Protest The Hero - Scurrilous

[Music Head]

one for the head bangers
used to be one, but my head got too wobbly
but hey, at least they didn't growl at me

Grade - 1.1

released Mar 22nd, 2011



from the album - C'est la Vie - 1.0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z29basl7Lcs

from all music

Bio

Combining technical metal and post-hardcore instincts, Whitby, Ontario's Protest the Hero are comprised of Rody Walker (vocals), Tim Millar (guitar/vocals), Luke Hoskin (guitar/vocals), Moe Carlson (drums), and Arif Mirabdolbaghi (bass/vocals). Starting as many bands do -- with a common musical passion found among high-school friends -- Protest the Hero worked hard on developing their own identity; their sound soon became reminiscent of a combination of Coheed & Cambria, At the Drive-In, and Every Time I Die. They released the 7" Search for the Truth on Canada's Underground Operations in 2001 and followed up two years later with the EP A Calculated Use of Sound. Their music was getting noticed around the country, as they won Best Indie Metal Band at the 2004 Indie Music Awards in Toronto and had multiple appearances on the Canadian music channel MuchMusic. Relentless touring continued with a range of bands from Korn and Limp Bizkit to Bigwig and Sum 41. Protest the Hero issued their debut full-length, Kezia, a sort of concept album referred to by the band as a "situationist requiem," in 2005. Signing with Vagrant in early 2006, Kezia was re-released in the United States that April. In 2008, the band released its second album, Fortress, which received near universal critical acclaim. Scurrilous, the group's third long-player, arrived in March of 2011.

Album Review

Canadian progressive/post-hardcore/punk/thrash metal outfit Protest the Hero's third studio album ditched the keyboards and strings that peppered 2008’s critically acclaimed Fortress. Stripped down, punishing, and more aloof than the two previous albums, the lack of any unifying theme makes Scurrilous a less inclusive outing, though the quintet’s penchant for crafting impossibly precise breakdowns, staccato leads, and unpredictable melodies is far from diminished. This shift from fantasy to the personal feels right for a band whose members are hitting their mid-twenties, and vocalist/lyricist Rody Walker, freed from any kind of conceptual framework, offers up some gems here, touching on everything from cancer (“Tandem”) and mental illness (“Tongue Splitter”) to breakups (“Hair-Trigger”) and life on the road (“Moonlight”), but it’s Scurrilous' divisive closing track that feels the most evolved. “Sex Tapes,” a fiery and ferocious cautionary tale of sex in the digital age, that manages to work in both the Jonas Brothers and a melody cribbed from Sergei Rachmaninoff, skillfully walks the line between emo parody and powerful social commentary, and while it may not be what fans looking for more Coheed and Cambria-meets-Iron Maiden mysticism were expecting (there is still some of that, specifically on the excellent “Termites”), like the rest of Scurrilous, it’s hard to argue with its execution and conviction.

Track Listing

1 C'est la Vie Mirabdolbaghi, Protest the Hero 3:31
2 Hair-Trigger Protest the Hero, Walker 4:48
3 Tandem Protest the Hero, Walker 5:14
4 Moonlight Mirabdolbaghi, Protest the Hero 4:48
5 Tapestry Protest the Hero, Walker 4:33
6 Dunsel Protest the Hero, Walker 4:52
7 The Reign of Unending Terror Protest the Hero, Walker 3:23
8 Termites Protest the Hero, Walker 3:55
9 Tongue-Splitter Protest the Hero, Walker 4:34
10 Sex Tapes Mirabdolbaghi, Protest the Hero 4:39

[evilB]

I saw this band a couple of years ago and they were fabulous. Lots of variation in tempo and rhythm, great sense of humour from the lead singer. I also recommend them to the headbangers especailly those who rode out the early to mid 90s.