FYI
Protest The Hero: The Canary
The hardcore/prog heroes tease a new album with a cut featuring frenetic fretting and forceful vocals.
Apr 17, 2020
By Kerry Doole
Protest the Hero - The Canary ( Independent): The hardcore/prog veterans release a new album, Palimpsest, on June 19, the first music from the band since Pacific Myth in 2016.
It is preceded by this focus track that bursts out of the gates with frenetic fretting followed quickly by the intense and forceful vocals of Rody Walker. The pace rarely lets up, but there's just enough dynamic variation to keep your interest. Renowned for lyrical acumen, the group doesn’t disappoint here (sample lines: "Romantic idealistic lies euphemize as fantasy").
In a press release, guitarist Luke Hoskin explains that “Palimpsest is by far the most challenging record we have worked on. The writing and recording process saw so many delays, it's honestly hard to keep them straight. We are very proud of how each hurdle was handled though, and the end result is a record that we believe is deserving of such an endeavor.”
“This record was extremely difficult for me personally,” shares Rody Walker. “With my first child on the way, I built a studio in my basement to ensure I wasn’t leaving my wife alone with a new child for weeks on end. I haven’t left my house since.
"What made it most difficult was the change in my voice. During our final tour just before we were set to start recording, I blew my voice out, and it didn’t come back. I spent a long time fighting with it trying to bounce back and failing. Finally, through coaching and rehearsal, I got it back in shape. For the first time in my life singing felt like an actual job and I’m still pissed about it. I have never worked harder to put out music in my life and I am extremely proud of the product.”
Protest the Hero has released five albums and toured internationally. Hailing originally from Whitby, ON, PTH consists of four core members, Rody Walker (vox), Luke Hoskin (lead guitar/vox), Tim MacMillar (guitar/vox), and Michael Ieradi (drums).
Known for being progressive not only in their sound but in their music business acumen, the band launched a unique distro model when releasing their last record, Pacific Myth. Using a structured subscription service for fans, PTH delivered one track each month over a 6-month period of recording. In 2013 when their record label contract was up, they set a precedent by approaching their loyal fanbase directly to help fund the recording of the Volition album.
