Protest the Hero - Fortress

With their second LP, Protest The Hero continue their progression from punk rockers to hardcore metal-heads. Fortress is full of brain rattling drum rolls, wailing vocals and monstrous riffs that would make Dream Theater envious. There is also a growing appreciation of song structure, and these Canadians are quickly learning how to diversify their sound by breaking things up a little. At times these changes are so frequent and abrasive as to give the impression of not listening to a single song but instead a collection spliced together, such as opener and current single Bloodmeat. Palms Read and Limb from Limb are better adverts for Protest the Hero's burgeoning talent, however. Less frantic and complex than the tracks before or after, they give the album a life force and compel continued listening. Ultimately there is imagination, ambition, and, crucially, enough hard rock gold to fill up any metal album twice over. [Neal Parsons]