Protest the Hero @ Corporation 06/03/09

When I recently mentioned Protest the Hero to a friend, he responded ‘oh yeah, that band that’s all ill-advised beards and twiddley guitars’. Tonight at Corp they showed how they are much more than that.

Having released debut album, Kezia, when they were still in their late teens, much has been said of the potential of the band. From the moment they take to the stage tonight, it is clear that it is coming to fruition. They dominate the room with their sweeping and tapping dual guitar attack and razor sharp drumming, anchored by the soaring vocals of front man Rody Miller. He is particularly on form this evening, hitting the notes you would expect him to struggle with in the flesh and totally commanding his audience during and between songs.

Well, actually, at times the audience does attempt to command him. ‘I am not going to chug it! I did not smoke marijuana at high school and I will not bow to your peer pressure now!’, Miller’s response to the crowd’s chants upon spying him swigging from a bottle of gin. This playful heckling is the product of the party atmosphere the band bring to the stage. There’s no cold rushing through of songs, rather they interact with fans throughout and this helps ensure the reception their songs deserve. When the complex ‘Sequoia Throne’, with it’s time changes aplenty, is seemingly breezed through, the room goes utterly mental. The hairy metalheads air guitar away, the hardcore kids bounce with rare smiles on their faces, the young’uns flail erratically and every last fist and voice is raised for the singalong of the refrain. This trend continues for the duration of the set, perhaps only gathering enthusiasm up to the rampant closer ‘Bloodmeat’.

There’s something inherently likeable about a band that put out a sophomore album that is essentially one long guitar flourish, with a dense lyrical concept about goddess worship, and yet not come across as entirely pretentious and devoid of fun. Protest the Hero extend that feel to the live experience, in a way that is refreshing in a scene that often takes itself all too seriously.