Protector A Shedding of Skin LP Sodom Kreator Metal Razor death destruction DRI

$

32

Brand new LP. Sealed.
PROTECTOR A Shedding of Skin LP 180g BLACK

Black vinyl
Ships safely. Photos are stock images.
High Roller Records, reissue 2025, 180g black vinyl, ltd 300, 425gsm heavy cardboard cover, poster, A4 lyric sheet, insert printed on uncoated paper, poster, mastered for vinyl by Patrick W. Engel/ Temple of Disharmony

---
Olly Wiebel - Vocals, Guitars Ede Belichmeier – Bass Michael Hasse (R.I.P. 1994) - Drums
-Intro -Mortuary Nightmare -A Shedding of Skin -Face Fear -Retribution on Darkness -Doomed to Failure -Thy Will Be Done -Whom Gods Destroy -Necropolis -Tantalus -Death Comes Soon -Unleashed Terror -Towards Destruction

Protector’s third full-length album starts off with a peaceful intro… wait, is that a bird singing? But no, don’t let yourself be deceived – “A Shedding of Skin” is a most lethal and savage piece of thrash metal madness: It gives us thirteen tracks of most refined, most extreme and ripping thrash metal, constantly keeping up the highest level of thrash metal craftsmanship - just listen to the brutally well executed title track and you know what I am talking about! This album is an impressive display of Protector’s very own blend of thrash and death metal influences that made the three-piece from Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony a force in its own right.
Wait, three-piece? Yes, indeed: On “A Shedding of Skin”, guitarist Olly Wiebel had also taken over vocal duties, what reduced Protector to the typical power trio format, now consisting of Olly together with bassist Ede Belichmeier and drummer Michael Hasse (R.I.P. 1994).
The savage masterpiece was recorded during August 1991 at the Musik LAB Studio in Berlin. The songs for “A Shedding…” were written, rehearsed and recorded by Olly Wiebel and Michael Hasse. During the recording process, the two were assisted by Matze Grün, who later would join Protector to replace Ede Belichmeier, and Ken Kennedy of Criminal Justice fame (some might also know him from his short stint with Tankard). “A Shedding of Skin” was first released by Major Records International. Soundwise there is nothing “A Shedding of Skin” leaves to wish for, which is due to the man responsible for the recordings: For their third album Protector worked together with Harris Johns, one of the most prolific European music producers for rock and metal, who also worked for and together with Kreator, Voivod, Tankard and Sodom… – just check out the impressive list of albums he has to his name. Olly Wiebel puts it simply: “Working with Harris Johns was great, very professional, and you definitely can hear that on the record. I think that ‘A Shedding of Skin’ is a real masterpiece.”
The release was followed by a small tour together with Funeral Nation and Ravenous, for which Matze Grün already took over the bass position. The shows were all well-attended and the album received a mass of enthusiastic reviews. German Rockhard called it “a great leap forward”, especially with regard to the songwriting and – no wonder – to the sound quality. Parallels were drawn between Protector and French outfit Massacra, as Protector were now leaning even more to the death metal side of things. Olly Wiebel’s vocal performance was compared to Nick Holmes (Paradise Lost) and Martin von Drunnen (Asphyx).
For the re-release on High Roller, “A Shedding of Skin” has been especially re-mastered for vinyl by Patrick W. Engel at Temple of Disharmony. Olly is certain that both old and new fans will like this release very much, especially as it will come with yet another bunch of previously unreleased pictures from the Protector archives.

Ulrike Schmitz

The 1991 album A Shedding of Skin by German metal veterans Protector is a blistering, often-overlooked underground masterpiece and a prime example of the extreme and technical Death/Thrash Metal movement of the early 90s. This brutal, high-speed record sees the band, anchored by the ferocious and manic vocals and complex riff-heavy guitar work of Olly Wiebel, fully embracing the burgeoning death metal sound while maintaining the relentless thrashing pace of their German peers. The album is characterized by its aggression, technicality, and unrelenting tempo, often utilizing an almost hyper-fast drumming style alongside sharp, intricate guitar solos that punctuate the dense layers of riffing. With a crystal-clear production from Harris Johns that perfectly captures its destructive power, A Shedding of Skin is hailed as an essential, vicious, and underrated gem that delivered a savage beating of extreme metal at a time when much of the thrash scene was slowing down, making it a crucial link between classic Teutonic Thrash and the rising wave of worldwide Old School Death Metal (OSDM).
50 Similar Artists This list focuses on bands and specific albums that share the intense, aggressive, and often technical Death/Thrash Metal sound of A Shedding of Skin, particularly from the late 80s and early 90s:
Demolition Hammer (Epidemic of Violence)
Merciless (The Awakening)
Morbid Saint (Spectrum of Death)
Dark Angel (Darkness Descends)
Kreator (Extreme Aggression)
Sodom (Tapping the Vein)
Sadus (Swallowed in Black)
Possessed (Seven Churches)
Vader (De Profundis)
Sacrifice (Forward to Termination)
Pestilence (Malleus Maleficarum)
Massacra (Enjoy the Violence)
Coroner (Punishment for Decadence)
Death (Scream Bloody Gore)
Sarcófago (The Laws of Scourge)
Invocator (Excursion Demise)
Num Skull (Ritually Abused)
Malevolent Creation (The Ten Commandments)
Defleshed (Abrahadabra)
Sepultura (Beneath the Remains)
Nocturnus (The Key)
Incubus (Opprobrium) (Beyond the Unknown)
Thanatos (Realm of Ecstasy)
Destruction (Release from Agony)
Devastation (Idolatry)
Ripping Corpse (Dreaming with the Dead)
Grave (Into the Grave)
Vio-lence (Eternal Nightmare)
Whiplash (Insult to Injury)
Cancer (Death Shall Rise)
Deceased (Luck of the Corpse)
Hellwitch (Syzygial Miscreancy)
Aura Noir (Black Thrash Attack)
Assück (Misery Index)
Exhorder (Slaughter in the Vatican)
Messiah (Choir of Horrors)
Hexx (Morbid Reality)
Hobbs' Angel of Death (Hobbs' Angel of Death)
Slayer (Reign in Blood)
Gammacide (Victims of Science)
Master (Master)
Unleashed (Where No Life Dwells)
Venom (Black Metal)
Poison (Germany) (Into the Abyss)
Terrorizer (World Downfall)
Angelcorpse (Hammer of Gods)
Warbringer (Waking into Nightmares)
Slaughter (Strappado)
Razor (Violent Restitution)
Onslaught (In Search of Sanity)