The Batlord

Protector: Urm the Mad

You might say that this album has a shit name. Well fuck you! I think it has a certain silly charm to it that makes me happy. It makes me think of a hermit in medieval Europe who talks to himself and keeps a mummified cat for company. Perhaps that's not terribly metal, but I still dig the name. The cover is also a vast improvement over the last one. We've gone from generic to just plain fugly to actually unique and quite awesome looking. That's actually a rather striking cover that I will remember for a good minute. Too bad I couldn't find a pic with better resolution, but just look at this awesomeness.



Sweet.




Well the blackened death/thrash has pretty much been jettisoned for a much more brutal sounding death/thrash assault. It's still Kreator worship, but it's a much more brutal Kreator tribute than before. The vocals have dropped the Mille from Kreator thing though and have crossed over into proto-cookie monster territory. It's superior to the last album, but it's still not an album that I would choose over Morbid Saint or Exhorder on any day of the week.

I'm being won over. The production is much denser and heavier than the debut and is really giving this some quality brutality. The vocals are a little low in the mix, while the guitars are a bit high, but with riffs these good and I can't really complain. I have now gotten my ass kicked by several songs and while this is still not as good as Exhorder, I approve. Although "Decadence" might just give them some competition.

Hey, they even seem to have improved their songwriting so that someone other than a drunk wombat on crack could appreciate it! Still death/thrash though, so it's not like it's David Bowie or anything, but it's still a vast improvement.

Damn, I just reopened this review because this album is continuing to grow on me. I'm coming to the conclusion that this album is a minor classic. I'm now thoroughly looking forward to the next album. If this is anything to go by they had found their stride after some early fumbling and were hopefully on their way to some greatness.

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