Artist: Protest The Hero
Album: Volition
Genre: Progressive Metal
Label: Razor & Tie

From the moment the then still teenage Protest the Hero announced themselves to the world with their phenomenal debut record Kezia in 2006, the Whitby, Ontario quintet have been considered somewhat of a divisive force in the heavy music scene. Almost universally revered for their technical proficiency, but often misunderstood by casual listeners due to it, Protest the Hero have amassed an equal amount of fans as they have detractors for the spasmodic, genre-hopping nature of their compositions. Thankfully for the band, the fan base that they have acquired is a loyal, dedicated, and above all, passionate one. As a result of this, the band was able to finance their latest release, Volition, via the popular crowd funding service Indiegogo, and after repeated listens I can tell you that those fans are about to see their investment in Protest the Hero pay off big time.

Volition, the band’s fourth full-length and first since 2011’s impressive, Scurrilous, is without a shadow of a doubt Protest the Hero’s best and most consistently mind-blowing release to date and it should see the band ascend to their rightful place amongst the upper-echelon of the progressive-metal scene. Opening with the barnstorming lead single, “Clarity,” a track that encapsulates all that is good about this band (soaring melodies, frantic shredding, earth shaking breakdowns and a rhythm section tighter than your metronome), Volition sets a cracking pace, grabbing the listener’s attention from the get-go and refusing to let go until it has had its way with you. It’s as if from the moment vocalist Rody Walker (channeling his best Sebastian Bach) screams, “Without a word uttered, a comparison is drawn,” your ears have been taken hostage by an evil musical overlord and your body has no choice but to nod along in reverence. And nod along you will as “Clarity” is followed in quick succession by the equally impressive “Drumhead Trial” and oh-so-appropriately titled “Tilting Against Windmills” (seriously TRY not windmilling to the sheer face-melting shred-fest taking place in this track) in an opening trilogy of stunning quality.

With the albums modus-operandi in place, Protest the Hero continue the all-out sonic assault with the incendiary “Without Prejudice,” a piece of thrash driven metal majesty that highlights the thunderous groove provided by fill-in drummer Chris Adler (of Lamb of God fame) before letting up briefly to allow space for bassist Arif Mirabdolbagh to lay down one of the most impressive bass solos in recent memory. In fact, the rhythm section is simply stellar across the whole of Volition, with Mirabdolbagh’s talents being brought to the forefront unlike ever before, and Adler’s stick work undoubtedly causing many a Protest the Hero fan to bemoan the fact he is not sticking around as a permanent member — (the band has announced Mike Ieradi as a permanent replacement for the departed Moe Carlson).

From this point onward Volition takes the listener on a bit of a journey through the most impressive elements of Protest the Hero’s past-works, incorporating their familiar genre-hopping habits as they effortlessly make the leap between the progressive-metal of “Yellow Teeth” into the punk-influenced “Plato’s Tripartite” and “Underbite,” through the more sprawling “Mist” and ferocious hardcore influence of “A Life Embossed” and “Animal Bones.” Considering the amount of sonic territory the band covers here they would be forgiven for losing or burying melody in the mix of all the technical proficiency, but it has to be said that the opposite is true, as it is arguably on these tracks that the melodic elements of Protest the Hero really shine.

This is as much a testament to the work of the much-heralded guitar tandem of Luke Hoskin and Tim Millar as it is the input of Rody Walker, who it has to be said puts in his finest performance to date on Volition. Whether busting a nut in his trademark power metal howl on tracks such as “Clarity” and “Without Prejudice” or cutting loose with a guttural roar on the likes of “A Life Embossed” and “Animal Bones,” or crooning hauntingly in the outro of “Mist,” Walker absolutely nails it and this should be the album that puts the end to any criticism people might have about his unique vocal style. The lyrics are also much improved on previous outings, moving away for the more fantastical style of the band’s earlier works and instead occupying a middle ground between self-reflective introspection and intelligent social commentary, a maturation that blends superbly with the more rounded songwriting style displayed on the album.

For their part, Hoskin and Millar put on a near-peerless display on Volition. From the opening tracks they display a rare ability to juxtapose beautiful melodic passages with breakneck riffing, all the while leaving themselves enough room to dazzle listeners with their rather unique take on all-out-shredfest. The end result of this slightly more thought out approach is that the solos actually stand out more, ensuring that although they are fewer in number than on previous albums, the ones that are there are spellbinding. Perhaps nowhere is this more evident than on album closer, “Skies,” a track that incorporates all of these elements into one of the most bat-shit-crazy tracks you will ever hear.

As per usual with Protest the Hero, there are several guest appearances scattered across Volition, including the now traditional vocal contributions from folk singer Jadea Kelly on “Plato’s Tripartite” and “Yellow Teeth,” a track that also features violin from Raha Javanfar and guitar from Wyatt Schutt. The absolute stand out of all of these guest appearances (there are too many to mention them all) however has to be the blistering solo contributed by Ron Jarzombek of Blotted Science on “Drumhead Trial” — it is seriously bordering on otherworldly what that guy is capable of doing with a guitar, and his contribution helps to take the track to another level of awesome.

While I am conscious that I have thrown out a lot of superlatives in this review, this album is not the perfect progressive-metal release, there is times where the band still manage to get caught up in their own cleverness at the expense of the quality of the songs, but these moments are few and far between and Volition benefits greatly from the slightly more controlled approach the band has taken to crafting these songs.

There is a lot of skepticism around about bands using crowdfunding to pay for the recording process, but if bands back up their fans’ investment by producing the best record of their career like Protest the Hero have done with Volition, then the music industry may have found its best business model yet. Seriously go out and buy it. You won’t regret it.

SCORE: 9/10
Review written by: Brenton Harris — (Follow him on Twitter)

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Brian Leak

Editor-In-Chief. King of forgetting drinks in the freezer. Pop culture pack rat. X-Phile. LOST apologist.

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