As a band that have been known for
their contrasting attitudes between fierce performance and cheery presence, I
wondered if Protest the Hero would favour one side over the other when it came
to their Manchester Headliner. With such a successful year - what with the
fundraising and the release for their new album exceeding everyone’s
expectations, many bands would just relax and expect everything that follows to
work out no matter what. Not this band. The Canadian five piece, with their new
drummer Mike Ieradi are more prepared than ever to keep their light-hearted
grins clean and fresh whilst dishing out some technical speedy math-metal around
today.
From the start, they blasted off with
their new Star-Trek inspired single ‘Clarity’ and the entire room began to
erupt. In my attempt to look for a nook or a cranny where they could slip up
from what comes through as fast and flawless through my speakers back home.
They just wouldn’t nudge. Rody Walkers vocals could still reach as high as a
Soprano, Arif Mirabdolbaghi’s basslines were still as slick as a baby seal and
Luke Hoskins and Tim Millar’s hands – despite my belief that they were going to
set the necks of their guitars on fire during the first song – managed to stay
in tact throughout the duration. This isn’t even to mention the fact that new
member Mike Ieradi managed to keep all limbs beating the right motions and
managed to follow up on both Lamb of God drummer Chris Adler’s performance on
the new record and Moe Carlson’s 12 year Protest run with flying colours.
What makes Protest the Hero unique,
not only with their intense over the top technical performances however, are
their ability to seem laid back at the same time. Taking time to tell stories
of the tour so far and to nominate the ‘hunk of the day’ from the audience with
comic timing that you wouldn’t expect from such any music performance is very
refreshing. They’re not trying to boast or make themselves out to be God’s.
They’re just a bunch of friends enjoying themselves. This gig is just a stop in
a long travelling vacation that they earned for themselves and while they’re out
enjoying themselves, they can get serious when they need to.
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