PROTEST THE HERO are a band that provide a multitude of challenges upon trying to provide a non-platitude laden review, not least when talking about musicianship as basically, they shred. Hard. And it’s not fret-wankery without direction either – Scurrilous feels naturally structured and written as an album rather than a collection of riffs, and the band achieve a uniquely fine balance between heavy, melodic and tech metal through the album’s 45 minutes.
Rody Walker’s voice soars above the duelling guitars of Luke Hoskin and Tim Millar, and his range as a vocalist is just staggering at points – especially when moving from the high shrill to gritty growl with barely a breath.
The band are never going to please everyone, and there are plenty who will just get a bit impatient with the guitar trickery being as it is. However, there’s just so much to take in and appreciate across tracks like ‘Tapestry’ and ‘Tandem’ that you’d hope they were in the minority.
The mid range vocal howls and guitar shreddery is backed up by some fantastic percussion and bass guitar work and it’s an album that has the cojones and the craft in equal measures. It demands repeat listen after repeat listen, and you’d be silly not to give it a whirl if you’re vaguely interested in a bit of techy metal.