Review by Felix on July 19, 2021.

In the early years of my interest in heavy metal, I always found it peculiar when, as in the case of Motörhead, only one original member remained in the line-up. That wasn't a real band at all! Or was it? Well, I had just got used to such constellations when Protector - even before Venom! - managed to record an album with a line-up that had no overlap with the musicians of the first official release (Misanthropy). Of course, personnel instability also indicates musical unpredictability. Olly Wiebel, the new strong man at Protector, at least felt obliged to the band's heritage and the legacy of Michael Hasse (R.I.P.), who died much too early, to the extent that there were no fundamental changes in the sound after A Shedding Of Skin. However, the borders to death / thrash were explored more than before. This was expressed in partly completely absurd speeds. The new trio often rushed through their songs as if they feared their predecessors were chasing them to steal their instruments. On the altar of absolute harshness, even the catchy elements that A Shedding Of Skin had in parts were sacrificed without hesitation. As a result, the album, appropriately titled in view of the changes in persons and the death of Hasse, sounds relatively flat at times. The new Protector do not succeed in burying themselves permanently in the listener's memory.

It so happens that a rather atypical, almost groove-oriented piece provides a small highlight on The Heritage. 'Convicts On The Street' rocks through the prairie in mid-tempo until shortly before the end. Of course, it can't be done completely without high speed, but at least Wiebel and his colleagues show for once that they at least have an idea that a chorus with recognition value doesn't have to be a mistake. This laconic remark is not meant to indicate that the rest of the album is for the barrel. At the beginning, the absolute vehemence also has a refreshing note. 'Mental Malaria' opens the album well and coherently. Furthermore, it transports an anarchic punk note, which has always suited Protector well from time to time (think of 'Space Cake'). Over the length of an entire album, however, a uniformity spreads that does not inspire pressing the repeat button on the CD player. Even small moments of surprise like the solo performance by drummer Marco in 'Chronology' or the solid, Living Death compatible, instrumental 'Palpitation' only help to a limited extent.

The Heritage lacks the power of A Shedding Of Skin and the haunting element of Golem. Equipped with a solid, but by no means excellent production, which could unfold a little more pressure, it is nevertheless an acceptable disc, which in any case does not lack authenticity. Protector drove a remarkably rigorous course here in 1993 - Kreator had released "Renewal" a year earlier, which almost says it all. So, there may well be reasons for speed fanatics to rediscover The Heritage for themselves. Especially since the 'Outro' is so wonderfully stolen from Slayer's 'Hardening Of The Arteries' that you have to admire the band's audacity at the very least.

Rating: 6.9 out of 10

Review by Michael on April 3, 2024.

Two years after Slave Driver Dead Head (still one of the most underrated thrash bands in the whole universe and probably in all parallel universes) from the Netherlands offered a new EP called Shadow Soul with eight brand new tracks to celebrate their 35th band anniversary. To call this an EP is pretty hard though, considering how many bands released less than 30 minutes running time as a full-length album.

So here we go with a total running time of around 28 minutes and pretty much all catchiness and aggression in the songs. Not too much has changed in the style of the quartet but what is quite remarkable is that they found back to the groovy parts I missed a little bit on Slave Driver. A song like 'Serpents Of Fame' starts as a fantastic mid-tempo stomper with many simple yet effective riffs to bang along with and vocalist Ralph de Boer who is on board again since Slave Driver spits a lot of hatred into the microphone. In the ongoing process of the song the guys pick up the pace and so the serpent reminds pretty much of Dark Angel. But not DA only are a source of inspiration but also old Kreator like in 'The Age Of Hype' (which also was the first single from the EP) clearly shows. The guitar leads sound very much like the Germans did back on their albums up to “Extreme Aggression” and of course there are some similarities in Ralphs high vocals, too. When you listen to his other band, Bodyfarm, you couldn't guess that this is the same person because his vocals sound so so much different in both bands. With 'Defiance' and 'Dark Emptiness' there are also two short instrumental tracks on the album. While 'Defiance' is a quite fast and catchy introduction for 'The Age Of Hype' with some riot samples in the background, 'Dark Emptiness' is the outro for 'Shadow Soul' so to speak. This one turned out pretty much atmospheric and very different from the usual style Dead Head play. Maybe you pick up some acoustic stuff from “The New Order” by Testament and then you get what I mean. The other tracks I didn't mention in detail are also kept very thrashy and much more accessible than some of the stuff on Slave Driver. If I had to compare it to some previous Dead Head stuff, I would day it is like Haatland which is my second favorite Dead Head album after the fantastic Dream Deceiver.

So, let's celebrate the 35th anniversary of the very likable Dutch guys by listening to this album and (because it is legal to smoke weed in the Netherlands) maybe do it while smoking some pot like the mummy on the cover does. But only if you were born when Kill Division was released already please!

Rating: 9 out of 10 shadow souls

Review by Michael on April 3, 2024.

Two years after Slave Driver Dead Head (still one of the most underrated thrash bands in the whole universe and probably in all parallel universes) from the Netherlands offered a new EP called Shadow Soul with eight brand new tracks to celebrate their 35th band anniversary. To call this an EP is pretty hard though, considering how many bands released less than 30 minutes running time as a full-length album.

So here we go with a total running time of around 28 minutes and pretty much all catchiness and aggression in the songs. Not too much has changed in the style of the quartet but what is quite remarkable is that they found back to the groovy parts I missed a little bit on Slave Driver. A song like 'Serpents Of Fame' starts as a fantastic mid-tempo stomper with many simple yet effective riffs to bang along with and vocalist Ralph de Boer who is on board again since Slave Driver spits a lot of hatred into the microphone. In the ongoing process of the song the guys pick up the pace and so the serpent reminds pretty much of Dark Angel. But not DA only are a source of inspiration but also old Kreator like in 'The Age Of Hype' (which also was the first single from the EP) clearly shows. The guitar leads sound very much like the Germans did back on their albums up to “Extreme Aggression” and of course there are some similarities in Ralphs high vocals, too. When you listen to his other band, Bodyfarm, you couldn't guess that this is the same person because his vocals sound so so much different in both bands. With 'Defiance' and 'Dark Emptiness' there are also two short instrumental tracks on the album. While 'Defiance' is a quite fast and catchy introduction for 'The Age Of Hype' with some riot samples in the background, 'Dark Emptiness' is the outro for 'Shadow Soul' so to speak. This one turned out pretty much atmospheric and very different from the usual style Dead Head play. Maybe you pick up some acoustic stuff from “The New Order” by Testament and then you get what I mean. The other tracks I didn't mention in detail are also kept very thrashy and much more accessible than some of the stuff on Slave Driver. If I had to compare it to some previous Dead Head stuff, I would day it is like Haatland which is my second favorite Dead Head album after the fantastic Dream Deceiver.

So, let's celebrate the 35th anniversary of the very likable Dutch guys by listening to this album and (because it is legal to smoke weed in the Netherlands) maybe do it while smoking some pot like the mummy on the cover does. But only if you were born when Kill Division was released already please!

Rating: 9 out of 10 shadow souls

Review by Michael on April 3, 2024.

Two years after Slave Driver Dead Head (still one of the most underrated thrash bands in the whole universe and probably in all parallel universes) from the Netherlands offered a new EP called Shadow Soul with eight brand new tracks to celebrate their 35th band anniversary. To call this an EP is pretty hard though, considering how many bands released less than 30 minutes running time as a full-length album.

So here we go with a total running time of around 28 minutes and pretty much all catchiness and aggression in the songs. Not too much has changed in the style of the quartet but what is quite remarkable is that they found back to the groovy parts I missed a little bit on Slave Driver. A song like 'Serpents Of Fame' starts as a fantastic mid-tempo stomper with many simple yet effective riffs to bang along with and vocalist Ralph de Boer who is on board again since Slave Driver spits a lot of hatred into the microphone. In the ongoing process of the song the guys pick up the pace and so the serpent reminds pretty much of Dark Angel. But not DA only are a source of inspiration but also old Kreator like in 'The Age Of Hype' (which also was the first single from the EP) clearly shows. The guitar leads sound very much like the Germans did back on their albums up to “Extreme Aggression” and of course there are some similarities in Ralphs high vocals, too. When you listen to his other band, Bodyfarm, you couldn't guess that this is the same person because his vocals sound so so much different in both bands. With 'Defiance' and 'Dark Emptiness' there are also two short instrumental tracks on the album. While 'Defiance' is a quite fast and catchy introduction for 'The Age Of Hype' with some riot samples in the background, 'Dark Emptiness' is the outro for 'Shadow Soul' so to speak. This one turned out pretty much atmospheric and very different from the usual style Dead Head play. Maybe you pick up some acoustic stuff from “The New Order” by Testament and then you get what I mean. The other tracks I didn't mention in detail are also kept very thrashy and much more accessible than some of the stuff on Slave Driver. If I had to compare it to some previous Dead Head stuff, I would day it is like Haatland which is my second favorite Dead Head album after the fantastic Dream Deceiver.

So, let's celebrate the 35th anniversary of the very likable Dutch guys by listening to this album and (because it is legal to smoke weed in the Netherlands) maybe do it while smoking some pot like the mummy on the cover does. But only if you were born when Kill Division was released already please!

Rating: 9 out of 10 shadow souls

Review by Michael on April 3, 2024.

Two years after Slave Driver Dead Head (still one of the most underrated thrash bands in the whole universe and probably in all parallel universes) from the Netherlands offered a new EP called Shadow Soul with eight brand new tracks to celebrate their 35th band anniversary. To call this an EP is pretty hard though, considering how many bands released less than 30 minutes running time as a full-length album.

So here we go with a total running time of around 28 minutes and pretty much all catchiness and aggression in the songs. Not too much has changed in the style of the quartet but what is quite remarkable is that they found back to the groovy parts I missed a little bit on Slave Driver. A song like 'Serpents Of Fame' starts as a fantastic mid-tempo stomper with many simple yet effective riffs to bang along with and vocalist Ralph de Boer who is on board again since Slave Driver spits a lot of hatred into the microphone. In the ongoing process of the song the guys pick up the pace and so the serpent reminds pretty much of Dark Angel. But not DA only are a source of inspiration but also old Kreator like in 'The Age Of Hype' (which also was the first single from the EP) clearly shows. The guitar leads sound very much like the Germans did back on their albums up to “Extreme Aggression” and of course there are some similarities in Ralphs high vocals, too. When you listen to his other band, Bodyfarm, you couldn't guess that this is the same person because his vocals sound so so much different in both bands. With 'Defiance' and 'Dark Emptiness' there are also two short instrumental tracks on the album. While 'Defiance' is a quite fast and catchy introduction for 'The Age Of Hype' with some riot samples in the background, 'Dark Emptiness' is the outro for 'Shadow Soul' so to speak. This one turned out pretty much atmospheric and very different from the usual style Dead Head play. Maybe you pick up some acoustic stuff from “The New Order” by Testament and then you get what I mean. The other tracks I didn't mention in detail are also kept very thrashy and much more accessible than some of the stuff on Slave Driver. If I had to compare it to some previous Dead Head stuff, I would day it is like Haatland which is my second favorite Dead Head album after the fantastic Dream Deceiver.

So, let's celebrate the 35th anniversary of the very likable Dutch guys by listening to this album and (because it is legal to smoke weed in the Netherlands) maybe do it while smoking some pot like the mummy on the cover does. But only if you were born when Kill Division was released already please!

Rating: 9 out of 10 shadow souls