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Protector > Urm the Mad > Reviews
Protector - Urm the Mad

Thrash doom - 85%

we hope you die, December 23rd, 2020

Germany's Protector, although contemporaries of early death metal, heil from a stylistically earlier lineage. Their debut LP ‘Golem’ (1988) is another one of those albums that purports to be a full stop on the whole thrash project in terms of raw extremity, along with the likes of Sadus and Pestilence. With less fanfare yet more talking points was their follow up, 1989’s ‘Urm the Mad’. ‘Thrash doom’ isn’t exactly a thing, but if it was then ‘Urm the Mad’ could make a strong claim to be its genesis. The overall energy and impetus is somewhat sleepier than the debut. The focus seems to be on creating a darker vibe, a more immersive if less intense statement. The faster thrash passages are fewer and further between, and come across as lip service more than musicians playing for the simple joy of it. The impression is that Protector wanted to create a mid-paced, heavy, dark piece of extreme metal that trades more in tone and layering up of different elements rather than a blasting smack in the face that was the stock-in-trade at the time.

The production speaks to this, with a weaker but deeper guitar tone. The inertia created by the additional reverb tends to murk up with faster passages, but is ideally suited to the modest doom breakdowns that frequently crop up throughout. Solos, rather than heightening the tension and intensity seem designed to give size and weight to the mix, with the pitch often sinking lower than the rhythm guitar and filling out the void with reverb and feedback. The drums are perhaps the weakest elements to the mix. There is no power or depth, and despite Michael Hasse’s serviceable performance, they are relegated to a simple metronome for the majority of the album, with none of the fills landing and the whole dissolving into a weak rhythmic static when the thrash gets going. Martin Missy’s vocals by contrast have gone full death metal, offering the full range of pitch and strength with barks and screeches covered in reverb.

The guitars vary from run-of-the-mill thrash to epic death doom. The thrash riffs themselves are utterly rudimentary, sometimes made up of nothing more than a one beat shift between two notes. But far from being a detriment, this actually plays into the overall glum atmosphere of the album. Rather than contrasting with the droning chords and patiently unfolding doom of a track like ‘Nothing has Changed’, they actually reaffirm the overall ethos, just at a faster tempo. The dark undertones to this album also gives ‘Urm the Mad’ an early black metal vibe. The emptiness of the mix, the lack of colour and life despite the showcase of late 80s thrash, all lend it a dark quality that predicts some of the macabre tangents extreme metal was to take in the decade that followed.

‘Urm the Mad’ has many unexpectedly innovative qualities for a German thrash record that make it prima facie the more interesting release. But the elements in question are largely aesthetic, not deeply embedded within the album itself. The doom elements mixed with thrash is interesting, but neither one is ground-breaking or genre defining even for its day. The thrash riffs are largely so-so, as is the playing. But there is an underlying atmospheric quality that makes it at least noteworthy in the annuls of history.

Originally published at Hate Meditations

Urm the so-so guy - 65%

Felix 1666, June 25th, 2017
Written based on this version: 1989, 12" vinyl, Atom H

It is only 28 years ago that "Urm the Mad" was published. Ridiculously short period, isn't it? Erich Honecker, the General Secretary of the decaying GDR, mumbled socialistic slogans and the Berlin Wall was still standing strong, but the Protector dudes, who hailed from the so-called Zonenrandgebiet ("zonal border area") of West Germany displayed some signs of weakness. Their second full-length had some elements of Sodom's coarse early works, but it did not fully meet my expectations. Its sound was slightly blurred, dull and lacked pressure, not dramatically, but to a certain extent. However, the compositional shortcomings marked the main problem.

This is not to say that "Urm the Mad" is completely devoid of good songs. "Capitascism" (lame pun) rages against right-wing splinter parties while offering a solid, cleverly constructed opener. "Nothing Has Changed" might have been the initial impulse for the foundation of Asphyx, because it mixes a doomy approach with a deadly attitude. But please wait a moment...

...the mention of Asphyx forced me to listen to one of their killer tracks ("It Came From the Sky"). But now I am back, "Nothing Has Changed" was the topic. Its dragging riffs hate agility and flexibility while showing a surprising tendency towards catchiness. The ponderous growling and the almost melancholic solo accompany the socio-critical lyrics. They are pretty simple, but by far not as bad as those of "Sliced, Hacked and Grinded". In alignment with the smooth title, they deal with "grinded genitals", a "comminuted corpse" and further delicacies. Very edifying. Honestly speaking, I will never share the fascination for this kind of lyrics. Anyway, the composition itself belongs to the best tracks here, because it has exciting lines and grows constantly. Rapid sections and less speedy rhythms form a powerful piece whose penetrating power is not affected by chaotic elements. Unfortunately, these elements show up in many other songs and this is not for the benefit of the album. The pretty incoherent closer of the A side marks the turning point.

The entire second half offers dark, brute metal which suffers from the lack of outstanding or at least memorable sections. Aggravating this situation, Missy's pretty monotonous voice fails to push the songs on a higher level. Do not get me wrong, the tunes have a certain substance, but you will have a tough job in order to find a retro thrash party where they play these numbers. Inter alia due to the absence of any form of atmosphere, they cannot compete with the crushers of "Golem". One does not find a new "Delirium Tremens" with its sharply cutting riffs, the ominous aura of songs like "Apocalyptic Revelations" or "Golem" remains unrivalled and so on. Thus, if one just needs deep growls and the sound of electric guitars itself, "Urm the Mad" is not a bad album. Everybody with higher demands will not find a new highlight for her or his collection. Anyway, it is comforting to know that today Protector is still a force to be reckoned with. But the best is that this cannot be said about the inhuman, brutal and ideologically pigheaded GDR.

Urn, you lovely little skeleton fella, you - 88%

Acrobat, November 7th, 2011

For whatever reason I don't tend to hear the name "Protector" mentioned all that often when people discuss early extreme metal (no, there's not a "proto-extreme" in this case; you're either in or you're out). However, I do think they are notably extreme enough to make the cut along with, say, other German luminaries such as Kreator, Destruction and Sodom (yes, those three once again). Perhaps it's worth noting that while those limelight-hogging trio largely gave up the extremity to their sound after their early records (with Sodom being the possible exception with their brief flirtation with death thrash on the Tapping the Vein album), Protector got a considerably harder-edge over time. Or, at least from what I've heard, they got heavier between their full-length debut, Golem, and this the ripping Urn the Mad.

What is present on this record is notably less typically thrashy than what came before; a frequent use of slower tempos, even murkier production and truly sick vocals from Martin Missy (who, despite having a name that makes him sound like a bit-part character in a sub-par King Diamond album, is a fucking excellent vocalist). So, I guess what I find interesting about Protector, then, is that instead of following a thrashier path on this record they lumbered towards some odd primordial death-like sound. It's still a thrash record, sure, but it feels notably darker, grimmer and generally lacks that "push people around in the mosh pit" vibe that is associated with late-80s thrash. If pressed, I'd certainly say that this is closer to Celtic Frost's To Mega Therion than whatever your own personal standard of "typical late-80s" thrash metal might be. So, that basically leaves us with a thrash record that will appeal to people who don't necessarily like Exodus or Metallica.

Missy's sepulchural vocals are perhaps the most deathy aspect to this record. I can't honestly say that I've heard a thrash vocalist sound so convincingly extreme as he does here. Just listen to the title-track - he's positively menancing! Urn... THE MAD! See, this is thrash metal for fans of Slowly We Rot. Okay, so maybe you're not impressed by convincing death/thrash in 1989? Considering that this was a year after Malleus Maleficarum and a handful of other death metal full-lengths (although, notably ones that are still very much thrash-flecked in tone), perhaps this is not such an impressive feat. Hell, I should probably note that the band aren't afraid to use blast-beats with the closer being a fifty-second grind-influenced piece. Nonetheless, Urn the Mad has a ripping vitality to it and certainly stands to be more than a mere historical footnote; it's very memorable but I wouldn't necessarily call it an obviously catchy record. The riffs themselves aren't particularly "hooky" and it doesn't have any catchy tracks like 'Space Cake' or 'Golem', and yet the combination of Missy's schizophrenic vocals - which do literally "leap out" at the listener at times - and Hansi Müller's rather austere riffing make for something that strangely atmospheric, if you can ever use such an adjective when describing thrash.

Basically, this is thrash metal that functions so well very as death metal that you'd be forgiven for mistaking it for its younger, even uglier brother. It has all the grey-skyed oppressive heaviness you could ask for and with Martin Missy's absolutely vile vocals it's an even more (un)attractive package. You can pick this up through the compilation Ominous Message of Brutality (a more fitting title you possibly couldn't find) and I strongly recommend doing so.