If you're a Protest the Hero fan, chances are you're already familiar with their recent Pacific Myth EP project being recorded and released one track per month over on Bandcamp. Maybe you're even a subscriber already. But if you're not necessarily a Protest fan, you might only have heard about this Pacific Myth thing from me (please, let me hold onto the delusion that I'm somehow your go-to for this kind of thing). And unfortunately, since Pacific Myth is a subscription-based project, I can really only recommend new songs to you when they come out, rather than linking you directly to the goods.
So today I'm going to be a nice guy. Rather than pointing you at the latest Pacific Myth track (called "Cataract", which you definitely should check out if you get the chance) I'm just going to hit you with a tasty tune from the band's last LP, 2013's Volition. "Underbite" is a characteristically high energy song with a characteristically acerbic and tongue-in-cheek take on rock stardom and the music industry. Would you expect anything less from Rody and the Gang?
Showing posts with label Rody Walker. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rody Walker. Show all posts
Wednesday, 27 January 2016
Sunday, 20 December 2015
Friday: Protest the Hero - Cold Water
I hate to feature something as a Song of the Day that you can't necessarily go out a listen to readily without paying something out of pocket, but the guys in Protest the Hero have recently released the latest installment in the Pacific Myth song-a-month EP and I can't help myself. Sorry.
Despite being brand-spanking new, "Cold Water" has a lot of classic Protest stuff going on -- high energy, shreddy riffing, acrobatic vocals -- but it's also very much reflective of the focus on songwriting instead of riff-grafting that's characterized the band's last couple of albums. And just in case anybody still had any doubts about new-ish bassist Cameron McLellan, there's a mid-song section with a little tasty slappity slap slap going on, and there's some solid bass work throughout (and it's sitting in a pretty good spot in the mix, too).
As I said above, this one's part of the Pacific Myth subscription service, so you'll have to shell out a bit of change if you want access to it as well as the preceding two tracks, but this Protest the Hero fan would like you to know that Pacific Myth has been worth the price of admission so far. Get in here and see what you're missing, OK?
Despite being brand-spanking new, "Cold Water" has a lot of classic Protest stuff going on -- high energy, shreddy riffing, acrobatic vocals -- but it's also very much reflective of the focus on songwriting instead of riff-grafting that's characterized the band's last couple of albums. And just in case anybody still had any doubts about new-ish bassist Cameron McLellan, there's a mid-song section with a little tasty slappity slap slap going on, and there's some solid bass work throughout (and it's sitting in a pretty good spot in the mix, too).
As I said above, this one's part of the Pacific Myth subscription service, so you'll have to shell out a bit of change if you want access to it as well as the preceding two tracks, but this Protest the Hero fan would like you to know that Pacific Myth has been worth the price of admission so far. Get in here and see what you're missing, OK?
Tuesday, 1 July 2014
Album of the Week: Protest the Hero - Kezia
It's Canada Day today, so you know I'm going to take that excuse for a theme and run with it as far as I can. The end result as far as you're concerned is some Canadian stuff for your song and album today, starting with the rock-solid debut LP from one of my favourite bands.
The success of their crowdfunding campaign for last year's Volition may have put them front and centre in the metal world for a bit, but Whitby's Protest the Hero were making their name on their tasty tech riffage for years before that. Protest has a great back catalogue, and I could comfortably recommend you spend the week with any of their records prior to Volition, but in order to fully appreciate how far they've come, I think you've got to start at the start.
Kezia is one of those debut records that struck like a proverbial bolt out of the blue, an effect only compounded by the teenaged status of the band at the time of the album's composition and recording. It certainly depressed me, a guitarist in my early twenties at the time, that a bunch of kids several years my junior had come roaring out of the gate with such an impressive first album.
Punky energy, metal technicality, Rody's phenomenal vocal range, high-brow concepts -- none of it is anything new for Protest. They've been doing that kind of thing since the beginning, and have only been honing their sound. Longtime fans of the band will know how good Kezia is, but latecomers to the Protest party who haven't delved into the band's early days should be implored to do so. Just because the guys don't play a whole lot of cuts off Kezia anymore doesn't detract from said album's awesomeness. Discover that awesomeness for yourself this week, please.
The success of their crowdfunding campaign for last year's Volition may have put them front and centre in the metal world for a bit, but Whitby's Protest the Hero were making their name on their tasty tech riffage for years before that. Protest has a great back catalogue, and I could comfortably recommend you spend the week with any of their records prior to Volition, but in order to fully appreciate how far they've come, I think you've got to start at the start.
Kezia is one of those debut records that struck like a proverbial bolt out of the blue, an effect only compounded by the teenaged status of the band at the time of the album's composition and recording. It certainly depressed me, a guitarist in my early twenties at the time, that a bunch of kids several years my junior had come roaring out of the gate with such an impressive first album.
Punky energy, metal technicality, Rody's phenomenal vocal range, high-brow concepts -- none of it is anything new for Protest. They've been doing that kind of thing since the beginning, and have only been honing their sound. Longtime fans of the band will know how good Kezia is, but latecomers to the Protest party who haven't delved into the band's early days should be implored to do so. Just because the guys don't play a whole lot of cuts off Kezia anymore doesn't detract from said album's awesomeness. Discover that awesomeness for yourself this week, please.
Thursday, 26 June 2014
The Kindred - A Grand Debate
Just in case the last couple of days of tech death have left you a little drained, I've decided to ease off the throttle a bit tonight. But don't worry -- things'll still be a little proggy.
Ottawa band The Kindred are no strangers to the heavy music seen, having been formerly built a bit of a following under the moniker Today I Caught the Plague, but they've only released their debut LP under the new name earlier this year. Nevertheless, all that experience shows: Life in Lucidity doesn't have any debut album jitters or timidity, instead coming across as the work of a band that's confident in its sound.
"A Grand Debate" is a good example of this, combining some energetic, intricate-but-not-too-intricate guitar work with the dynamic performance of vocalist David Journeaux, who reminds me a bit of Rody from Protest if Rody had a little less range and a lot more raw, unpolished edges. At times The Kindred are musically vaguely reminiscent of Protest the Hero as a band as well, but not at all in a way or to a degree that should prevent you from giving "A Grand Debate" a listen right now. So do it. Go on. Right now.
Ottawa band The Kindred are no strangers to the heavy music seen, having been formerly built a bit of a following under the moniker Today I Caught the Plague, but they've only released their debut LP under the new name earlier this year. Nevertheless, all that experience shows: Life in Lucidity doesn't have any debut album jitters or timidity, instead coming across as the work of a band that's confident in its sound.
"A Grand Debate" is a good example of this, combining some energetic, intricate-but-not-too-intricate guitar work with the dynamic performance of vocalist David Journeaux, who reminds me a bit of Rody from Protest if Rody had a little less range and a lot more raw, unpolished edges. At times The Kindred are musically vaguely reminiscent of Protest the Hero as a band as well, but not at all in a way or to a degree that should prevent you from giving "A Grand Debate" a listen right now. So do it. Go on. Right now.
Tuesday, 7 August 2012
Song of the Day: Periphery - Scarlet
There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that if you're listening to metal in 2012, you have at least heard of Periphery before. Exactly how you feel about the band that Bulb birthed* might vary, and might have a lot to do with how you feel about this whole "djent" thing they're one of the leading purveyors of, but I know you know who they are. They just released their second full length, Periphery II: This Time It's Personal, and they're on the Summer Slaughter tour alongside the likes of The Faceless and Between the Buried and Me. Oh yeah, did I mention that all three of these bands are playing Sunday at Heavy TO?
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