Protest The Hero – “Volition”
Coming at your eardrums at a hundred miles an hour, Canadians Protest The Hero do not do things by half measures.
From opening track ‘Clarity‘ right through to closer ‘Skies‘, Volition is a densely packed bombardment of chaos.
To describe the playing as busy in an understatement. Constant riffing and frantic licks are abundant but do occasionally teeter into excess. Vocalist Roddy Walker possesses the unique ability to channel more traditional metal influences such as Iron Maiden and fuse them with savage death growls, as evidenced on ‘Drumhead Trial and ‘Tilting Against Windmills‘. Not short of lyrical content, his contribution is as frenetic as anything coming from the guitars.
The endurance of PTH is admirable as they plough full throttle through eleven tracks all of which clock in at around five minutes duration. Whilst the speed and intensity is impressive, a few tempo changes and/or trimming of songs may have been beneficial as it does start to become a little monotonous after a while,
If frenzied relentless metal is your cup of tea, Protest The Hero more than deliver. There is no denying the passion and technical brilliance of the band, but without a bit more variety 54 minutes listening is a bit of a challenge.
He can also be found clinging to his youth on a skateboard or wandering aimlessly through the bush.
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