- Country: Canada
- Style: Progressive metal / Progressive metalcore
- Label: Spinefarm Records / Razor & Tie
- Release date: 28 October 2013
Protest the Hero paid for their fourth album with fans’ money, running an Indiegogo campaign that went well past its $125,000 target. With drummer Moe Carlson gone, they brought in Lamb of God’s Chris Adler to play the drum tracks. Neither move hurt the music. Volition is the band’s heaviest and most focused record.
“Clarity” opens with a flurry of tapped guitar lines from Luke Hoskin and Tim Millar and never really lets up. Rody Walker is in fine form throughout, switching between a high, theatrical tenor and harsh shouts, and he sounds angrier than ever. “Tilting Against Windmills” and “Yellow Teeth” are the best examples of the band writing actual hooks into the technical clutter. Adler is a fascinating fit: he plays with less flash than you might expect, which gives the guitars room.
The second half sags slightly with “Animal Bones”, but “Underbite” is short and sharp, and the closing “Skies” is the most ambitious song they had written. For progressive metal fans this is essential.
Best tracks:
Clarity
Tilting Against Windmills
Yellow Teeth
Skies
Author’s rating: 8.5/10
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