Protest the Hero - Fortress (2008)^{Release ID: 1801}

After the marvelous Kezia, Protest the Hero made another album with the hopes of recreating those wild wonders. Would the frantic guitar, fast drumming, hammering bass, and soundwave-defying vocal range continue the awesomeness? Yes and no! Though not as perfect as Kezia, it's heavier, faster, and more technical.

Vocalist Rody Walker continues his melodic singing, screaming, and growling, now in greater balance and more powerful maturity. Guitar duo Luke Hoskin and Tim Mullar pull their hammers out of the stone and swing them through different time signatures literally second after second. Drummer Moe Carlson pedals through interesting fills and rhythms. And bassist Arif Mirabdobaghi taps through his overshadow skills.

The first section "On Conquest and Capture" begins with a pre-gap hidden piano intro that could easily work as an intro for a symphonic power metal album. But then the first track "Bloodmeat" crashes in with its Dillinger Escape Plan-like modern math-metalcore. The main riff appears surrounded by many of its chaotic moments to make me jump in joy. The inventive riffs go along with the catchy hooks that sing/scream about worshiping mythology in violent metaphors ("HEADS WILL ROLL!!!"). The fast pace often slows down for little epic moments of greatness. Too bad the bass is a little too turned down, I was looking forward to more awesome bass tapping. "The Dissentience" is a minor filler that doesn't stand out as much as other songs. It just takes what they had from the first song at a bit slower pace. The interesting lyrics seem to indirectly refer to smoking weed, so this song might be good for anyone who likes weird cryptic lyrics. The chorus is good too, so is the last minute of varying riffs to end the song. A strange sample segues over to "Bone Marrow" which really stands out as my favorite song here that shows how much the band keeps progressing. It packs a punch that varies into many punches. The strong vocals sing and scream lyrics about a powerful king. Those vocals really go overdrive there with so much effort, taking the spotlight more than the guitars. I would very strongly recommend this to any fan of progressive metal and metalcore. Please, just listen to it! Then it ends with a piano outro similar to the ones that transition between sections in Kezia. So you know there's gonna be a track to start a new section...

The second section "Fortress" (actually untitled but for this review, I named it after this album) starts with "Sequoia Throne", which is awesome but follows kind of a formula that doesn't seem unique. Still an exciting highlight! "Palms Read" is where the guitars return in full form with the opening similar to a song from a classic metal guitarist like Steve Vai before a mind-blowing heavy verse along with decent vocals. The chorus just explodes into guitar mastery. The part halfway through where the music pauses except the bass for a moment might remind some of Rust in Peace-era Megadeth. Then just when you think this song has a happy ending, a little progressive metal jam section plays that transitions to the next track. "Limb From Limb", another album favorite. Rody's awesome vocal range varies rapidly, perfectly playing together with the guitar work without overshadowing it. The lower death growls are a bit unnecessary but I guess that's part of the experimentation in the music. The common tapping is still there, but then we find something unique, groovy keyboard soloing by Vadim Pruzhanov from DragonForce. Wicked but I wanna hear from that band's guitarists too. "Spoils" opens with mid-paced guitar, then the slowness gets destroyed by fast power. The breakdown that also works as a slow guitar solo nicely finishes the song. Brilliant! Then we rest on another calm piano outro as another intermission before the last section...

The third section "Isosceles" starts with "Wretch", which honestly seems like another minor filler that's isn't too bad. Rody's vocal range goes even higher than before at some points, but there are times when I feel like this song is just a collage of different pieces. After a quick sample from Starship Troopers ("You wanna see the galaxy?"), then comes "Goddess Bound" which I have no comment about except for the song being a nice warm-up for this album's finale. "Goddess Gagged" is a simply different feeling during its powerful intro, a feeling that is slightly happy. Then it keeps alternating between old and new elements in a great balance. However, the last 20 seconds are a bit disappointing because they could've added more there for an epic final minute, but no, "THE MUSIC HAS STOPPED!!" Another great highlight with a poor ending.

All the small flaws aside, Fortress is a breath-taking progressive mathcore album and one of the best of 2008. Though it still isn't better than Kezia because of a few naturally different elements that might not work. Anyone should try this, PTH fan or not. With all those skillful changes, you'll be shocked at how what seems impossible is possible!

Favorites: "Bloodmeat", "Bone Marrow", "Sequoia Throne", "Limb From Limb", "Goddess Gagged"