Send "Protest the Hero " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Sputnikmusic |
 Protest the Hero have always seemed like one of those bands that take themselves completely seriously yet at the same time take nothing seriously at all. Don't follow? Well, take an album like Kezia, the band's 2005 debut. Everything from the heavy political slant, the skill of the musicianship (to which they admit they wrote songs that were more complex and complicated than their abilities at the time, forcing them to practice relentlessly just to play the god damn thing), to the album's philosophical backdrop show a level of depth and planning that clashes against the image of drunken goofballs that, through over a half dozen music videos and countless interviews, they, and their livers, have worked hard to build and maintain. Protest the Hero's newest album Scurrilous, whose name is taken from the title of the painting that adorns the cover, continues in some extent with this dichotomy, but instead of looking at it as a matter of work versus life, it now envelops the make up of the album itself.Musically, Scurrilous picks up right where Fortress left off, even including a return of those cheesy synthesizers in “Tapestry” and “Sex Tapes”. It is an overtly technical affair, ramping up the shred to some rather mind bending levels (I'm pretty sure that in the book of sheet music for Scurrilous, there are full sections where it switches from standard notation to calculus), but this time around everything is a lot less jarring when compared to their past work, with the transitions between the light speed arpeggio runs, tight modern metal riffing, and mathy stop start sections seamlessly binding it all together. It's rather impressive considering just how many shifts and change ups there are in each song. Vocalist Rody Walker's contributions to Scurrilous, on the other hand, completely embody the flippant nature of the band shown in their videos. While all the lyrics on past albums were penned by bassist Arif Mirabdolbaghi, this time around they are mostly Rody's brain child, giving him the chance to not only take things in a new, more sarcastic, direction for the band, but also to explore his own sense of melody. For Scurrilous he has discarded his oft used scream in favor of his semi-operatic falsetto, a choice that may irk those that loved the vocal spazz outs like those found on “Bloodmeat”, but in using clean vocals it helps add to the cohesive feel of the album. Lyrically, there's nothing about jailed women or pagan worship here, instead it's a glimpse into the world through Rody's eyes. Think of it like the film Being John Malkovich but instead of being in the head of a mid level Hollywood actor, you're in the head of a quick witted, cynical, and sarcastic mid-20 something....full text |
| Thenewreview |
| Protest the Hero have been a new voice for the metal community since their beginnings in 1999, or should I say their transformation in 2002. As many already know, the band was originally billed under the carefree, whimsical name “Happy Go Lucky” since they formed in the frozen tundra of what I like to call Canada…Whitby, Ontario to be exact, or so I am told. All of that back-story is ancient history now anyway—something that has been told time and time again and bleed dry from repetitive use. Where this story really becomes interesting is in 2005 when a group of teenagers under the John Hancock of Protest the Hero released what they penned themselves as a “Situational Requiem,” known simply as Kezia. Mixing guitar playing reminiscent of tech metal with pop sensibility, slight hints of jazz, southern rock and other surprises along the way, all encased in well thought-out song structure and story telling, Kezia was a beast all unto itself. For me personally, it was light years ahead of its time and still is. With monumental shoes to fill, the band’s sophomore album Fortress, while good, could not live up to the mammoth that was Kezia. Some songs had potential but others fell flat. It was a grab bag of emotions that I feel turned a good number of fans sour. So with great pleasure it pleases me to tell you all that Protest The Hero’s new album, Scurrilous, which drops on March 22nd, is in fact a welcome improvement and a strong step in reclaiming the sound and urgency that was present with Kezia. Right from the beginning you can hear the subtle difference in their playing—it just sounds like confidence. I know that sounds a little ridiculous because confidence doesn’t have a sound; but if it did, this would be it. The song structure is interesting, the timing is tight and the production is stellar. Now if you are a long bearded KVLT to death fanboy then obviously Protest the Hero is not for you, but if you are searching for progressive, harmonic driven anthems, then this might just be the back scratcher you were looking for....full text |
| Onemetal |
| Canada’s Protest The Hero seem to be doing things the right way, building their fanbase through a solid work ethic – compilation appearances, EPs and lots of touring raised their profile before they released their first album Kezia in 2006. Making their mark with a well-received slot on the Warped Tour in support of Fortress in 2008, and continuing the good road-work through the following two years, the time was ripe for some new material from the band. Scurrilous won’t take fans of the band by surprise – it’s definitely the natural continuation of the sound laid-out on Fortress – but they will rejoice at what’s on offer. Protest The Hero are one of ‘those’ bands – the type that seem to inspire fanatical devotion in their followers, whilst being almost impenetrable for people that don’t really grasp what they’re about. With some bands there’s a mythology around them, such as Coheed And Cambria and the Amory Wars saga that their albums revolve around, that can put people off – with Protest The Hero it’s the music itself that can be the barrier. A fair portion of the time it feels as if the band have an internal wager about who’ll be the first to crack and write a section in standard 4/4, whilst lead guitarist Luke Hoskin attempts to navigate the entirety of his instrument’s fretboard in every song. Not for the faint-hearted, but pierce the fog of technicality and what you find are solid, well-constructed songs. Straight off the bat, ‘C’est La Vie’ marks out the territory – crunching offtime riffs intertwine around Rody Walker’s impassioned tenor howl, laced with spiralling leads and huge sub-bass drops. Dropping into almost fusion-jazz realms with some of the guitar work in the middle-eight, and nailed together with impressive accuracy by Moe Carlson’s almost epileptic performance behind the drumkit, this three-and-a-half minutes will let you know very quickly if Protest The Hero are to your taste, being an almost perfect microcosm of their sound....full text |
Protest the Hero lyrics
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