Protest the Hero - Fortress

Let's all agree on one thing: the pretentiousness of metal sub-genres are hilarious! I mean, we have "Viking Metal", "Neo-Classical Metal", and (*snicker*) probably the most hilarious of them all: 'avante-garde' metal (which I pretty much imagine is a mix between your favorite pastry shop and dressing up like your favorite "Dungeons and Dragons" character.)

With all of these hilarious terms, 'Progressive Metal' doesn't seem so bad. Technically speaking, Protest the Hero is a 'Progressive Metal' band, which when translated into English, means that they will rip off your god-damn face.

Their latest release "Fortress" is much heavier than their previous "Kezia" (which, by the way, was pretty damn heavy), and concentrates much more on their metal influences. Sure, the punk roots are still there, but only appear in spurts this time around. While at face value, the album's lyrics seem to be about typical metal stuff (conquest and goddess worship), but upon closer look, the commentary on gender roles are obvious, with lyrics such as "My goddess gave birth to your god" (a shot on how modern Christianity is based on paganism, except making everything masculine.)

Even if you couldn't care less about abstract metal symbolism, definitely pick this up simply for the amazing music. I guarantee you that "Fortress" will be on this punk aficionado's top albums of 2008.

Oh, and note the hilarious random cat meows in the middle of "Wretch". Apparently the vocalist Rody was holding the studio cat when laying down the vocal track and it started to meow.

MP3:

Protest the Hero - Wretch

Protest the Hero - Spoils

Buy:
Vagrant Records