Fortress

Protest The Hero have certainly come a long way since their initial incarnation as the frankly, dismally named Happy Go Lucky. What initially started as a teenage punk band gradually became more and more technical, and added more and more metal to their sound, becoming the progressive metalcore combo we see today. Their debut release Kezia gained them acclaim from such folks as Dragonforce, who went as far to take them out on tour. Indeed, keyboardist Vadim Pruzhanov contributes a guest spot here on the track Limb From Limb. I've not heard Kezia, but what's contained on this disc is more than enough to make me want to explore the band's previous work. Musically, if you've heard the likes of Between The Buried And Me or The Dillinger Escape Plan, you should know roughly what to expect here. It's a little less “riffier” than either of those bands though, and concentrates even more on widdly guitars and manic time-changes. Opener Bloodmeat sets us up for the whole trip with a sound that the band don't really deviate from, save for a piano interlude at the end of each of the three trilogies that the album is split into. Luckily, the band do enough within their sphere to keep it enjoyable throughout, although it can drag towards the end of the album if you're not in the mood. Because musically, it's utter chaos, it's down to vocalist Rody Walker to give us a handle on the songs. He's all high drama and big choruses, and every song has some form of epic sing-along moment. If you're one of those types who can't handle so called “emo” vocals, you might as well stop reading here, as he's all over this record. He does occasionally use some shrieks and growls, but these are used sparingly for effect. He's not quite as good a singer as he'd like to be, and he admittedly sounds a bit off at times. I'm a sucker for ridiculously over-the-top dramatic singing, mind, so his vocals are icing on the cake for me, to use the old cliché. I'll admit to singing along to the vocal histrionics of Sequoia Throne in the shower. It's not completely perfect, obviously. The slight flaws in Rody's vocals need some ironing out, and the guitars are pretty much non-stop scale runs, so anyone averse to a bit of wankery will not find much to love in this record. For me, I'd like to see the band expanding their sound even more. All the songs stay at around the 4-5 minute mark, and if the band were prepared to use a bit more dynamics, perhaps utilize the piano a little more, then they'd easily have enough juice to write some truly epic compositions. Between The Buried And Me managed it on last year's Colors opus, and I want Protest The Hero to do the same, and make the masterwork they are really capable of. We've got an incredibly talented young band here (all the members are still in their early twenties) who've made a great record, which I hope only hints at things to come.