Tag Archive: Protest the Hero

Tours And Rumours Of Tours Pt. 2: Protestery The Loomis Fire North American Tour On The Horizon?

Jan.31, 2012

If you’re too slow to work the title out, you inbred child of your mother’s brother and his female kinsperson, then let me spell out the details for you: tech-metal hillbillies Protest The Hero, faeces-throwing chugga chimps Periphery, The Mighty Raven himself Mr. Jeff Loomis and UK pyromaniacs The Safety Fire are thought to be be touring them United States Of ‘Murica this March!

I think I’ve eaten too many e-numbers today. Bear with me.

So yes, the word going round the interwebs (and you can blame Lambgoat is this is wrong) is that these four worthy acts will be teaming up for four weeks from late March to hit the road in a town possibly but not necessarily near you, depending on your arbitrary scale of nearness. Yes.

Nothing official as of yet, so again, don’t shoot me if I’m wrong, but dates are thought to be as follows:

3/25 Chicago, IL @ Bottom Lounge
3/26 Lawrence, KS @ Granada
3/27 Dallas, TX @ Trees
3/28 Houston, TX @ Warehouse Live
3/30 Albuquerque, NM @ Sunshine
3/31 Phoenix, AZ @ Club Red
4/1 Los Angeles, CA @ Key Club
4/2 San Francisco, CA @ Slim’s
4/3 Portland, OR @ The Branx
4/4 Seattle, WA @ Studio Seven
4/6 Salt Lake City, UT @ In The Venue
4/7 Denver, CO @ Summit
4/9 St. Louis, MO @ Pops
4/10 Milwaukee, WI @ The Rave II
4/11 Detroit, MI @ Magic Stick
4/12 Columbus, OH @ The Outland Ballroom
4/13 Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop
4/14 Baltimore, MD @ Sonar
4/16 Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade
4/17 Orlando, FL @ The Social
4/18 Raleigh, NC @ Lincoln Theater
4/20 New York, NY @ Gramercy
4/22 Philadelphia, PA @ Trocadero

Not a bad line-up at all. Protest The Hero and Periphery both seem to have been on an endless string of tours with amazing line-ups of late. Long may it continue, no?

- CG

Tags: Jeff Loomis, Periphery, Protest the Hero, The Safety Fire

Holy Crap Does Hevy Fest (UK) Look Shit Hot This Year

Filed Under: General News, Live

Jan.27, 2012

Hevy Music Festival is one of the UK’s newer heavy music festivals – this year’s will be the 4th iteration – but it’s growing ever stronger by the day. With the relative elder statesman Download catering towards the ‘bigger’ bands these days, it now falls to the likes of Hevy to give smaller or less-known acts their time on the summer stage.

Today saw the first announcement of this year’s lineup, with no fewer than fifteen bands being released – and good lord does it look like it’s going to be fantastic. We have Converge, Will Haven, Protest The Hero, Deaf Havana, A Wilhelm Scream, Verse, The Chariot, Deez Nuts, Set Your Goals, Trapped Under Ice, Pianos Become The Teeth, Balance and Composure, Sharks, Last Witness, and Crocus. I mean holy fuck, right? I’ve heard maybe two thirds of these, and I’d happily watch them, if not actively go just for them. Converge put on an amazing show, The Chariot are so entertaining to watch, and the likes of Crocus will represent home-grown talent.

You can definitely expect one of us to be there. Tickets are £96 for the weekend, including access to the attached animal park (!!!) and you can check out all the relevant information at the website. Expect more as announcements are made!

- CG

Tags: A Wilhelm Scream, Balance and Composure, Converge, Crocus, Deaf Havana, Deez Nuts, Hevy Music Festival, Last Witness, Pianos Become The Teeth, Protest the Hero, Set Your Goals, Sharks, The Chariot, Trapped Under Ice, Verse, Will Haven

I Am Abomination Keep ‘Hangin’ On’

Filed Under: New music, Upcoming releases

Jan.25, 2012

Things have been a bit rough for I Am Abomination since their debut album To Our Forefathers. They’ve got through would-be crippling lineup changes that left them just with their guitarist and vocalist and they’ve parted ways with label Good Fight Music. Despite all of this, it’s good to see that they’re still actively making music. Their progressive post-hardcore sound reminiscent of Protest the Hero as if fronted by Fallout Boy vocalist Patrick Stump is actually quite good; soulful singing, technical musicianship, and hooks left and right!

Their new single ‘Hangin’ On‘ is now available on iTunes. You can stream it above. The track will presumably appear on an upcoming album that the duo are hard at work on. We’ll be sure to fill you in as soon as there’s more word on these guys.

- JR

Tags: Fallout Boy, I Am Abomination, Protest the Hero

Uneven Structure Announce New Drummer

Filed Under: General News

Jan.24, 2012

Photo via Darkside.ru

One of our favorite breakout acts of 2011, Uneven Structure, has announced the departure of drummer Christian Schreil and welcomed aboard new drummer Jean Ferry. Thankfully, the lineup change was completely drama-free and understandable. Here’s what Christian had to say, via Basick Records:

“It is to my greatest sadness that I have to tell all of you that Uneven Structure and I are going to go separate ways. This is not happening as a result of bad cooperation or anything like that, ’tis simply a matter of me not being able to put all my heart and soul into what I’m doing as part of my contribution to the band. With this being said, I have great confidence in the future of Uneven Structure and I strongly believe that these guys will take everything we’ve been building together for these past fourteen months to a completely different level.

I’ve been fortunate enough to take part in an amazing journey with the process of finishing ‘Februus’, and that is something that I forever will be grateful for.
I would also like to welcome the new drummer, Jean Ferry, to the band! He is an absolutely phenomenal drummer! If my words aren’t convincing enough, wait till you catch him live at the BASICK Party and the PROTEST THE HERO tour and you’ll see what I mean!

Best thall’s - Christian.”

The band’s new drummer Jean made his live debut with the band this past weekend in Moscow, as seen in the above photo, courtesy of Darkside.ru.

Hopefully this is the only lineup change the band will ever have to go through. Here’s to wishful thinking!

- JR

Tags: Basick Records, Protest the Hero, Uneven Structure

Bandhappy To Open For Registration Tomorrow, January 5th!

Filed Under: General News

Jan.04, 2012

One of the most exciting new things to come about in this metal scene in the last couple of years has got to be Matt Halpern’s innovative service Bandhappy. If you haven’t heard our harping on the subject enough to know what its all about, it’s the first website that allows live music lessons to take place between professional musicians and fans. It won’t be long before you can take lessons on the instrument of your choice from some of the following names:

Teachers that have already signed on include Tosin Abasi (Animals as Leaders), Rich Redmond (Jason Aldean), Gil Sharone (Stolen Babies), Jeff Loomis (Nevermore), Ben Weinman (Dillinger Escape Plan), Mike Mowery (Outerloop MGMT), Chris Adler (Lamb of God), Willie Adler (Lamb of God), AJ Minette (The Human Abstract), Evan Brewer (The Faceless), Paul Waggoner (Between the Buried and Me), Rody Walker (Protest the Hero), Peter Wichers (Soilwork), Louis Cato (Marcus Miller Band), Spencer Sotelo (Periphery), and more.

I can’t stress the “and more” enough, because the possibilities are vast. Registration privileges for students and teachers begins tomorrow at 11 am EST, and the first lessons will begin on Monday, January 9th. Exciting! Above, you can watch a tutorial that displays the ins and outs of using the site as a student. After the jump you can watch a similar tutorial for being a teacher on Bandhappy. Get involved!

- JR

View Full Article »

Tags: Animals As Leaders, Bandhappy, Between The Buried and Me, Dillinger Escape Plan, Jason Aldean, Lamb of God, Marcus Miller Band, Matt Halpern, Nevermore, Periphery, Protest the Hero, Soilwork, Stolen Babies, The Faceless, The Human Abstract

Farewell, 2011: Alkahest’s Top 20 Albums Of 2011

Filed Under: Lists!

Dec.29, 2011

This is probably one of the better years for me since I began listening to metal. I don’t know if it’s due to a broadened taste, me actually paying more attention this year, or if the genre decided to collectively progress, but 2011 was just absolutely fantastic. I knew six months ago that compiling a best-of list for this year would be tricky, and of course it was!

Here’s the thing with my personal top-20 that you’ve probably read of in other lists; after the first couple of albums, the list is completely arbitrary and depending on my mood of the day, this list could be shuffled all about and perhaps replaced. My list also doesn’t follow our ratings scale and essentially came down to what I felt I enjoyed the most this year. So if you’re thinking to yourself, “hey, Alkahest gave X a 4 and Y a 5, then why is X listed higher?”…

Well, you’re going to have to figure that one out on your own, I guess. I’m fickle. Let us begin!

View Full Article »

Farewell, 2011: Disinformasiya’s Top 10 Albums of 2011

Filed Under: Lists!

Dec.29, 2011

Once more unto the breach, dear friends. It seems we’re often the last out of our contemporary blogs to put up our ‘best of’ lists, and I think that’s a sure sign that we’ve given it much more thought, and as such are the definitive authority on music for all time ever — NOT that we’re simply too lazy to put it up earlier, and need filler for the time between Christmas and New Year (despite this being all we will be posting).

I talked last year about perhaps how arrogant it is to create these lists and pass judgement on the artistic merits of the year’s music; like there are only ten slots and the rest is tripe, and who am I whose opinions are more worthwhile than yours?

That still holds true to some extent, because we’ve met a lot of new friends this year who have shown us a ton of great stuff – but so does the fact that we work our asses off to listen to all this stuff, and also because, once again, I, and the others after me, filled out the damn application.

I feel this is going to become a continuing theme. I don’t mean it guys; I love you really. As you already have with my fellows, feel free to tell me what you think, and in particular what a huge bag of shite I’m talking; I won’t get offended, honest!

Up at this end of the spectrum, you’re getting your full-on, down to the wire, best ten-only lists (at least with myself and Dormition) – none of this copping out. It was tough, but these are the haggard survivors of the process, but are my personal favourites from the year; based not on technicality, on brutality, or how accomplished I think the release is. No, these are honestly the ten records (and not necessarily albums) that best represent my musical year; that gave me a certain feeling, and that I have come back to again and again, and will continue to do so long into 2012. The same was true of last year’s list; despite my obligations to the new, I still listen the shit out of the old.

BRING FORTH MINE LIST!

View Full Article »

Tags: Ampere, Blotted Science, Circles, Devin Townsend Project, Down I Go, East of the Wall, Frank Turner, Glassjaw, Last Chance To Reason, Letlive, Mastodon, Protest the Hero, Scale The Summit, TesseracT, The Human Abstract, The Matador, Vildhjarta, White Arms of Athena

Farewell, 2011: Gein’s Top 10 Albums of 2011

Filed Under: Lists!

Dec.28, 2011

2011 has been a great year. A lot of excellent music came out and no doubt is probably my favorite release year in recent memory. Check it out:

View Full Article »

Tags: Animals As Leaders, Beyond Creation, Blue Stahli, Born of Osiris, Decapitated, Fallujah, Last Chance To Reason, Paul Wardingham, Protest the Hero, Revocation, Scale The Summit, The Devin Townsend Project, torchbearer, Tyler The Creator, Uneven Structure, Vildhjarta

Farewell, 2011: Tentaclesworth’s Top Albums of 2011

Filed Under: Lists!

Dec.26, 2011

Hey Guys! I have a crazy way of going about things to make sure I included all of my favorite albums this year in comparison to the rest of us. Bare with me though, I have nothing but good things to say. I apologize for my lengthy list and intro, but with a year so monumental, the time it takes to read this will pale in comparison.

I’d like to make special mentions to Leprous, Devin Townsend and Protest the Hero. Thanks for capturing 2011 with your amazing talent. Your albums will forever live on in my heart and through my speakers.

As far as fan service goes, I think Mr. Townsend is also worthy of 2011′s most fan oriented award. With live sets, box sets, several in depth interviews, an outstanding touring record and a flood of content, Devin really has raised the bar this year for everyone. I congratulate him and everyone who benefits from his hard work. It is a shame my youth prevented me of his discovery earlier in life. I would have much enjoyed to have known of him 5 years ago. Regardless, my hat comes of to you sir.

Alright. This year has been so fantastic for music that you can’t coherently make one list and not have entries conflict. So I came up with a way to fit my favorites on a list while maintaining that the hierarchy between albums is both present and disregarded as the list is subjective. I have “Platinum”, “Gold”, “Silver” and “Bronze” lists. I used doubles and considered ties and draws on some lists to provide context. You see Corelia is a number one on the Silver List, but a 4 on the Gold list. Etc. I also want to disclose that my basis for the lists is memorability. If something was good but lacked memorability, it falls on the list. It needs to have lasting power or else it is simply a cornerstone of the year. The best albums will be listened to many times over for years to come and I tried to capture those qualities.

View Full Article »

Tags: Leprous, Protest the Hero, The Devin Townsend Project

Chris Letchford of Scale the Summit: The Heavy Blog Is Heavy Interview

Filed Under: Interviews

Dec.23, 2011

Photo by Harrison Letchford

Yesterday we posted our interview of Last Chance To Reason, but it isn’t the only band we talked to this week. On the very same Protest the Hero headlining tour (which ended last night), we spoke to Chris Letchford of the instrumental progressive rock/metal band Scale The Summit about instrumental music, their latest album The Collective, and the past couple of years on the road.

You guys played phenomenal tonight.

Awesome!

This was the first time I’ve seen you guys live, but I’ve been a fan for a while. Something I’ve always wanted to know; your songs sound very cinematic, like they invoke these images of landscapes and everything with song titles like “The Great Plains” and “Whales.” Do you go into it as if you want to write a song about whales or do you apply the title after the fact?

Usually after the fact. Yeah, cause usually when we write, we’ll finish a song and then we kind of sit back and listen to kind of visualize imagery from all the moods and whatnot that’s going on in the song. Yeah, it’s definitely afterwards, for sure.

Instrumental music seems to have a better market now than it did when you first started. That could be because of technology and everything, but how do you see the more popularity of instrumental music?

You’re definitely right. It’s not that it has more of a market, I think there’s more people are accepting of it, but that’s because instrumental bands are actually touring now, you know? Because there’s been instrumental forever, but it’s just the only people touring instrumental were like Vai and Satriani and a little bit of Petrucci. [Liquid Tension Experiment] never actually physically toured, you know? So they’ve been around since the late 90s or whatever. But yeah, with us, Animals as Leaders, Pelican, Russian Circles and all those bands actually touring, it’s easier for us to get instrumental music out there. So people always say, “Oh, you know instrumental is getting popular now.” It’s like, yeah, more in the touring world, but you know it’s obviously been around forever, it’s just now there are actually bands that are going out there and touring.

View Full Article »