Protest the Hero - Fortress

I stayed home from school today with a little stomach junk going on, and you'd think I would've come up with SOMETHING good to blog about. By the end of the day or tomorrow, I'll have another list for you. But now, CD review time.


Album Review:
Protest the Hero - Fortress
Released: January 29, 2008
Leaked: January 22, 2008

Download Links:
Rapidshare
password: seckwd

Protest the Hero (PTH) have taken a decidedly more progressive and power-metal route with their new album "Fortress". From the lyrics, which are centered around goddess worship and historic battles; to the different types of vocals and guitar used, this album is more technical and surely files as "power". If the above didn't give it away, there is a keyboard solo by Dragonforce's Vadim Pruzhanov on track 6, "Limb From Limb". I'm not particularly fond of power metal, but PTH adds a good dash of catchy sing-alongs and breakdowns. There are many (in fact, probably one per track) sing-along portions, and they up it from purely technical music to a more accessible, enjoyable experience. The guitars maintain a high level of technical skill, while not being obnoxious, and the composition is excellent. The clean, high vocals of lead singer Rody Walker mix perfectly with both the music and the low, growling vocals of bassist Arif Mirabdolbaghi. Arif also supplies some of the more interesting bass-work I've heard since Between the Buried and Me - Colors, an album which is being cited frequently as a close cousin to this album. Both are more progressive and experimental than those bands' previous outings, and both are near-masterpieces of music. All-in-all, the mixture of technical skill with pure compositional mastery makes this album truly genre-defiant. It should be looked into by anyone who is interested in music.