After a few failed attempts and some intense coaching and rehearsal, his vocal chords came back to life and the hunger to release new music began to rumble deeper than ever before. That hunger became their long-awaited fifth album ‘Palimpsest’ and, in Walker’s own words, “I have never worked harder to put out music in my life and I am extremely proud of the product.” The hard work certainly shows and the resulting 52 minutes of new music is beyond worthy of the pride.

The album is kicked off by ‘The Migrant Mother’, thrusting you into the fray in the most dramatic and stunning way possible. The guitar duo of Luke Hoskin and Tim MacMillar sweep you off your feet with a slew of blistering licks before the gargantuan chorus ensures you stay airborne for its full duration. It’s a real jaw dropper of an opener, and they use everything in their power to ensure your mouth stays open for the entire record.

‘From The Sky’ is a six minute epic, crammed full of uplifting melodies and sinister turns that continuously shape-shift into one another before melding into a towering, moving finale. ‘The Fireside’ is a pedal to the metal rage-fest, putting its foot to the floor right from the first note and rocketing through unrelenting riffing, furious vocal delivery and brutish drums, the latter courtesy of newest addition to the band Michael Ieradi. ‘Gardenias’ sounds as though it could’ve been a cut from ‘Fortress’, boasting some brain-melting bass work, effortless guitar trade-offs and some blood-curdling screams from Walker that show off a Jekyll and Hyde-like quality to his voice.

The entire record is belter after belter, the band operating at their highest level throughout. ‘The Canary’ is an emotionally charged telling of the tale of Amelia Earhart, beautifully enhanced with immediately memorable hooks and impassioned vocal delivery. ’All Hands’ combines punk energy, elating melodies, mind-bending prog-influenced vibes and ominous, unexpected twists as they dance together in a truly magnificent display of musicianship. ‘Little Snakes’ is a turbulent roller coaster, ‘Soliloquy’ is a furious adrenaline-fuelled colossus, ‘Rivet’ brings the record to a colourful, tasteful and emotive close – it has a bit of everything. An intense, tempestuous and powerful return to the spotlight.

Simply put, ‘Palimpsest’ is their best record in years. That’s not to say that they’ve released a bad record, because they haven’t, but there’s something special about this album. It’s like a subtle nod to their earlier days, performed by a band that has grown and matured into something far greater than they ever could have imagined. The musicianship is breathtaking from beginning to end, not just in reference to each members individual talents but also to their collective compositional ability. Their story-telling is also as vivid as ever, with Walker’s lyrics and delivery acting as the perfect accompaniment to the illustrious musical landscape. It doesn’t matter if you’ve only just discovered Protest The Hero or if you’ve been a fan for years – you’ll be replaying this record over and over again.

They may have taken their sweet time releasing a new full length, but you’ll forgive them for the wait as soon as you finish listening to the record. It’s both exactly what you’d expect and full of surprises at every turn, taking you on a truly exciting and spellbinding journey. ‘Palimpsest’ is a must listen for long-standing fans of the band as well as fans of the genre. Musically mind-blowing, goosebump-inducing progressive music at it’s absolute finest.

DAVE STEWART

The EP was produced and engineered by the band and features guest vocals by Michael Ciccia (Mandroid Echostar), plus strings composed, arranged and performed by Milen Petzelt-Sorace (The Frame Defect).

‘Pacific Myth’ is available via Bandcamp with physical releases being handled by Spinefarm Records.

Protest the Hero have announced they will end their tour cycle for their album ‘Volition’ with a UK/European tour from November 14th through to December 13th. This is their 3rd UK/Euro tour since the album was released in Oct 2013.

Support on this will come from The Faceless and The Contortionist. There is one more opening act to be announced. Dates are as follows:

Dates for the fall tour are:
14.11.14- Leipzig, Germany- Conne Island
15.11.14- Pilsen, Czech Rep- Pod Lampou
16.11.14- Berlin, Germany- Lido
17.11.14- Off
18.11.14- Oslo, Norway- John Dee/ Rockefeller
19.11.14- Gothenburg, Sweden- Sticky Fingers
20.11.14- Aarhus, Denmark- Voxhall
21.11.14- Enschede, Holland- Atak
22.11.14- Koln, Germany- Essigfabrik
23.11.14- Off
24.11.14- Antwerpen, Belgium- Trix
25.11.14- Southampton, UK- Mo Club
26.11.14- Manchester, UK- Academy 2
27.11.14- Off
28.11.14- Dublin, Ireland- Voodoo Lounge
29.11.14- Belfast, North Ireland- Limelight 2
30.11.14- Wolverhampton, UK- Wulfrun Hall
1.12.14- Edinburgh, Scotland- Studio 24
2.12.14-London, UK- Koko
3.12.14- Off
4.12.14- Paris, France-Trabendo
5.12.14- Karlsruhe, Germany-Substage
6.12.14- Milano, Italy- Live Forum
7.12.14- Rome, Italy- Traffic Club
8.12.14- Munchen, Germany- Backstage
9.12.14- Wien, Austria- Arena
10.12.14- Geneve, Switzerland – L’Usine
11.12.14- Off
12.12.14- Winterthur, Switzerland- Gaswerk Kulturzentrum
13.12.14- Lyon, France- Warmaudio

Protest the Hero have released a video for their track ‘Tilting Against Windmills’. This is the fourth video released from ‘Volition’. The video was filmed throughout the band’s most recent UK and European tour in January. Check out the video below:

Protest the Hero have also announced the will be playing Sonisphere which returns to the grounds of Knebworth House from Friday, July 4 to Sunday, July 6 this year. This appearance will be one of many festival slots around Europe confirmed for the band in the summer, which also include France’s Hellfest and Germany’s With Full Force Festival with plenty more to be announced. Keep your eyes peeled!

Those prog-metal chaps in Protest The Hero have put up a new track for streaming as a teaser before their new album, ‘Volition’, released on October 29th.

The track, ‘Clarity’, is being streamed over at Metalsucks.

You can also pre-order the album, with various extras if you want them. Including a PTH bath robe. Because we ALL want one of those. Pre-orders from http://merchnow.com/catalogs/protest-the-hero

https://www.facebook.com/protestthehero

The band will release ‘Volition’ on October 28 following a successful crowd funding campaign with Indiegogo, It follows 2011’s ‘Scurrilous’. The band will also embark on a worldwide that starts in November, with dates to be announced soon. You can see a 2012 interview we did with the band in this article.

http://www.facebook.com/protestthehero

More from the band at http://www.facebook.com/protestthehero.

After opening powerhouses (and thoroughly nice guys) ?The Human Abstract? have worked their way into the memories of the crowd with their strikingly intense brand of guitar driven melody, main support The Chariot find themselves uncharacteristically lacking. Admitting to the crowd that they are not certain whether their new full length ?Wars and Rumour of Wars? will ever see release in the UK, and that lead singer, and Norma Jean veteran Josh Scogin is not the healthiest of boys this evening, the band seem to fritter away their allotted time in the Basement with little to no conviction. One usually distinctive song blends into the next, and although their distorted metalcore remains technically polished for the most part, you just feel like The Chariot have so much more to offer than they lay on the table tonight.

So?as though it was ever in doubt from the moment the doors opened, tonight firmly belongs to Protest The Hero. The band are on fire tonight, delivering with rampant ferocity a selection of tracks from debut ?Kezia? and last year?s ?Fortress? to a room of appreciative lunatics who are quite literally hanging from the scaffolding. With guitar wizardry that is a thrill to watch, and vocals that effortlessly sweep from scream to song and back again, it does feel as though every track presented tonight was written for the live arena, from new anthems ?Goddess Bound?, ?Goddess Gagged? and single ?Sequoia Throne?, to seminal crowd favourite, and show closer ?Bloodmeat?.

They even manage a biting quip about Brit rivals ?Bring Me The Horizon??which goes down just fine in a room obviously quite free of Ollie Sykes fan club affiliates?Protest the Hero are the band that BMTH want to be and the band that every progressive metal wannabe should look up to and say ?that?s where I?M going to be in 5 years time?. They should be your new favourite band. They?re certainly mine.

Gemma