Customer Reviews

Kezia

5 star:		(44)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I threw this on initially thinking it would be another chunk of that new fangled screamo-prog I like so much, Coheed, Chiodos and the like, and it sort of was, but it was so much MORE METAL! Seriously. When the record kicked in, first track, first 30 seconds, I thought maybe I had thrown on the wrong record, ultra tight, blazing Swedish style deathmetal, with tons of stop / start intricacies, crushing downtuned chug and every nook and cranny stuffed with blazing, shredding, squiggly leads, licks and little woodleewoos. Almost like an emo Necrophagist!

Imagine some of the tightest catchiest screamo / emo / metalcore drenched in crushing blazing fast deathmetal and gussied up with plenty of Yes-y progisms, strummy acoustic breakdowns, and soaring almost eighties metal style vocals. And it's mostly the vocalist that pushes the band over the edge. If Protest The Hero had a screamer or a growler, they would be just another killer tech-prog deathmetal band, but with the crazy vocals and lush harmonies they turn into something completely different. The singer alternately sounds like Joey Belladonna from Anthrax, Bruce Dickinson from Iron Maiden and a friend thinks the singer sounds like a screamo-metal Lou Gramm from Foreigner, which I can definitely hear. But imagine just that sort of soaring epic eighties vibe but tangled up in huge sticky webs of dense ultracomplex new wave of Swedish death metal (In Flames, At The Gates, etc.), and with crazy staccato Meshuggah / Poison The Well breakdowns all over the place. So f-cking great. I listen to this NONSTOP.

But it's definitely all about the guitars, heavy and epic and slippery and complex and squiggly and wanky but totally mind blowing. And the songs are catchy as hell too. It's like my eighties-self musical fantasy dream come true, a totally eighties hook filled pop record, turned inside out and massively progged up, the whole thing transformed into a crushing metal beast. If I had heard this when I was in my early teens, my fragile musical mind would have been so thoroughly blown I'd have been musically ruined for life. But hearing it now, I can definitely handle it, but just barely

I first heard the cd about a year ago when one of my friends was blasting it in his car and all I remember about it was the excessive noise but I did get the band name from him. A year later I listen to the cd again and I have a newfound respect for the guys. This CD is truly mindblowing. I can honestly say that I listen to the entire CD every single day and I am still not tired. Several factors contribute to this perseverence. First, the catchiness is undeniable and the sound is so fresh. Another thing to note is that none of the songs have choruses and at times it's a little overwhelming trying to keep up with 5 minutes of everchanging melodies and tempos. I can truly say that this band does not sound like any other band I have ever heard. Second, what struck me about the band was the absolutely superb musicianship. I was blown away by the level of virtuosity with which these 19 year olds play. Right from the get-go they kick the doors down with guns blazing and don't stop until the last minute. This separates them from so many of their contemporaries who sacrifice instrumental skill for catchy hooks. The guitars shred like no other, the bass pounds away quite intricately, the drums thunder with such ferocity you wonder how the kit stays intact and the singer possesses a remarkably beautiful voice ranging from melodic singing to almost death-metal grunts. This might be considered drastic thinking but I would pick this over Slayer and Slipknot anyday. It is well worth the 9 dollars and more!

Believe the hype, and disregard any artifacts of image, because Protest The Hero can shred while playing some of the most original music to date. Something that may not be for everybody is Rody Walker's vocals, altering between falsetto-style singing and metalcore style singing, but if you approach it with an open mind, you'll realize that Rody has an impressive range and doesn't always sound one dimensional, which is pretty refreshing. The music they produce is basically impossible to pigeonhole, because while they may have some metalcore influence in there, it also gives a nod to technical metal and progressive metal as well while blending each influence into their complex songs. It reminds me what happens when you blend Misery Signals, Psychotic Waltz, and Atheist all in one. An impressive debut full-length, and make sure to check out "Fortress" as well.

My other cd's called me the other day. They miss there play time! This is without a doubt the best cd of the year. Flawless from start to finish . I've never heard anything like it before ... go get it!!

I'll try to keep this review short and sweet and not gush about how great this band is too much, but that will be very hard. Protest the hero combines the greatest parts of music into every song. Amazing clean vocals, thunderous drum beats, intricate and technical guitar parts, and very catchy bass, even a great piano part in Divinity Within. The songs are not too long but not short and not drawn out or redundant whatsoever. The most impressive part about this band is that they music can be metal, but there is very minimal screaming. The singer reminds me of a cross between Coheed and Cambria's and Bedlight for Blueeye's singer. The band shows it is capable of attracting fans of basically any genre with plenty of metal parts, softer balled parts to some songs, and just flat out rock. I must have listened all the way through this cd 15 times since I've had this cd, which is about a week, and I can't imagine ever getting tired of this cd. I wouldn't even advise listening to it while driving because it's awesomeness will distract you and you'll probably get into an accident(sorry i said i wouldn't brag too long). The classical guitar parts in blindfolds aside and a plateful of our done sound great and the girl backup vocals (the voice gave to the character Kezia) sounds good and not annoying at all like flyleaf's may be at times. These songs are almost too catchy and you'll never get them out of your head. The only minor flaw of this album is there may be too many aspects to each song. One minute the guitarist will be shredding, and a second later it will go to a softly sung breakdown. But you won't even notice it after the first run through of the album. It is just part of their music style. It is beautifully chaotic as i consider it. I RECOMMEND THIS CD TO ANYONE WHO LIKES MUSIC.

While it's hard to single out any songs, my favorites are Blindfolds Aside, A Plateful of our Dead, Heretics and Killers, and She Who Mars the Skin of Gods.

This, as far as my opinion goes, is the most talented and original band to surface in the last 5, maybe 10 years. Incredible album, mind-blowing live show. These guys don't miss; each member is a complete master of his craft. The album 'Kezia' works as sort of a situationist-concept album. Kezia is a girl to be executed and the album tells the story through 3 perspectives. Prision Guard; first 3 songs, Priest; second 3, Kezia; last 3, and the Finale. In general, I'd say the first half of the album is more pummeling and the second half more melodic, but the entire thing, every bleeding second, is amazing!

I am only 3 songs into this album and am completely blown away. If you remember the feeling of your first listen to Metallica's Master of Puppets or Bodom's Follow the Reaper, where after each song you said to yourself it couldn't get any better, and yet it did. THIS is an album which does that. Absolutely phenomenal. I typically lean towards heavier, deeper vocals for my metal, but somehow this singer gives us a new perspective on metal, integrating a youthful, almost pop-like voice on top of brutally intelligent metal. Even more so, the album presents itself as not just a start and stop between each song, but a continuation upon one another. Every song moves so quickly through variations of tempo and melodies that by the time you have comprehended it, the next song has begun. This is truly a ground breaking album in our metal movement forward!! Bravo!

After hearing just one song online, I knew I had to order the album. Covering influences as diverse as thrash, emo, punk, prog rock, math rock, etc. Protest the hero blend them all to create a really unique and compelling sound.

The album missed out on a star because of production finish and the fact that they definately have a better album in them. I can't wait!

Protest The Hero really have something going for them. Not only are they unbelievably talented musicians (and this is only their first full length), on a pretty big indie label (Vagrant Records), and writing highly addictive music, but there is absolutely no band out there that I can possibly compare their sound too. Now sure there are a lot of people that throw around claims quite often that this band or that band "sounds like no one else!", and in reality the said band isn't all that special or unique, but with Protest the Hero this claim is most definitely the case. While today's music world sees more combining of musical styles than playing to traditional standards, PTH are clearly ahead of the pack in many ways.

Where to start. It's kind of hard to exactly describe to one who has never heard this band just exactly what they sound like, but I will do my best. Take the musicianship of tech-metal, the raw intensity of hardcore, the speed and energy of punk, the flavor of good-old-fashioned rock and roll, and vocals that range from power-metal style anthems to guttural yells, throw it all in a blender and you more or less have Protest The Hero. While the band might commonly be lumped in with the screamo or metalcore movement that is abundant in the music scene at the moment, one listen is all it will take to realize that these guys have little in common with any band that might carry that tag. Take the dizzying guitar structures of "Divinity Within" or the intense energy of "Bury The Hatchet", and it's easily seen that Protest The Hero are far more talented and original that any band that they might be immediately compared to (and remember there's really no one to compare them to!). And to go along with this finely crafted record, comes the concept of the album (which has become pretty pretentious and over-dramatic now adays to say the least), which is one that is pretty unique and different. Miles ahead of the love-driven angst of most screamo or metalcore bands.

And lastly I must talk about the musicianship, because that would be an injustice not to. You wanna talk about "musical virtuosos?" Then please pop in this disc. The guitars are ear splitting, and filled with frantic solos, technical riffs, and driving rhythms (as well as some keenly placed acoustics and outro interludes). The drums are about the best combination of punk/hardcore/metal/rock style drumming I've ever heard and the use of double bass is worth noting in itself. While the bass may be a bit buried at times (as is the case with many rock records today), when it gets its opportunities to shine ("Blindfolds Aside", "The Divine Suicide of K.") it makes up for it. And lastly the vocals come in as the glue for the entire sound. They are quite different from what you'd expect from a band of this caliber of musicianship, but after a while you won't be able to imagine them any other way. The occasional female backing vocals are even a more welcomed surprise.

If you are looking for a unique and gratifying record that blends so many musical style together you can barely count them, then "Kezia" demands at least a listen. Don't take my word for it though, Protest The Hero will make you a believer on their own. I haven't heard a debut that packed this much punch in quite some time. Hopefully this isn't the last we'll be hearing from these boys, because this may have only scratched the surface of their potential. Definitely worthy of the $10.50 you'll pay for it.

Everything to be said has been said, I hate to make comparisons, but, I also find them helpful sometimes, I would say this band is Between the Buried and Me as far as musicianship, meets Chiodos, meets pp. 99, if you are familar with these bands, even if you are not, it is still a shockingly good album,I hope the 5 star rating holds up because I really enjoy this new band, so far so good.