This review has been incredibly hard for me to sit down and write. Finally forcing myself to do so, I sat my ass down, pressed play on Protest the Hero’s latest album Fortress, and just sat listening without typing a word until halfway through the second song. Oh, I’ve listened to the whole album at least 10 times, probably more, all the way through. But Fortress is just so genre-defying, so outside the box, so off the wall, so virtuosic, progressive, heavy and melodic… us journalist types get all in a tizzy because we don’t know how to describe what Protest the Hero do. So let me start by describing it this way; fucking awesome. Protest the Hero incorporate every element of heavy music that I look for in a band while forging ahead in a direction completely their own, and Fortress is the strongest work to date of their young career making it an easy early contender for best metal album of 2008.

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This is the news that Axl, myself, and approximately 7 other guitar dorks worldwide have been eagerly awaiting. Steve Stevens — Billy Idol’s guitarist for years, Vince Neil’s guitarist on the Exposed album, and king Brooklyn Jew (birth name: Steve Schneider –take a look at that shnoz!) — will be releasing a new solo album, Memory Crash, on January 29th via Steve Vai’s Magna Carta record label. Doug Pinnick of King’s X makes a guest appearance lending his soulful voice to one track, as does Billy Idol / ex-Ozzy bassist Brian Tichy.

Those who have followed Steve Stevens closely over the years as I have — and I’m guessing there’s maybe one of you who has — know what an underrated and incredible guitarist he is. In addition to writing all those classic Idol riffs (“Rebel Yell,” “White Wedding,” etc etc etc), Stevens absolutely tore it up on Vince Neil’s Exposed record, his 1993 post-Motley solo debut. He wrote some amazing songs, and fuck did he ever go nuts on the guitar on that album. He’s also done a bunch of experimental stuff over the years (Bozzio / Levin / Stevens) and some studio work here and there.

Stevens says about the record, it’s “a journey through another dimension, It’s virtually musical cinema.” Citing influences such as prog-rock giants Pink Floyd, Yes, King Crimson, and Emerson, Lake & Palmer, he continues, “I’ve always loved that about the prog records, like Dark Side Of The Moon. You enter this little theater of the mind. It’s a true headphone experience.”

Cool.

-VN