All photos by Chadwise
A bit of tuning, a crack of the knuckles and then:
(Very loudly) “Did you come here to kill or did you come here to die… did you really think that spaceships would descend from the sky…” Spoke the well dressed man in the school hallway… and I was interested. Because honestly I did think spaceships would come from above. I sat and listened whilst being bombarded by the notion that they may not even “stalk us like a predator, as our movies imply”.
I had just been given my first glance of Protest The Hero and my brain was flooded with much joy. Not only was the music just freaken awesome, but the lyrics had me in a snap.
“Bending light and beaming forth across space-time. To see us scared in the reflection of their oil black eyes”.
Rody Walker explains to us his thoughts on Alien life forms and how we perceive them. In the meantime Luke Hoskin taps his way up the neck of his guitar, Tim Millar throws out some riffs and Arif Mirabdolbaghi casts of imaginary arrows with his bow from above his bass guitar in between helping drive the wall of sound which has floored me. Moe Carlson provides the thundering drums behind all this, this machine called Protest The Hero.
It had been a while since I had gotten into a new Metal band. I have become very picky over the years and haven’t been to impressed with a lot of the Metal that’s been around lately. But upon hearing Protest The Hero I was instantly hooked.
I sat at my friends house and watched the video for Sequoia Throne. At the end I had a million questions. “Who? What? What the fuck? Play it again!”. But no. I am told I must watch another clip. One about some flying monkeys. “Heretics and Killers” features the band as the now out of work Flying Monkeys from Oz.
These guys are tight and its no surprise since the band has been playing together since they were 12years old. Back in 1999. The Canadian progressive metal band have released two studio albums so far. Kezia was released on indie label Underground Operations back in 1996. The follow up, Fortress (Underground Operations/Vagrant Records) was given to the masses in January 2008 to consume.
I quickly purchased both albums and become mostly hooked on Fortress. It grabbed me straight away. The album really throws you in there from the get go. It will get your attention I guarantee. “Heads will roll”. The styles shift throughout the songs so quickly that sometimes they blend into one another. Though this makes a journey of the album.
Throwing away the standard song structure is something that these gents do with grace. By the time you reach track 3 you are ready to start the album over again. But its oh so early…
Every member of the band has their own distinct personality in song (and on film). I have no favorite member. Somehow they have managed to spread their awesomeness evenly throughout the songs as not to overwhelm you too much. It’s great to listen to a band that’s so tight mostly due to the fact that they have grown and learnt together as musicians. Bringing images of heroes, villains and the misunderstood to mind over the album.
Bringing back memories of having my mind blown away when hearing Devin Townsend or Mr Bungle for the first time.
It’s been a while since I’ve had a love at first listen moment. I think this one’s for real.
If you like Devin Townsend, Mr. Bungle, Fear Factory, Incubus, Faith No More, Kill II This or anything along those lines, then I think you should checkout Protest The Hero.
I will be keeping an eye on these guys.
“We are the ones that cause us harm. We are still life in cold blood and we feel nothing…”
