Rifficide: when one band’s riffs are so much more amazing than another band’s that they actually destroy other bands entirely. Protest The Hero may have committed this with their latest album, Scurrilous. Luckily, there are few if any laws against this sort of thing, and, as a fan of music, I’m glad they did it.
Some bands sacrifice much in the name of ingenuity, even musicality, which is always a bad thing, but this album manages to breathe, even though it’s full things that don’t always add up to great songwriting. There are some smokin’ riffs on this album. It’s rare that a band can put so much fire into the guitar parts while still being adventurous; the bass, drums and vocals are all noteworthy, but the guitars on this album are like apex predators. The second they blare through the speakers they take over and demand your attention, your respect, even your fear.
The only element that is lacking on this album is the lyrics. Rody Walker is an amazing singer, but the lyrics are just horrific at times. “Sex Tapes” is an example of the poor quality of the lyrics on this album, you can’t exactly ignore lines like “and all the boys are jerking off.” There isn’t anything wrong with the content of that sentence, but the delivery and word choice are just so funny that it takes away from the song. I’m not certain if that was what they were going for, but no, just no. Even with the questionable lyrics the musicianship and talent of Protest The Hero is too much to ignore, and Scurrilous is worthy of any metal fan’s collection.
In A Word: Polemic
