Full to the brim with high speed killer riffs and leaning heavily towards early death, “Golem” is easily on par with other German thrash metal milestones such as “Pleasure to Kill” or “Infernal Overkill”. Among the wave of Germanic thrash flooding the scene back then, Protector have always stood out due to their exceptional songwriting-skills including daring tempo changes and top-of-the-line musicianship. His absolutely vile vocal performance which always borders on early, evil, murky death metal is one reason why “Golem” is widely regarded as a landmark in the history of extreme metal, especially that of death/thrash.

“Golem” is the first of two full-length releases from the first incarnation of Protector featuring vocalist Martin Missy. The four-piece from Lower Saxony had been playing together since 1986, and with one official release up their sleeves the band now consisted of Hansi Müller (git), Michael Hasse (drums), Ede Belichmeier (bass) and Martin Missy on vocals, thus the same crew who had already hammered in the debut-EP “Misanthropy” from 1987. Golem” was the first full-length release by Protector, a savage masterpiece from one of the most underrated but nevertheless most important and influential thrash/death outfits from the 80s.

Splatter beach death stills