After spending nearly three years worth of sweat, blood and time away from home promoting their debut album, Kezia, Whitby’s Protest The Hero are finally ready to release the next chapter in their melodic autobiography.
Fortress, due to adorn the record shop shelves next Tuesday, January 29, shows a more matured, more musically intricate band. “A lot has happened since Kezia,” guitarist Tim Millar explains, “I don’t think there are any surprises. As you get older you become a better musician.”
So much time to consider the birth of their sophomore release (in “record label speak,” as Millar puts it) allowed the band to experiment with melodies, instrumentals, and figure out what worked and what didn’t. Initially, they took a very “full-time job” approach, renting a jam space and practicing from 1 p.m. to around nine every day.
Unlike Kezia, which was mostly conceptual, Fortress’ tracks aren’t linked together by any one idea. Millar says they initially veered away from doing a second concept album out of fear that people would initially start comparing the two. Fortress does, however, possess an overall theme regarding the resurfacing of counter-culture. “Certain things, like tattoos and piercings, are really popular now, but before it was just a tribal thing. The album is really about stepping back and analyzing why people think that way and why that happens.” While Millar says that the lyrics are important to the album, the stress this time around was on the music. “When you put so much emphasis on the lyrics,” says Millar, ‘people tend to over-analyze them.”
Following the album’s drop next Tuesday, Protest the Hero will be heading out on a two-month-long tour alongside other Southern Ontario favourites Silverstein and ill Scarlet. One might think that embarking on a lengthy tour with other local bands would invoke a sense of sibling rivalry, but Millar says that isn’t the case. “It’s nice that we can stick together. As one band gets successful it’s nice to bring along another. We’ve got more in common because we grew up in the same area. We did some stuff with Silverstein in 2005, so it’s cool going out with them again.”
Touring, however, isn’t all fun and games, according to Millar who is no stranger to life spent on a bus surrounded by many other people. There is a serious lack of personal space. “It’s really hard to just chill out and have some quiet time. It’s hard to have time to yourself. Still, as long as I’m enjoying myself, I love being on the road, though there are those times where it gets pretty tough. Maybe the shows aren’t doing well and maybe you’re not best friends with the people you’re there with. Sometimes it feels like you’re stuck on tour because you made a commitment and you can’t get out of it. It can be daunting but for the most part, you just have to make decisions that everyone is going to be happy with. The biggest thing is morale.
One of the major benefits of being a touring band, according to Millar, is that you get the opportunity to see a lot of the country, assuming you take the time to go exploring. “You can’t be a tourist all the time, so when you’re somewhere new you should go and check it out. Don’t stick within a certain radius of the club and just venture out to grab a slice of pizza before the show.”
The tour, which will take them to thirty-nine across North America, will hopefully be the perfect way to get the word out about the new album. “With Fortress coming out, we’re trying to do everything to let everyone know that it exists. That means a lot of touring, videos and a lot of time spent on the road and putting our music in front of people.”