Sometimes you get a sense of what a CD may sound like before you listen to it, but with Protest The Hero I had absolutely no idea – and I really didn’t expect what finally did eminate from my speakers. Imagine Thrice, Dragonforce and something a little heavier merged into one – shredding guitar riffs and blast beats are brought to the fore in pretty much every track. It’s a relentless cacophony of found, wall-to-wall guitars and some of the best solos you’ve heard since, well, Dragonforce. For a label with Saves The Day and Dashboard Confessional among its leading artists, this isn’t what you’d expect Vagrant to put out.
‘Kezia’ is a concept album based around three people. The concept, according to the band, is: “I can give the cliff notes (of the concept)…the literal translation is there are three characters — one is a prison priest, one is a prison guard and the other is a girl named Kezia, who is to be executed. Each character represents different personalities of the band and how we’re feeling and the shooting to death of a certain aspect of us. All it really is is three songs in each act representing each character and they just describe how the characters are feeling in relation to this scenario.”
This isn’t something I would usually listen to – it’s a bit on the aggressive and heavy side – but at the same time it has a ‘wow’ factor that makes you sit up and take notice. The technical side to this album is incredible – the standards the band set are just out of this world. And while some of the songs don’t quite match up to their execution, the ideas and structures stretch far beyond your Avenged Sevenfold‘s and bands of that ilk. Technical, progressive metal bands are ten-a-penny, but very few are this good. With Vagrant behind them, expect very big things.
www.protestthehero.com
Vagrant
paul