The rather clichéd notion that turmoil creates the best art is certainly contestable, but it seems to have fuelled Canada’s prog geniuses Protest The Hero for their fifth album. Mired by endless hurdles, not least frontman Rody Walker blowing out his voice right before the band were due to hit the studio, the current existence of ‘Palimpsest’ is surprising. More impressive though, is its staggering quality.
‘Palimpsest’ is the most comprehensive representation of Protest The Hero’s amalgam of sounds – a smorgasbord of progressive metal, post-hardcore and mathcore – that they’ve perfected over the years. ‘The Migrant Mother’ is a masterfully symphonic announcement that’s as palatable to your average power metal fan as to those of a mathier (?) persuasion. As far as opening statements go, it’s the most confident the band have ever sounded, and is the herald of a level of consistency that never waivers throughout the album’s runtime.
‘The Canary’ and ‘From The Sky’ were the first tastes fans got of the record, and while they do stand on their own merit, ‘Palimpsest’ is much more rewarding when enjoyed as an entire work. Meticulously sequenced, motifs reoccur expertly from track to track, best exemplified by the mellifluous instrumental interludes. The baroque era stylings of “Mountainside” is a particularly beautiful highlight, revisited fleetingly in the closer ‘Rivet’.
As per usual, Luke Hoskin and Tim MacMillar engage in stunning displays of fretboard dexterity, particularly the heavier cuts of ‘Soliloquy’ and ‘The Fireside’. Such tracks are elevated by the seamless shifts from the elegant sinewing licks into the stuttering post-hardcore rhythmic shifts. The prime example of this is ‘All Hands’, a potential love child of At The Drive In and Pain of Salvation, and one of the best songs Protest The Hero have released to date.
Despite the significant difficulties during recording, Walker’s vocals are impeccable throughout ‘Palimpsest’. Ranging from spitfire hardcore-esque diatribes (‘The Fireside’, ‘Gardenias’) to traditional metal histrionics and octave leaping (‘Soliloquy’, ‘The Migrant Mother’), his delivery is as considered as it is eclectic. Technical proficiency aside, ‘Rivet’ and ‘All Hands’ feature some of Walker’s most immediately anthemic (not to mention politically charged) hooks that are destined to work their way into the live set.
Unlike many modern progressive metal releases, ‘Palimpsest’ eschews bloaty excess for taut songwriting elevated by stunning musicianship. It’s not a particularly short runtime either, clocking in over fifty minutes, and yet every second counts. Not that there was really any doubt, but it’s reassuring to know that Protest The Hero remain a force to be reckoned with in 2020.
- ‘Palimpsest’ is released today (Friday 19 June). You can get your copy HERE.
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