Reviews list for Protest the Hero - Volition (2013)

With The Mars Volta gone, Protest the Hero now reign as the kings of prog-core. PTH are instrumentally as mind-blowing as The Mars Volta along with other prog-core bands like The Fall of Troy and Chiodos. Their fourth album Volition contains everything including spiraling notes, wired tempos, restless interchanges, and pounding virtuosity. Vocalist Rody Walker does tremendous cleans with the same strangely good effect as TMV vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala. For this album, the great drummer of Lamb of God, Chris Adler steps in as a replacement for Moe Carlson. No offense, but if Carlson was still around, this album wouldn't be as great as it already is.

With everything incredible about Volition, the aggravating screams and death growls make a few brief comebacks. Rody Walker is such a gifted singer, Tim Millar and Luke Hoskin continue being the spectacular guitar duo they are, and bassist Afir Mirabdolbaghi channels the stellar abilities to TMV's Juan Alderete. The golden hammer equipped by Juan Alderete strikes through for the constant speed of Volition with more to come from the arsenal. Pretty much every song here has a different vocal turn that can be hard-hitting, harmonic, or energetic. This album was made possible by Protest the Hero taking the Indiegogo route of raising $125,000, and they got almost 3 times their goal. So amazing! As for the artwork, I definitely prefer the cyborg-vulture artwork instead of the "nude woman attacked by vultures" one.

"Clarity" opens the album sounding similar to a more progressive take on Lamb of God's "Redneck" which gives me a feeling that there are some LOG tricks snuck in by Chris Adler. He does some amazing grooves there. "Drumhead Trial" has some of the fastest beats to blast through your eardrums that rarely gets any slower, and it contains well-timed guitar shredding. The moshing bridge is a great setup for a blazing guitar solo by Watchtower guitarist Ron Jarzombek. Alongside the swelling melody, there are a couple vocal exchanges, first one between growls and gang shouts, the other being a clean duet between Rody Walker and guest Kayla Howran. The relentless speed goes on in "Tilting Against Windmills". Same with "Without Prejudice" which has a blistering bass solo. Finishing that relentless trilogy is "Yellow Teeth", another composition to thrust around. A quick Led Zeppelin-like acoustic interlude is perfectly placed before a crushingly sweet outro.

"Plato’s Tripartite" pound your ears through oblivion with screaming hooks, speedy choruses, and soaring bridges, before the sweet acoustic outro lets you breathe. The neoclassical scales in "A Life Embossed" continue their bad-a** methodical velocity. The growls are good, but unfortunately they can p*ss off anyone who doesn't want the melody interrupted by accelerating aggression. After that, we speed through "Mist", where Rody Walker raises his voice to the climatic sensation, Chris Adler zooms through the driving power of the song, and the guitar duo add great detail to the song before a perfect tempo-changing breakdown and bridge. I've had such a fun blast listening to that song! Then it has an exquisite outro of strings, acoustic guitar, and piano.

Then the dreamy illusion is obliterated by "Underbite" blasting through thrashy verses and progressive choruses as Walker sings about how pretentious pop/rock stars can be. Guest growls by Todd Kowalski (Propagandhi) brings the song to a brutal ending home-run. The pace doesn't calm down for the hardcore "Animal Bones" as it pulverizes the choruses maniacally, finishing with muscular riffing. "Skies" is the album's 6-minute epic with clean soft guitar like never before for this band. This is probably the first actual ending epic for Protest the Hero, unless counting "The Divine Suicide of K." (from Kezia) which ends up being surpassed by that album's epilogue track.

For later albums, the unclean vocals would once again be lowered down. Loyal fans might not approve of that change, but there are other strengths Protest the Hero has that fit their style more. Some might find harsh vocals distracting, others might find them electrifying. Either way, Volition is an awesome complex journey through sonic air flying through different tracks. Chris Adler is such a talented beast, and hiring someone from another great band was an excellent choice. Two of the greatest metal bands united!

Favorites: "Drumhead Trial", "Plato’s Tripartite", "Mist", "Underbite", "Skies"