Review Time - Protest the Hero: Scurrilous

For Protest the Hero, following up on their magnificent album Fortress would be no easy task. The 2008 opus was extremely ambitious; lyrically all the songs were all tied together via the theme of Goddess worship, how it has been twisted and changed throughout the ages. The music was more daring than before, with guitarists Luke Hoskin and Tim Millar tearing across their fretboards like madmen, Bassist Arif Mirabdolbaghi finding a way to somehow make bass in metal interesting and even exciting, and Frontman Rody Walker's Vocals complimenting with soaring falsetto and guttural growls at the drop of a hat. Not only that, but the album was divided into distinct segments, separated by piano or otherwise instrumental codas, which ensured it all flowed wonderfully.

Tim also started sporting his glorious beard around this time. 

Respect must be paid to the beard.

For Scurrilous, Protest took a different approach. The guitars are continuing their trend of getting proggier than ever, but the fantastical concepts of old are right out, as well as an overall album structure; they're using this opportunity to branch out, both lyrically and musically, and Rody's lyrics are much more personal than anything shown by the band previously.

Seconds into the opening track, and already they bristle with conviction. "C'est la vie"wastes no time before Rody starts belting out a lament for our generation's increasing apathy toward suicide. As he tells tale of a man whose sad end "briefly made the news", for most people, it was just a mild annoyance in their day.

"Oh what a price to pay

The trains were fifteen minutes late"

The structure is tight as always and Protest have definitely kept their knack for balancing complex guitar licks with outright catchy hooks. What's really impressive is how much the newfound personal touch adds to the music. Whereas before the vocals served more as a compliment to the music, here they soar, and in some cases elevate the song into some the finest they've ever done. "Tandem" is a great example of this: Whilst the song is another slice of their signature catchy-prog musically, Rody's deeply personal tale of a friend who has cancer, and their quiet struggle for the sake of their friends and family is touching stuff. The music is still fast and punchy, it's a song about respect for their courage, completely avoiding being cliched and sappy.

Yeah, they can write emotional lyrics, that are actually good, and play their instruments.

Suck it emo kids.

It is all a lot to take in on first listen, especially if you're unfamiliar with their particularly compact style of songwriting. Songs with enough musical ideas for 15 minutes are fit into 3, and at first it might seem like just a constant bombardment of arpeggios, tapping, and just about every other technique designed to make other musicians look bad. But, as par for the course with prog, multiple listens are where the true pleasure lies. Anthemic sections that only last a few seconds overall in the song will get stuck in your head all day (The end of "Tapestry" is a good example of this, or nearly all of "Dunsel"), and the economy of songwriting is refreshing when you get so many great moments on every song.

Particular note should also be made to long time producer Julius Butty's fantastic work here, which is a notable step up from the slight dryness of Fortress, and the absolute travesty of compression and clipping of Kezia. The guitars sound warmer than ever, there's no issue of clipping like before, and it sounds much more dynamic in general, whereas in previous albums it was nearly always full on assault.

All is forgiven Julius. We'll not speak of Kezia again.

There is, however, a notable aspect where it doesn't quite live up to Fortress. The band's focus on a song by song approach does result in many inspired moments, but overall, there just isn't the same sense of completeness as their previous work. Whereas Kezia and Fortress were focused on the big picture, Scurrilous feels more like a collection of songs; The same sense of epicness just isn't there. But their ability to delve into more personal and emotionally engaging matter does makes up for it, and in many ways it's a refreshing change of pace.

Bah. I guess my funny caption is unnessecary now. Well played Mr. Walker.

So, the best thing out of Canada since Devin Townsend and maple syrup have struck lightning thrice. It's not hard to recommend an album with such a plethora of ideas, nearly all of which work. It doesn't have the same laser focus as other albums, but the more inventive songwriting ensures it stands up next to their already impressive back catalogue, and Rody especially really comes into his own.

I give it three thumbs up.

What's that? Not physically possible you say? It's okay, I paid a homeless man to let me borrow his thumb for a while. 's all good.

Recommended Tracks
C'est la vie, Sex tapes, Tandem

The Bearded One tried his best not to sound like a fanboy. He failed spectacularly.