After six years between studio albums, Protest the Hero returned this summer with Within, a new record that finds the Canadian progressive metal band turning inward while retaining the technical intensity that has defined its sound for more than two decades. Now, the Whitby, Ontario, group is bringing the album home for a coast-to-coast Canadian tour spanning November and December.
Released on July 17, Within follows 2020’s Palimpsest and is the band’s first fully independent release. For vocalist Rody Walker, one of the album’s defining characteristics emerged without a deliberate plan.
He recalls being told that Palimpsest rarely drew from his own perspective, while the new record felt considerably more personal.
“I went, ‘Oh, fuck.’ I didn’t even realize,” he said. “I made a subconscious choice.”
That shift began with “Fishhook,” the second song on the record. “I sat down and got most of that song done in under an hour,” he said. “It just came out.”
The experience influenced his approach to the rest of the album, moving him toward more direct songwriting rather than the historical figures, fictional narratives and political subjects that have frequently informed his lyrics.
“I like my storytelling simple,” Walker explains. Simplicity, however, doesn't mean abandoning the intricate arrangements that have made Protest the Hero a reference point for progressive metal musicians. Walker traces the band's identity to its punk roots, which he considers essential to its sound.
“What makes us sort of special is that we come to progressive heavy metal via punk rock,” he says. “If you left that element out, we'd really just be like everyone else.”
For Within, the band also changed the way they record, opting for a more DIY approach, inspired in part by bands like Periphery and TesseracT. No longer having the constraint of having to all be present together in a big studio and being able to record each instrument independently and remotely, he says, has been freeing. So has their decision to release the record independently.
“I think it’s really just about having control of our own destiny. Over the years, different people have owned the rights to different records in different territories, and so many stupid things have happened,” Walker says. “If you go on our Spotify or Apple Music profile, it’s just a mess. We constantly get messages saying Volition is down in Mexico, and we’re left wondering who owns it there and whose responsibility it is. We just want to have a central hub where we own and control everything, so if there’s a problem, it’s our problem.”
After touring through Europe and a few shows in Japan, the band is ready to head out and share the live tracks with their local fans. The Canadian tour kicks off November 12 in Moncton, New Brunswick, and runs through December 4, when Protest the Hero wraps up in Victoria, British Columbia. The coast-to-coast run includes stops in Québec City and Montréal before heading through Ontario, the Prairies and Western Canada. Philadelphia progressive metalcore band Kaonashi will open every show, with Edmonton melodic hardcore veterans Choke joining the eastern dates and Calgary alternative rockers Royal Tusk appearing on the western leg.
Within tour dates:
November 12, Moncton, NB, Tide & Boar (Sold out)
November 13, Halifax, NS, Marquee (Sold out)
November 14, Fredericton, NB, Fredericton Farmers’ Market (Sold out)
November 17, Québec City, QC, Salle Montaigne
November 18, Montréal, QC, Théâtre Fairmount
November 20, Ottawa, ON, The Bronson
November 21, Toronto, ON, The Opera House (Sold out)
November 22, London, ON, London Music Hall
November 25, Thunder Bay, ON, Events Centre
November 26, Winnipeg, MB, The Park Theatre (Sold out)
November 27, Saskatoon, SK, Louis’
November 29, Edmonton, AB, Pawn Shop Live (Low ticket availability)
November 30, Calgary, AB, The Arrowhead (Low ticket availability)
December 3, Vancouver, BC, The Pearl (Low ticket availability)
December 4, Victoria, BC, Wicket (Low ticket availability)
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