Protest the Hero

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2008)

Protest the Hero (often abbreviated as PTH or simply Protest) is a Canadian band from Whitby, Ontario.^[1] They formed in 1999 under the name Happy Go Lucky, but changed their name before releasing their first EP, A Calculated Use of Sound EP (2003) which was followed by the release of their first full length, Kezia (2005), on the indie label Underground Operations. On January 23, 2006 the band officially signed with Vagrant Records for Kezia's United States release. Kezia was released in the US on April 4, 2006. Their second full length, Fortress was officially released by Underground Operations in Canada and by Vagrant Records worldwide on January 29, 2008.^[2]

[edit] Overview

[edit] Biography

The band is composed of five members: Rody Walker (lead vocals), Tim Millar (guitar, live backup vocals), Luke Hoskin (lead guitar, live backup vocals, piano), Morgan "Moe" Carlson (drums) and Arif Mirabdolbaghi (bass guitar, lyricist, live backup screaming/clean vocals).

The day that the band members finished their senior final exams, they left on a three-week tour from Toronto to Halifax called "Cock the Vote" in order to gain recognition, as well as raise awareness for the upcoming Canadian election.^[3] Protest the Hero's popularity is slowly expanding outside of metal scenes in and around the cities and towns they have performed in. Now teamed up with Universal Music Canada for distributional services, Protest the Hero hopes to become popular over most of Canada and, with their recent signing to Vagrant Records, the United States as well. In 2004 they won the Canadian Independent Music Award for Favourite Metal Artist/Group, beating out much more well known Alexisonfire.^[4] They were nominated for the 2006 Canadian Music Week Indie Awards' Favourite Metal Artist/Group, which Kataklysm won in March of that year. Also in 2006, the band was also nominated for the CASBY Award.^[1] In addition, members of the band appeared in a televised commercial for the instrument store, Long & Mcquade. Bassist Arif was also featured in the Closet Monster music video "Mamma Anti-Facisto (Never Surrender)"; he can be seen to the left of London Spicoluk during the main group scenes.

A music video for their song "These Colours Don't Run" from the album A Calculated Use of Sound was released in 2003. The video begins with the band discussing the meaning of the song and features the band playing the song live at numerous locations in Toronto, Ontario, with the album music dubbed over the actual live recording. At each location, the band would hand out lyrics to passers-by and encourage them to listen or sing along. The band has also released videos for the songs "The Divine Suicide of K", "Blindfolds Aside", and "Heretics and Killers" from Kezia, and for "Bloodmeat" and "Sequoia Throne" from Fortress. The video for "Heretics and Killers" received airplay on MTV2 and FUSE, partially because of the interesting premise of the video: the band play the flying monkeys from the Wizard of Oz after they were fired. In addition, the song "Divinity Within" is featured on the NHL 07 videogame soundtrack, and "Bury the Hatchet" is featured in a download pack for Guitar Hero II on the Xbox 360.

Protest The Hero started officially writing music for their newest album in January, 2007. They finished recording it on August 10, as said by Rody during the 2007 Vans Warped Tour in Barrie. The album is called "Fortress" and was set to be released by Vagrant Records on November 12th, however the band had decided to push the release back to January 29, 2008. On May 2nd 2008, Protest The Hero premiered their video for "Sequoia Throne." ^[5]

[edit] Genre

Beginning as a punk-rock group with prominent pop tendencies, influences from bands such as Propagandhi were apparent.^[6][7] Their EP A Calculated Use of Sound defined them as hardcore punk; the album was filled with moderate song structures and advanced soloing and guitar riffing work. Their current sound from Kezia and Fortress is more difficult to classify, incorporating elements of mathcore and metal, as well as more unconventional song structures. Vocalist Rody has mentioned "we don't consider genres, they're irrelevant".

[edit] Protest the Hero Live

Protest the Hero are known for playing with a large stage-presence, largely due to frontman Rody's energetic and humorous persona, and the band's constant motion^{[citation needed]}. They have performed and toured with many well-known acts, including Alexisonfire, Bullet For My Valentine, Against Me!, Straight Reads the Line, Between the Buried and Me, The Ballroom Massacre, fellow label-mates Hostage Life, I Hate Sally, Machete Avenue, The Holly Springs Disaster, Tyler Madarasz, Bombs Over Providence and Closet Monster, Chiodos, From First to Last and fellow Whitbians, Arms To Illustrate. From September 2005 until the beginning of June, 2006, Protest the Hero toured over Canada, the United States, and Great Britain in support of Kezia with bands such as Death by Stereo, Bad Religion, Anti-Flag, The Fall of Troy, The Bled, and DragonForce. The band took part in the Vans Warped Tour during the Summer of 2006. Following this, Protest the Hero toured with Avenged Sevenfold and 3 Inches of Blood until October 2006 when they began "The Crusade" tour with Trivium, The Sword, and Cellador, taking them across Canada and the United States. In November 2006, Protest the Hero toured with Welsh metal band Bullet for My Valentine and As I Lay Dying. Beginning in the middle of December 2006, Protest The Hero embarked on a cross-Ontario tour, named the Bring Out Your Shred tour, with I Hate Sally and The Human Abstract. This tour was the first in which Kezia was played in its entirety. In late May/early June they co-headlined the Tour and Loathing 2007 Tour with co-headliners All That Remains, Blessthefall, Threat Signal and The Holly Springs Disaster.

In September 2006, guitarist Luke Hoskin was detained at the Vancouver-US border for possessing a bag with less than 0.2 grams of marijuana, preventing him from continuing on their tour with Trivium and The Sword.^[8] In his place the band got Marco Bressette aka "Sparco" from the Canadian rock band Hypodust from September til November 2006, in the band he was referred to as "Xerxes".

On January 28, 2008 the band began a tour through Canada with Silverstein, The Devil Wears Prada, and illScarlett. They continued the tour into the U.S. in late February with the same bands, and in addition, A Day To Remember, but pulled out from the final three weeks of the tour, citing exhaustion and general dissatisfaction with their recent performances. They are scheduled to start touring again in April with Chiodos and Today I Caught the Plague before joining the 2008 Warped Tour.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Full length

• Kezia (2005)
• Fortress (2008)

[edit] EP

• Search for the Truth 7" (2002)
• A Calculated Use of Sound EP (2003)
  • Reissued and remastered in 2004 with bonus song "Soft Targets Dig Softer Graves".

[edit] Compilation

• (Coles) Notes from the Underground (various artist compilation) (2002)
  • Features songs "Break the Chains" and "Asperity of Sin"
• Greetings from the Underground (various artist compilation sampler) (2004)
  • Features the song "Soft Targets Dig Softer Graves"
• Things Could Be Worse (Double CD various artist compilation) (2004) (Freedumb Records)
  • Features the song "Break the Chains"
• The Power of Music (2-CD various artist compilation) (2005)
  • Features the song "An Apathetic New World"
• Warped Tour 2006 Compilation (2 cd various artist compilation) (2006)
  • Features the Song "Heretics and Killers"

[edit] Videography

• "These Colours Don't Run" music video from A Calculated Use of Sound (2003) streaming video from Bedlam Society.
• Orange and Grey DVD (2005)
  • Compilation DVD featuring live footage of Protest playing the songs "Silent Genocide", "These Colours Don’t Run", "Red Stars Over the Battle of the Cowshed", and "Fear and Loathing In Laramie"
• "Blindfolds Aside" music video from Kezia (released Nov. 2005).
• "Heretics and Killers" music video from Kezia (released Apr. 2006).
• "The Divine Suicide of K." music video from Kezia (released July 2007)
• "Bloodmeat" music video from Fortress (released Dec. 2007)
• "Sequoia Throne" music video from Fortress (released April 25 2008)^{[citation needed]}

[edit] See also

• List of bands from Canada

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Protest the Hero Official Website
• Protest The Hero on MySpace
• Interview with Rody on Metallicity Radio Hour (2008)
• Interview with Tim (2008)
• Interview with Rody (2008)
• Interview with Arif (2006)
• Protest The Hero on MTV Overdrive