Protagonist

The Chronicle

Written by: PP on 15/02/2010 05:20:12

I've still got about five or six releases to review from 2009 that I've picked up along the way without ever having the time to give them a proper chance, hence this late review of melodic hardcore group Protagonist and their new album "The Chronicle". See this is a record I picked up in the hopes of it being the melodic hardcore record of 2009 based on the awesome stuff I heard on Myspace, although as history now shows, Strike Anywhere ran with that trophy later, and to my dismay, "The Chronicle" fell far short from my expectations aside from a couple of ass-kicking tracks included on it.

Mixing together 60% Strike Anywhere, 40% Set Your Goals, Protagonist are in places fiercely hardcore, featuring explosive yells and gang shout vocals, and typical pop hardcore/pop punk dual vocals elsewhere ranging from the high pitch to the medium range melodic. "1095 Days", for instance, could've easily been on the Set Your Goals debut album, but a song like "Light The Fuse" sees the vocalist plagiarise a page from Thomas Barnett's playbook. Throw in a few technical leads in the vein of A Wilhelm Scream scattered across a few tracks, and you've got "The Chronicle" summed up nicely. The few highlights on the record hint of a band which one day may be ready to be compared to the genre heavyweights mentioned, but as a whole, the song's aren't catchy enough, the breaks don't blow up on your face with enough power and conviction (at least on record), and there are too many tracks relegated to 'filler' status, especially towards the second half of the record.

However, if you can't get enough of Strike Anywhere like me, Protagonist do have more than a couple of ferocious melodic hardcore tracks that should draw your attention their way immediately. So go check it out, enjoy the good songs, and make a mental note about these guys, as it's entirely possible that in a few years time, we'll be hearing much more about them, once they have one or two more releases under their belt.

6

Download: 1095 Days, Light The Fuse, Charge (The Chronicle)
For the fans of: Set Your Goals, Strike Anywhere, Hear The Sirens
Listen: Myspace

Release date 10.04.2009
Paper + Plastick

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