When Protest burst onto the scene with their debut album Kezia I was surprised to be honest. I've always enjoyed metal and heavy rock music but I find there's always something that holds me back. The first Protest song I ever heard was Heritics and Killers and I loved the intro to that song. The way it starts out you just know that song is going to rock the shit out of some shit, and it does.
Protest's follow-up album Fortress was a force of musical nature. The band elevated their sound to a level that I don't think anyone expected and with that album there was some excellent, excellent music that began to help establish the lore for one of the up-and-coming bands of Metal.
With the newest Protest The Hero album, Scurrilous you have to wonder first, what does that even mean?
scur·ril·ous/ˈskərələs/Adjective
1. Making or spreading scandalous claims about someone with the intention of damaging their reputation: "a scurrilous attack".
2. Humorously insulting.
I think that name defines the album perfectly, Protest really hits a new level.
First and foremost, I am sick of reading that people think this album sounds like Fortress... could that for any reason be because it's by THE SAME FREAKING BAND?! Nobody harps on shitty bands like Nickelback or Seether for every one of their albums sounding the same. Protest The Hero has made their reputation from being a progressive metal band that pushes the fabric of what we know is Metal with each release, heaven forbid they keep their sound connected to the three that their sound has grown from, so to speak. It's lunacy to me. Anyone that has given the album an earnest listen should be able to conclude on their own.
This is Protest The Hero taking their music to the next level.
Right from the opening track C'est La Vie, PTH gives you an ample dosage of what you can expect from this album. Now, like Fortress' opening track BloodMeat, this song underwhelmed me. It's not a bad song by any means. It stands along any of the strongest tracks from this album and kicks ass but for some reason the open tracks of Protest's albums are rarely ever my favorite track.
Next on the album is the song Hair-Trigger, a song about tobbaco additction. As someone who's battled the addiction myself. I love this song because he sings the truth. Lyrics like "I wrote a love song to think of everything I hate" defines a smokers relationship pretty well, at least one I can relate to. The song has some killer guitar and an appearance from a familiar voice that people may remember from Protest's first album as well.
The third song, Tandem is one of my favorite on the album. A song about, who I presume, is one of Rody's friends with Cancer. The song takes a look at what it's like to know somebody with cancer and also a telling tale of just how intense Cancer treatment, and all that comes with it, can be. It's a little over five minutes which makes it one of, if not the, longest song Protest has ever made (a quick check confirms only 3 protest songs are longer, two are from their first album...) I think this song just kicks ass as a whole. It's great to listen to.
Next up is Moonlight. Personally, this is my least favorite song on the album. It's a good song in its own right but near the end the repeat lyric section where he sings "Like moonlight in the darkest, darkest night..." just kills me, and not in a good way. It's a song I usually skip. An okay song about doing the band thing and 'living life on the road' so to speak.
Tapestry really starts to set the tone for the rest of the album. There's a section about a minute into the song where you get a bit of a sneak peak as to what you can expect on the next track and I really love how this song closes out with guitar riff and drum patterns. I'm not musically inclined so I won't pretend to be but the closing minute of this song, I love it. It's one of those points where you just want to pump your fist and thrash your head, or rip on the air guitar. Whatever your preference may be.
Continuing strong with the next track, and my personal favorite, Dunsel which is a telling tale of their experience with the music industry. I would post the entire lyrics of this song because it's got a lot of great picks but my favorite is probably near the end where they proclaim "Shitty music just ain't worth making! / Smiles and thank-you's just ain't worth faking / Some assholes hands just ain't worth shaking / And if it's not broken WE NEED TO BREAK IT" which kick starts the most bad ass portion of music you will hear ANYWHERE. I fucking love this song. This is Protest at its absolute BEST.
Next up is another great song, Their Reign Of Unending Terror which is a song about a band who has motivated them. There's a lyric where Rody sings about hoping their 20 year reign never comes to an end. I have yet to figure out who exactly the band their referencing is. This is another great track with uncompromising guitar and Rody sings the shit out of this song. I love it!
The song Termites continues the perennial badassery that's brought forth on this album. I really like this track because again, Rody sings the shit out of the lyrics! When he belts out "In the mountains, in the seas, in the air waits the disease!" I am right there singing the shit out of it with him. Seriously, his vocals are spectacular on this album. It just gets better on the next track too...
With Tongue-splitter we have the second hyphonated track title on the album... just something worth noting I guess. The guitars are howling right off of the start and as Rody beins singing the song you know this is going to be one of those relentless tracks and the Guitar is going 110% for the majority of the song. It's a great showcase when you remember that these are two guys who play in unison for the most part. They're just dropping bombs apologetically on this track!
Closing the album is the song Sex Tapes which really doesn't need much explanation. The song is about the medias fascination with celebrity sex tapes and how ridiculous it is. It's got another guest vocal appearance from Chris Hannah of the band Propagandhi who is a decent band in their own right. Protest keeps the tradition of ending their albums on a high note and I think they really closed the album strong from Tapestry on, closing with this track. The piano makes an appearance on this track with the lyrics "Be careful what you're looking at because it might be looking back!" for added effect.
Overall, Scurrilous offers a layered metal that will give you more and more with subsequent listens. I have ingested this album uninterrupted for pretty much the last month and there are no regrets. Rody's vocals are as good as they have ever been. He's grown so much as a singer from the first album. A good friend of mine commented there's less screaming/roaring on this album. I prefer it that way because he showcases just how good his voice is. The guitarist's Luke and Tim really up the ante on their end with this album. There's some really crazy guitar and I still believe they're two of the best, or at least, two of the most underrated guitarists in metal. Moe Carlton's drums continue to improve and I think it's got to the point where he's really coming into his own as a drummer as well. The band will continue to grow and I think this album will be the launch pad for their albums to come. Three or four albums down the line, we will look back to Scurrilous as the album where Protest The Hero really launched themselves to the next level.
I think that name defines the album perfectly, Protest really hits a new level.
First and foremost, I am sick of reading that people think this album sounds like Fortress... could that for any reason be because it's by THE SAME FREAKING BAND?! Nobody harps on shitty bands like Nickelback or Seether for every one of their albums sounding the same. Protest The Hero has made their reputation from being a progressive metal band that pushes the fabric of what we know is Metal with each release, heaven forbid they keep their sound connected to the three that their sound has grown from, so to speak. It's lunacy to me. Anyone that has given the album an earnest listen should be able to conclude on their own.
This is Protest The Hero taking their music to the next level.
Right from the opening track C'est La Vie, PTH gives you an ample dosage of what you can expect from this album. Now, like Fortress' opening track BloodMeat, this song underwhelmed me. It's not a bad song by any means. It stands along any of the strongest tracks from this album and kicks ass but for some reason the open tracks of Protest's albums are rarely ever my favorite track.
Next on the album is the song Hair-Trigger, a song about tobbaco additction. As someone who's battled the addiction myself. I love this song because he sings the truth. Lyrics like "I wrote a love song to think of everything I hate" defines a smokers relationship pretty well, at least one I can relate to. The song has some killer guitar and an appearance from a familiar voice that people may remember from Protest's first album as well.
The third song, Tandem is one of my favorite on the album. A song about, who I presume, is one of Rody's friends with Cancer. The song takes a look at what it's like to know somebody with cancer and also a telling tale of just how intense Cancer treatment, and all that comes with it, can be. It's a little over five minutes which makes it one of, if not the, longest song Protest has ever made (a quick check confirms only 3 protest songs are longer, two are from their first album...) I think this song just kicks ass as a whole. It's great to listen to.
Next up is Moonlight. Personally, this is my least favorite song on the album. It's a good song in its own right but near the end the repeat lyric section where he sings "Like moonlight in the darkest, darkest night..." just kills me, and not in a good way. It's a song I usually skip. An okay song about doing the band thing and 'living life on the road' so to speak.
Tapestry really starts to set the tone for the rest of the album. There's a section about a minute into the song where you get a bit of a sneak peak as to what you can expect on the next track and I really love how this song closes out with guitar riff and drum patterns. I'm not musically inclined so I won't pretend to be but the closing minute of this song, I love it. It's one of those points where you just want to pump your fist and thrash your head, or rip on the air guitar. Whatever your preference may be.
Continuing strong with the next track, and my personal favorite, Dunsel which is a telling tale of their experience with the music industry. I would post the entire lyrics of this song because it's got a lot of great picks but my favorite is probably near the end where they proclaim "Shitty music just ain't worth making! / Smiles and thank-you's just ain't worth faking / Some assholes hands just ain't worth shaking / And if it's not broken WE NEED TO BREAK IT" which kick starts the most bad ass portion of music you will hear ANYWHERE. I fucking love this song. This is Protest at its absolute BEST.
Next up is another great song, Their Reign Of Unending Terror which is a song about a band who has motivated them. There's a lyric where Rody sings about hoping their 20 year reign never comes to an end. I have yet to figure out who exactly the band their referencing is. This is another great track with uncompromising guitar and Rody sings the shit out of this song. I love it!
The song Termites continues the perennial badassery that's brought forth on this album. I really like this track because again, Rody sings the shit out of the lyrics! When he belts out "In the mountains, in the seas, in the air waits the disease!" I am right there singing the shit out of it with him. Seriously, his vocals are spectacular on this album. It just gets better on the next track too...
With Tongue-splitter we have the second hyphonated track title on the album... just something worth noting I guess. The guitars are howling right off of the start and as Rody beins singing the song you know this is going to be one of those relentless tracks and the Guitar is going 110% for the majority of the song. It's a great showcase when you remember that these are two guys who play in unison for the most part. They're just dropping bombs apologetically on this track!
Closing the album is the song Sex Tapes which really doesn't need much explanation. The song is about the medias fascination with celebrity sex tapes and how ridiculous it is. It's got another guest vocal appearance from Chris Hannah of the band Propagandhi who is a decent band in their own right. Protest keeps the tradition of ending their albums on a high note and I think they really closed the album strong from Tapestry on, closing with this track. The piano makes an appearance on this track with the lyrics "Be careful what you're looking at because it might be looking back!" for added effect.
Overall, Scurrilous offers a layered metal that will give you more and more with subsequent listens. I have ingested this album uninterrupted for pretty much the last month and there are no regrets. Rody's vocals are as good as they have ever been. He's grown so much as a singer from the first album. A good friend of mine commented there's less screaming/roaring on this album. I prefer it that way because he showcases just how good his voice is. The guitarist's Luke and Tim really up the ante on their end with this album. There's some really crazy guitar and I still believe they're two of the best, or at least, two of the most underrated guitarists in metal. Moe Carlton's drums continue to improve and I think it's got to the point where he's really coming into his own as a drummer as well. The band will continue to grow and I think this album will be the launch pad for their albums to come. Three or four albums down the line, we will look back to Scurrilous as the album where Protest The Hero really launched themselves to the next level.
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