Synthwave composer Protector 101 is back to the delight of fans and synth aficionados everywhere. Recently, the artist dropped his latest album Killbots to favorable reviews by listeners. With an ever-expanding discography, this time Protector 101 takes listeners on a dark and ambient trip through mechanized hell on Killbots.
The opening track E.A.T.R. sets the foundation and tone for the album with a cascade of driving beats and mechanical noise. E.A.T.R. is essentially 4 minutes of sonic chaos that comes together in a perfect storm to make music.
And it doesn’t let up from there. Killbots takes you through a dystopian world where murderous machines hold precious life in the palm of their steel hands, ready to crush and annihilate it as they see fit. I felt like I could almost smell hydraulic fluid coming out of my speakers.
Killbots is violent, gritty and aggressive. It is also amazingly good. Protector 101 does a great job of giving the listener the basic foundation of a story via music and letting them fill in the gaps as they see fit as the album progresses.
Some synthwave albums can become stale and it feels as if some songs are just droning on. Luckily Killbots does not suffer from this fate. Most of the tracks on the album are a complex arrangement that keeps listeners on their toes. As a listener you would be doing yourself a disservice if you did not listen to it more than once.
I highly suggest listening to Killbots with headphones on and the volume at full blast. Protector 101 has crafted an album that is easy to immerse yourself in sonically. Via headphones, you can hear every car alarm, metallic thunk, note change, and spoken word and the way each seems to seamlessly blend with the music.
What I enjoy most about this album is that it is a whole new direction musically for the artist. When I first began listening to the album, I had to double check to make sure I was listening to the right one, because the sound was so different from what I expected. But I commend Protector 101 for growing as an artist and honing his craft.
Protector 101 is not your typical cookie cutter synthwave artist. I highly suggest anyone with an ear for this type of music to pick up any of his releases but I especially recommend Killbots. I also appreciate that the album’s title immediately made me think of the 1986 cult classic Chopping Mall.
See also: Blu-Ray Review: Vestron Video’s Chopping Mall
Protector 101 will be hitting the road this fall in support of Killbots. The album can be picked up online at Protector 101’s Bandcamp page here or other online retailers here. Do yourself a solid and immediately get your grubby hands on this newest release. I certainly wasn’t disappointed, and I don’t think you will be either.
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