MetalSucks

Boy are you guys lucky today. The fine people at Vagrant Records sent me TWO copies of a special limited edition colored vinyl of Protest the Hero’s amazing Fortress, and guess what that means — you all get one. Though you’ll have to fight over it. And we get to watch.

All you have to do to win is post a comment with a funny caption for the below photo. Axl and I will choose our favorite and notify the winner by email. Have fun!

Any day we get a new Protest the Hero video is a good day indeed. But when said video kicks this much ass it’s an even better day. I’m not sure if the director for the new video for “Sequoia Throne” is the same one who directed the video for “Bloodmeat” — the lighting, among other things, looks similar — but the boys in Protest and the folks at Vagrant Records have done a fine job highlighting one of the band’s best assets; the shred factor.

I mean, I’ve listened to Fortress many, many times (as you all well know from my constant rants) and I’ve always been quite impressed with the musicianship displayed by all of the band members. But this is one of those times where you need to see it to believe it; the crystal clear close-ups of the guitarists’ and bassist’s hands are the kinds of shots that get music dorks like me all in a tizzy. Dudes, look at what these guys are playing! Simultaneous bass and guitar fretboard tapping! Unh, unh… I’ll put it back in my pants now, sorry.

-VN

[via Buzznet]

Get ready to become sick of me waxing ecstatic about Textures, the amazing, awesome, incredible progressive metal outfit from The Netherlands. We didn’t lead you astray with At All Cost, right? When we splooged our pants (albeit a year late) over Sikth, you guys liked, right? And when we jumped on the Protest The Hero bandwagon — nay, built the bandwagon — ya’ll thanked us. So, with that in mind…

Guys…. TEXTURES.

This is the kind of music that just creates that awesome feeling inside of me that only music can, gets me psyched about life, and actually gives me hope that this world isn’t totally fucked beyond belief (that, and I just had some very strong coffee). This is kind of musical talent is few and far between.

Go listen to the new album, Silhouettes, in its entirety on Textures’ MySpace page. NOW. If you have any interest in Meshuggah, Faith No More, and good metal, it will be worth your time.

Silhouettes drops April 21 on Listenable Records.

-VN

Metal Hammer is running a contest allowing fans to remix the multitracks for Protest the Hero’s “Sequoia Throne” from their excellent recent release Fortress (read my 5 out of 5 horns review). The winning mix (to be chosen by the band themselves) will be included in an iTunes bundle of the album as well as a Metal Hammer compilation CD.

While Protest the Hero certainly aren’t the first to release multi-tracks to the public (see also: Lamb of God, Nine Inch Nails, Radiohead, others), the “woah, that rules”-factor still hasn’t worn off for me. I have yet to download the tracks, but I personally can’t wait to isolate the guitars and listen to just what the fuck those crazy cats are doing.

If any enterprising MetalSucks readers so desire, send us your remixes and we’ll post the best ones here as well.

-VN

Silhouettes, the forthcoming release from Dutch progressive metal masters Textures, is the single release I am most looking forward to in April. I was completely sold after hearing only one track from Silhouettes (April 21, Listenable Records) that the band posted on their MySpace a few weeks back, but now that they’ve released a second song (”Storm Warning”) I am completely, totally, and unquestionably sold that this record is going to be absolutely fucking amazing.

Textures make ultra-heady yet accessible progressive metal — imagine elements of Meshuggah, Faith No More and a stew of European influences, with some Protest the Hero and Sikth thrown in, and you should get an idea of what this sounds like. Or just go listen.

Prepare for the next MetalSucks proverbial wet dream.

-VN

Protest the Hero’s recent release Fortress is, even at this early stage, in the running for my favorite album of 2008 (read my review). So I was thrilled to have the opportunity to chat with vocalist Rody Walker, who, between the time of our chat and now, posted a message on the band’s MySpace announcing they’d be pulling out of their already-underway tour with Silverstein due to being “exhausted and miserable.” Though this interview was conducted on the second day of Protest the Hero’s tour for the Fortress album cycle, it’s evident that the band were already having their share of problems on the road.

Rody told us about the pitfalls of touring during the winter, his feelings on the commercial success of Fortress, the band’s writing process, and his perpetual hard-on for Symphony X. Read the entire chat transcript after the jump.

Click to read more…

So you’re looking for something to do tonight, right? How about going to see Protest The Hero, A Day To Remember, The Devil Wears Prada, and Silverstein TONIGHT in New York City??? For Free??? For a sold out show!!! With lots of exclamation points!!

The show is at the Nokia Theater in midtown, 1515 Broadway (at 44th St.) Since this ticket giveaway is courtesy of Protest the Hero and their label Vagrant Records, you **must** be there to pick up your tickets by the time Protest the Hero goes on at 7:00pm, or else the tickets will not be available. Doors are 6:30 and tickets will be left at the will-call window.

What do you have to do to win? Just email vince [at] metalsucks.net with your name and “PROTEST TICKETS” in the subject line. First to email me wins the tickets.

No idea who Protest the Hero is? You’re a fool. Read our review of their recent masterpiece Fortress.

-VN

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.

Click to read more…

The Soundscan charts for last week have been released, and the Super-Duper Metal Tuesday releases charted extremely well. The Mars Volta’s Bedlam in Goliath edged out Bullet For My Valentine’s Scream, Aim Fire by a mere 700 copies for the #3 spot, while MetalSucks faves Protest the Hero debuted at #95 with Fortress, a feat for a band whose music is so challenging and intricate. Australian AC/DC-revivalists Airbourne just missed the Top 100 coming in at 106. Full list of charting metal and hard rock releases, plus sales figures and our commentary, after the jump.

Click to read more…

With the amount of e-ink we’ve been giving Protest the Hero and Dillinger Escape Plan lately, not to mention “MetalSucks proverbial wet dream” Sikth, the young
Mukilteo, Washington 3-piece Fall of Troy really ought to be mentioned in the same breath. Fall of Troy are as good an example of the burgeoning post-prog-metal — or is it prog-post-metal? — genre, combining a post-punk attitude with metal grit, lofty arrangements and dazzling musical ability. Guitarist Thomas Erak artfully fretboard-taps up a storm, sharing vocals with bassist Frank Black (no, not that Frank Black), who alternate between melodious sung passages reminiscent of At the Drive In’s Cedric Bixler-Zavala and screamed vocals that actually sound, you know, yelled, not like a trained diaphragm technique version of a growl. The band changes it up constantly with drummer Andrew Forsman leading the way, weaving in and out of melody and dissonance, from one time-signature to the next. While eschewing the tired cliches of guitar chugga-chugga and my-dick-is-bigger-than-yours growling, Fall of Troy have managed to create something incredibly artful, progressive, and heavy all at the same time.

Fall of Troy’s most recent release Manipulator dropped in 2007 on Equal Vision Records. Here’s their video for “Ex-Creations”:

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[Fall of Troy on MySpace]

-VN

The big Tuesday for politics may be next week, but today is the first important release date of the year for metal. Let’s take a look at what you can now easily pirate buy at your local record store on this fine day:

• Stonerider – Three Legs of Trouble (Trustkill) – Southern-fried rawk n’ roll, Crowes Mule & Roses, if you will.
• Bullet for My Valentine – Scream Aim Fire (Jive / SonyBMG) – One of the biggest releases so far this year, coming from Welsh second-gen metalcore quartet previously known as nu-metallers Jeff Killed John. (Read our review here.)
• The Mars Volta – The Bedlam in Goliath (Universal) – Fourth album from progiffied funk spazz freaks, ex-At the Drive In. (Read our detailed retrospective on the band.)
• Tiles – Fly Paper (InsideOut) – Progressive hard rockers from Detroit who have been round a while, and have toured with the likes of Dream Theater.
• Airbourne – Runnin’ Wild (Roadrunner) – Australian AC/DC-influenced AC/DC rock that sounds like AC/DC. Nuff said.
• Steve Stevens – Memory Crash (Magna Carta) – Solo shredfest from ex-Vince Neil and longtime Billy Idol axeslinger.
• Course of Nature – Damaged (Silent Majority) – Nickelcreedbenjaminseetherhinderback.
• Protest the Hero, Fortress (Vagrant) – Post-prog, shred-tastic, metal and hardcore-influenced amazingness. One of the most important records of 2008 so far.

Well, we’re actually not sure if this is a clerical error or what… but the Amazon Music Store is giving away Protest the Hero’s new record Fortress — which comes out today — for free download. If this was intentional, it’s really fucking cool of the band / Vagrant Records to offer the album for free to the fans and potential new listeners. If this was a mistake, well… then I’m pretty sure we just blew up the spot. Best of all, since it’s at Amazon it’s DRM-free and at 256kbps, a much higher rip rate than iTunes. If you don’t know what that means, crawl out from under that rock you’ve been living under.

Go on over to the Amazon Music Store and download Fortress for free. Who knows how long this will last!

Big ups to MetalSucks reader Mike Van Hall for the heads up on this one.

-VN

MetalSucks recently had the chance to sit down with guitarist Tim Millar of the Canadian art-pro-core-whatever-metal band Protest the Hero, whose new, amazing album Fortress comes out January 29 on Vagrant Records. As one of the first albums of 2008 that we’re totally amped about, we were psyched to have this opportunity. MetalSucks contributor “Scottydawg,” a new addition to our team, conducted the interview and has been kind enough to let us post it. Millar talks about the new album, the writing process, getting caught with weed crossing the U.S./Canadian border and a bunch of other interesting topics. The full transcript, after the jump.

Click to read more…

All you post-prog-metal-tech-core nerds are probably going to cream your panties over this one, a new band called Anything on Fire. And you know what? They’re really good. If your tastes are along the lines of Between the Buried and Me, Sikth, Protest the Hero… you get the point. In fact, BTBAM producer Jamie King just completed work on two songs with the band, which features Adam Cody of Glass Casket and a guest appearance by BTBAM guitarist Dustie Waring.

Both songs are included on a split EP with Dead Eyes that comes out today on Forsaken Recordings; listen to the new track “Robot Hate Sex” at Anything on Fire’s MySpace page. The band plans a full length for late 2008.

Raleigh, NC residents can catch the band tonight with MetalSucks faves Bloodjinn at The Brewery.

-VN

You guys really loved the “Bloodmeat” video we posted from Protest the Hero’s forthcoming album Fortress, didn’t you?

Good news for you, then; there’s a special pre-order for the album on the Vagrant Online Store — you can pre-order Fortress for $6.99 or you can pre-order Fortress with the band’s previous album Kezia for only $15.00. Orders will be shipped before the 1/29 street date to ensure you get your goods in time. That is a fucking deal, kids, way better than that $40 Hatebreed hoodie you’ve got on.

And if you haven’t checked out Protest the Hero yet… you’re missing out. Protest the Hero offer up completely un-pretentious but forward-thinking post-prog metal (much like MetalSucks darlings Sikth), and the “Bloodmeat” video is the same. No cliche metal video shenanigans here (thank GOD!), and the thing just looks fucking awesome; I’ve literally watched it at least 5 times.
Fortress is undoubtedly one of our most anticipated released of early 2008… at least until Sikth gets their act together and gets some new singers.

-VN

[Protest the Hero on MySpace]

At the Drive In, Dillinger Escape Plan, Between the Buried and Me… Protest the Hero. If that doesn’t satisfy the art-metal snobs amongst you, then I highly recommend you get that stick out of your ass, pronto. Protest the Hero is a talented bunch, and if the first single “Bloodmeat” is any indication, their new album Fortress is going to be one hell of a beautifully crafty and brutal roller-coaster ride. Think also: new MetalSucks darlings Sikth.

Check out the video below for their first single “Bloodmeat,” (the best part: no cliche metal video bullshit), and listen to the band’s past work at their MySpace page.

Fortress drops January 29 on Vagrant Records.

-VN

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