Artist: Protest the Hero
Album: Fortress
Wikipedia Genre(s): Metalcore, Mathcore, Progressive metal
Matt’s Fav Tracks: Bloodmeat, Bone Marrow
# times listened: Moderate (10 – 25 times)
Matt’s Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Buy CD: Amazon
Have a listen: Amazon Non-DRM MP3’s
Around 10-15 years ago, I listened to a lot of music that would classically fall into the category of “Heavy Metal” (Metallica, Anthrax, and later on, Helmet and the Deftones). In the mid-late 90’s, I turned off this genre due to most of the “NüMetal” that was all the rage and the Limp Bizkit / Korn clones that sucked big-bime. If it’s done well, it still gets annoying, but when done poorly, I’d rather listen to whales mating.
Enter Protest the Hero, the best thing to come out of Canada since Pam Anderson and Strange Brew. Upon first hearing this album, I was blown away by the throw-back musicianship these guys posses. Bands like the napster-killing-morons, Metallica wish they could play half this well. These guys pound out rhythms at a blinding speed and easily switch between genres flawlessly.
While they have some of the stereotypical screaming that I get sick of, they don’t seem to take themselves too seriously. Tackling subjects like Genghis Kahn’s ruling empire with lyrics like:
“Heads will roll, and throats will be slit, and blood will flow like springs of water, Heads will roll”
Very over-the-top, shockingly funny, but done well, so listenable. A breath of fresh air and a little return to a time when metal covered cool subjects like rulings of ancient tyrants and history lessons. Check them out if you’ve been missing metal. 4 out of 5 stars for me.
Posted under music, reviews