Review by Felix on March 31, 2020.

The first wave of thrash metal came to its end at the beginning of the nineties and therefore it was good to experience that some upstanding combos still held the banner high. Protector belonged to these bands. 'Leviathan's Desire' showed no signs of weakness. The band still provided harsh, powerful and aggressive music. Nevertheless, you have to be the greatest thrash fanatic under God's sun if you want to give this vinyl 100% (or more).

Of course, I am speaking of a pretty good output, but there is, for example, the average production which cannot be ignored. Leviathan's Desire does not convince with a full sound. Neither the drums nor the guitars develop their real strengths. Instead of confronting the listener with a wall of sound, the production lacks tightness. This is a pity, because the opener 'Humanized Leviathan' has some aces up its sleeve. A thrilling introduction, high speed parts, hoarse vocals, a whipping chorus and some sinister leads form the track. In other words: Protector just the way we want them. Indeed, this song can be deemed as a typical track of the then German gang. The mix of more or less apocalyptic mid-tempo parts and fiery speed eruptions accompanied them since their very early days,

Given this situation, it comes as no surprise that the band recycles one of their first tracks, namely 'Kain and Abel'. No bad song, but also actually not interesting enough to dream longingly of another version. Moreover, in view of the short playtime of the remaining material, this new version seems to have the function to lengthen the EP. But quality will always beat quantity and so it would have been better to release just the three new examples of sonic malignancy. 'Kain and Abel' stands in the shadow of these newly spawned songs. 'Subordinate' combines sharp riffs with an oppressive aura that matches the hopeless lyrics. The hymnal chorus contrasts with high velocity outbursts, before 'Mortal Passion' delivers this mix of rapid insanity and mid-paced rhythms again. (By the way, all these rather slow sections appear as the soundtrack for a battle-weary army that marches to its final battle.) However, the hectic parts prevail.

All in all, Protector did not give their supporters any reason to cry. Leviathan's Desire sounds better thought-out than Urm the Mad and from today's perspective, it heralded the fantastic 'A Shedding of Skin' in a very appropriate manner. No milestone, but a short appetizer without any rotten ingredients.

Rating: 7.6 out of 10

Review by Alex on March 29, 2020.

Coming from the land that adorns metal and thrash metal at that in which they sit unchallenged on the throne, Brazil has produced yet another jewel to behold. This time coming from a band under the name Thrashera with their 3rd full length album since being formed in 2010, Não Gosto! You'd think they'd be a lot more said about Thrashera given they've been around for nearly a decade, but unfortunately no, I guess you know what's to blame for that. Anyway, Não Gosto! is fun, violent, underground thrash metal. It moves fast, is catchy, and has a real 80s offensive feel about it. Not a lot of guitar solos but when used they tear ass, and the leads along with the choruses, I promise, you won’t get out of your head. Good old school thrash metal coming from a place notorious for quality thrashing bands and tunes. A high recommendation for any thrash metal fanatic.

I had to run back to their 2014 debut, For All Drunks 'n' Bitches after headbanging to every second on Não Gosto!, I found that the music did have its highlighting moments but just like their follow-up album Morte Webbanger that again showed competency in crafting catchy thrash metal tunes, was poorly mixed and mastered causing the material to appear thin and ineffective. However, this move to Helldprod Records helped massively to give the music the punch it deserves. Now we get a Thrashera that not only has written their best full length but has the backing of a professional production to give Não Gosto! the punch it deserves.

Translated to 'I Dont Like it!', Não Gosto! uncorks a bottle of over-pouring ill-will with 'Maré 669' that swings with drunken determination and fury, offering a taste of the menacing hooks to come down the order. Mostly adopting a similar pacing as opener 'Maré 669', songs down the order don't stray from the set formula but keep the guitars at work in the lead department with the watchful inclusion of effective solos on 'Rei dos Excessos' and 'Sangue ao Metal' for example, to heighten the album's compositional variety and aid the songs overall structure; not for the sake of, rather as companions and necessary extensions of the rhythms' framework.

With the A side living up to the hype of the cover through its destructive arms squashing all weak shit out there, the B side however takes the crown. Hitting and not giving you a chance to catch a breath with slick licks on 'Trapped in the 80s (Hard Version)', the speed-metal bordering 'Metal!' and my favorite track off Não Gosto!, 'Correntes não prendem serpentes', all of which do an amazing job of almost crushing the A side. The gruff vocals, sassy-riffing and stamina-building drumming, all seem lifted in terms of effect on the B side, the curtain call to an exceptional record.

Não Gosto! makes a bald-headed guy wish he had long hair, can't recommend this one enough; "Trapped in the 80s" for 35 minutes, Eu Gosto!

Rating: 8.5 out of 10