Protest The Hero - VOLITION (Album Review)

Hands up who likes progressive metal from the maple-stained land of Canada?

If your hand isn't up, maybe PROTEST THE HERO can change that. They play a certain kind of blustery metal that sounds like a shed full of instruments got caught in a storm, with vocals that flit between confident, smooth, power-ballad crooning and cockier, gruffer outbursts. 

I'll be honest, I love everything about this band's music. I have for a while. The guitar work is especially impressive, somehow both thundering and delicate at the same time.

There's no mistaking, PTH are a quality band. But don't take my word for it (you should take my word for it though, because I'm right forever and always, but if not…) - this album was bankrolled through crowd-funding site IndieGoGo, where their original goal of $125,000 was almost tripled by eager fans so keen on hearing new material that they pre-emptively stumped up the cash.

You can hear 'CLARITY' from this album right now if you wish:

Click here on mobiles

VOLITION is like someone took the more energetic moments of later ALEXISONFIRE and perfected it. I'm three listens in so far and haven't yet found a bad song on the album, and it sounds different enough from previous releases to demand my interest. Whether it's as good as their last effort, SCURRILOUS, is something I haven't quite decided yet. 

Although, SCURRILOUS is a stone-cold goddamn masterpiece, so it'd be a struggle to beat no matter what they released.

VOLITION is different, pleasingly so, and you should shove it into your ears at the first opportunity. It's out today - 29th October 2013 to be precise - and you can get it at most good stockists of music and music-based digital files.

5 out of 5 Wirelesses

The band is currently touring the album on the other side of the Atlantic, but they'll be over in the UK early next year for a smattering of dates:

Feb 01 2014 - Brighton - Concorde 2

Feb 02 2014 - Birmingham - O2 Academy

Feb 04 2014 - Sheffield - Corporation

Feb 05 2014 - Glasgow -The Classic Grand

Feb 06 2014 - Manchester -Manchester Academy

Feb 07 2014 - London - Electric Ballroom (NW1 8QP)

WORDS BY CHRIS WELSH

Chris Welsh is a writer of everything from reviews to novels. He even writes an online horror webcomic you can read by going here: www.wartcomic.om . He writes bios in third-person because somehow that feels less awkward.