Album Review
I like the idea of a band like Protest the Hero: a totally over the top hybrid of power metal, emo, and technical metalcore. That sounds dynamic enough to hold my attention in ways that none of those single genres do anymore. In practice, though, they fall just short of the mark. I think it's because, despite all the controversy that surrounds this band, Fortress is pretty straight forward fare.
In their attempt to do something new, Protest the Hero lift a bunch of old tricks from bands that have approached this style for a long time. Most songs seem to feature at least one bridge where the rhythm guitar player will strum away at this really triumphant progression and the lead guitar player will lay down some technical arpeggio over it; on top of that the singer will belt out a soulful and heartfelt melody. That … I guess … is pretty crazy for a metalcore band? The vocals range from raspy screams to death metal belches to poppy emotional crooning. However, it’s never as indulgent or catchy enough to warrant repeated guilty pleasure listens. The riffing is tight. It's either jagged and kind of clinical a la Between the Buried And Me or high-octane Gothenburg stuff with lots of hammer-ons and pull-offs and all those other 15 year-old tricks that still turn me on.
Erg, here's the thing. I was expecting this album to be a totally insane shit-show; and I was psyched for that. And, really, it's not that at all. I mean, it's definitely technical and the focus on melodic vocals give this album a flavor you don't hear every day, but I really have a hard time giving a shit about this album after the first couple of songs. As talented as these guys are, the guitar players rely pretty heavily on moves that I find hacky. How many times can you rail-off a quick little scale run, stop, then change tempos? Honestly, it's hard to stay dug-in after hearing the band go to the same well so many times.
Here's how it boils down. In trying to serve so many styles, Protest the Hero aren’t really doing justice to any. But, that’s not even the biggest problem, because as I'd said before I appreciate the risk they're taking. I honestly wish this had been ... I don't know ... somewhat of a more spectacular failure. Instead, the songs sound like bland hybrids with some cool guitar parts thrown in.
I'll take you through my impressions of a song I find pretty indicative of this album and see if that helps.
"Goddess Gagged"
0:00 - 0:26 Okay, so we're gonna start off with a really glorious melody over a resounding chord progression, kind of already did that on the last few songs but that's ok...
0:26 - 0:52 Here's the riff. I will not remember how this riff goes when the song is over. Bad.
0:52 - 1:02 Oh man, this riff is great! I'm glad they only played it for seven seconds.
1:02 - 1:45 This is an uninteresting transition.
1:45 - 1:58 The singer is kind of like half whispering half singing over noodling keyboards. How does that sound to you. YOU LIKE THAT KIND OF SHIT!
The rest of the song has more of those really hard to play, hard to remember what they sounded like riffs. It eventually explodes into a whispy cloud of triumphant guitar-stroking fuckle.
I do not recommend this album. As "daring," as this concept may sound, Protest the Hero have managed to pull it off in a way that is boring.
In their attempt to do something new, Protest the Hero lift a bunch of old tricks from bands that have approached this style for a long time. Most songs seem to feature at least one bridge where the rhythm guitar player will strum away at this really triumphant progression and the lead guitar player will lay down some technical arpeggio over it; on top of that the singer will belt out a soulful and heartfelt melody. That … I guess … is pretty crazy for a metalcore band? The vocals range from raspy screams to death metal belches to poppy emotional crooning. However, it’s never as indulgent or catchy enough to warrant repeated guilty pleasure listens. The riffing is tight. It's either jagged and kind of clinical a la Between the Buried And Me or high-octane Gothenburg stuff with lots of hammer-ons and pull-offs and all those other 15 year-old tricks that still turn me on.
Erg, here's the thing. I was expecting this album to be a totally insane shit-show; and I was psyched for that. And, really, it's not that at all. I mean, it's definitely technical and the focus on melodic vocals give this album a flavor you don't hear every day, but I really have a hard time giving a shit about this album after the first couple of songs. As talented as these guys are, the guitar players rely pretty heavily on moves that I find hacky. How many times can you rail-off a quick little scale run, stop, then change tempos? Honestly, it's hard to stay dug-in after hearing the band go to the same well so many times.
Here's how it boils down. In trying to serve so many styles, Protest the Hero aren’t really doing justice to any. But, that’s not even the biggest problem, because as I'd said before I appreciate the risk they're taking. I honestly wish this had been ... I don't know ... somewhat of a more spectacular failure. Instead, the songs sound like bland hybrids with some cool guitar parts thrown in.
I'll take you through my impressions of a song I find pretty indicative of this album and see if that helps.
"Goddess Gagged"
0:00 - 0:26 Okay, so we're gonna start off with a really glorious melody over a resounding chord progression, kind of already did that on the last few songs but that's ok...
0:26 - 0:52 Here's the riff. I will not remember how this riff goes when the song is over. Bad.
0:52 - 1:02 Oh man, this riff is great! I'm glad they only played it for seven seconds.
1:02 - 1:45 This is an uninteresting transition.
1:45 - 1:58 The singer is kind of like half whispering half singing over noodling keyboards. How does that sound to you. YOU LIKE THAT KIND OF SHIT!
The rest of the song has more of those really hard to play, hard to remember what they sounded like riffs. It eventually explodes into a whispy cloud of triumphant guitar-stroking fuckle.
I do not recommend this album. As "daring," as this concept may sound, Protest the Hero have managed to pull it off in a way that is boring.
Beak |
posted on 10/2009 |
There are several shitty, uninventive songs, but I like a few songs enough to listen to this every once in awhile.
JimiBrady |
posted on 9/2009 |
Update. I can't stop listening to this goddamn album. I've fallen in love with it. It's so . . . fucking . . . FUN.
And that's it. It's fun. I don't even know what to say. The lyrics are cool and make me want to go outside and throw a spear at someone. The music is cool. The melodies may not be the most invented, but they're so catchy and cool that I don't even care.
I don't usually like this kind of stuff, but I can't get enough of it now.
Still hate BtBaM, though.
JimiBrady |
posted on 5/2009 |
I'm having a really hard time getting into this. It's exactly like BTBAM. They play a cool riff for seven seconds, followed by a six-string sweep, followed by a breakdown, something that almost sounds like a chorus, then back to another cool riff.
And that all happens within a twenty second timespan. I just can't remember a goddamn thing that I hear.
metalchef_08 |
posted on 3/2009 |
dude what the fuck......Protest is one of the best bands on the scene right now. Their musicianship alone is enough to put them on the top. The power metal lyrics is what makes this band awesome and different. to be brave enough to play "mainstream" music but use...lets be honest...Corny..vocals is what sets them apart. power metal and hardcore....powercore.....badass if you ask me
crazybassist03 |
posted on 9/2008 |
I guess it just depends on what you're into. I like music without a lot of repetition that just kind of flows one part to another. That's why I like bands like Protest the Hero and BtBaM. I also find listening to an album or song more than once makes me like it a lot more. This seems more like a full listen album than a song for song album. I also read the lyrics to this album which made me like it a lot more.
rock |
posted on 4/2008 |
I could not disagree more with this review. I won't go out and say the reviewer was wrong, as it is entirely ridiculous to think of a review as a fact or factual statement.
I just feel this is one of the best albums this year so far. I can remember dozens of catchy moments on this album, tons of riffs. The songwriting score, I think, was given because the reviewer put his expectations of the album at the "6" mark, and since the album didn't live up to what HE thought it would, it recieved low marks.
Again, I disagree. This album is darker, heavier, much more dense, much more maturely written, and as big a leap over Kezia as Kezia was A Calculated Use of Sound. The fact that people are comparing these guys to BTBAM is odd, but I'll let it slide.
The Dream Theater comparison is most apt, but I think a parallel between older, more well known bands may be evident on their next release. Bands like Queen and Rush.
ethr |
posted on 4/2008 |
Iron Maiden, the review doesn't suck, its well written and the author supports his opinion lucidly, you just think the opinion of the reviewer sucks. Now that I've set you straight and told you how it is :) :) j/k I love polerizing discs like this, not to mention Erik's 666 opinion. It tells me that more often than not this is something I should definately check out. I'll be picking this one up asap.
Clint |
posted on 4/2008 |
As a Huge PTH fan I've been ready for this album since around the 100th time I listened through Kezia. Non-stop Fortress for the last Month and a Half have made me love it.
Such a complete album. But its my style music.
Kind of a junk review in my opinion.
My only complaint is their canceling of a tour. Especially when I Pre-order tickets to fucking Silverstein.
There's a waste of 20 bucks. (thanks assholes)
Desperado |
posted on 3/2008 |
This album kicks a ton of ass!I listen to an insane amount of music and I still find time to give this album a listen when the craving hits me.Like Erik said in his DM review its the kind of stuff one has to go into with an open mind,and even then there will always be people who don't get it.
Haha yeah DUDE,Yyrkoon are awesome,and Io when I glanced over your post I thought you put Psycroptic,they've been on my mind lately,and was like "Oh no he didn't,biatch is gonna pay!!!".I still like the 2 you posted though hehe.To each his own,unfortunately people act as though their own tastes are shared with the majority,and keeping personal bias out of a review is certainly a task even professionals find difficult or don't think about.
Io |
posted on 3/2008 |
I kinda have to disagree with Iron Maiden. I'd rather listen to an band with good songwriting and not so much technical proficiency (like Xasthur's latest), than a band who can play really complex and fast but can't write a coherent song to save their lives (Psyopus, Sleep Terror). Bad songwriting makes for boring songs, and boring songs aren't catchy, especially if I can remember Ion Dissonance songs better than any of the songs on this album.
Anxiety Hangover |
posted on 3/2008 |
Combine two completely useless terrible forms of music and come up wih something completely useless and terrible? Who'd a thunk it?
This is probably worse than either genre by itself, given the conceit it takes to make something so ill-conceived and assigning the "metal" to describe it in any way. This is not a band to get people into metal, bands like these are the reason people make fun of heavy metal. Go listen to Priest or Maiden instead for christ's fucking sake.
|
jorgithepirate |
posted on 3/2008 |
Not going to say it's a bad review, but I get the feeling that the non-recommendation is a product of the album not living up to the author's self-admitted high expectations of a "totally insane shit-show" more than the mediocrity of the music contained therein.
Maybe it's just the inner entrepreneur in me that's influencing my thoughts, but I find it difficult to call something this "daring" boring.
It's also interesting that when you buy the album on iTunes, you also get an instrumental version of each song.
ThatGuy |
posted on 3/2008 |
Erik, Ive been looking forward to your review of this, you should do a full review.
In my opinion this is worth of a 6/6/6 or very close to it. I just absolutely love the album and think it was a nice follow up to Kezia. I can agree with some of the things that Dave said, but I just think Protest does what they do well and write really good songs
Warhammer Battle Master |
posted on 3/2008 |
I agree. I listened to the single, 'Bloodmeat' as a guilty pleasure for a while but when I went traveling for a week with no music I didn't find my self humming or missing it. However, in its defense, I do think albums like this are a good stepping stone towards getting less experienced or reluctant Metalheads into more extreme (read: better styles). They'll probably end up as a band the next generation of Metalheads used to listen to when they were 14 or 15 and cite as a starting point for more metallic tastes.
