a while being among the very few to continue smashing skulls in the meantime. Now, almost 20 years later, the landscape is vastly different, and the new school originally spawned by these works has since proceeded to compose countless masterpieces which easily obliterated them. In short, the point of view is gonna be inevitably different. Is this the same argument people use when trying to convince others that Reign in Blood isn't really a great record and you all are nothing but sheep for believing a lie? Unfortunately, yes, kinda.

Yet, guess what, Complete Annihilation isn't Reign in Blood, by a wide margin. Its almost 40 minutes, tried to follow the same route, however, and the outcome was going to be either 'consistent' or 'repetitive', depending on the overall quality. The truth, as often happens, is somewhere in between. The no-nonsense frontal assault of the tracks is convincing enough to bring a smile to my face every now and then, with Avenger of Blood's brand of thrash that could only be described as 'seismic'. Whereas, for example, Evile would soon present their new millennium version of Kill 'Em All with Enter the Grave, Avenger of Blood treads more extreme paths, even making a quick trip to South America (and the raw production certainly points in that way). I'm reluctant to point out specific songs since I'm still possibly having a hard time discerning most of them, yet I'm pretty confident that the title-track, 'Scent of Death', 'Bound by Torment' and 'Trapped in Time' were among the hardest hitters, and I was positively shocked to notice that the longest episode, 'Where the Pictures Lie', managed to stay enjoyable for more than 6 minutes. Who would have thought?

If I could allow myself a modern comparison, Complete Annihilation is kinda the equivalent to those AI image generators from a text string, that usually return both good and bad, yet similar, results together, only that the prompt was something along the lines of 'old school thrash LP' – and you've got bangers, fillers and everything in between. No track is terribly different from any other, but some hit way differently for some reason, and nail exactly what I love about thrash for those 3 minutes. The virtually non-existent variation makes it get old fast, though. Try it, but don't expect the unexpectable.

Rating: 7.4 out of 10