After raising over $341,000 through an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign launched in January, Protest the Hero unleashed its fourth full-length record Volition on October 29.

The Whitby, Ontario progressive metal band – comprised of vocalist Rody Walker, guitarists Tim Millar and Luke Hoskin, bassist Arif Mirabdolbaghi and new drummer Mike Ieradi – asked its fans for $125,000 and exceeded its goal in less than 24 hours.

“We were at the point where we could get another advance that we’ll never pay back or we could try [crowd-funding],” says Walker on the phone from Toronto. “It was sort of a last ditch effort and we’re really grateful for how everything turned out.”

But despite the success, former drummer Moe Carlson left the band, marking Protest’s first lineup change since forming in 2001, when the guys were still teenagers.

“All of a sudden he just told me ‘I don’t ever want to tour again’ and I was like ‘Did this motherfucker just quit the band?’ and sure enough he had,” Walker says. “Still his decision is his decision. He’s a great guy and I don’t hold it against him.”

The remaining four members also moved on, continuing to work on the follow-up to 2011’s Scurrilous close to home in Toronto.

“I think this record ended up being more juvenile and that’s a good thing,” Walker says. “With our last record we had lost some of our intensity, which I think bands do as they go on with their career, they attempt to mature in some ways. I think we might have grabbed that maturity out of the womb prematurely.”

Volition is also the first record that only contains lyrics written by Walker, even though a few fans weren’t impressed with his previous efforts.

“I never really took it as a slight,” he says. “Arif is such a gifted writer, so when compared to him of course my efforts are going to seem stupid.”

Drummer Chris Adler, from the Grammy-nominated Virginia metal band Lamb of God, plays drums on the record, but to officially replace Carlson, Protest recruited Ieradi from The Kindred, an Ottawa-based band that’s opening for Protest on its current tour.  

Protest also brought in fans to appear on the album, people who purchased the $5000 bundle through its Indiegogo campaign.

 “I was a little afraid that they’d come in and just suck, but they didn’t, which is pretty surprising and impressive,” Walker says. “A part on A Life Embossed was going to be my highest note on the record and take me a very long time to do, but this one fellow who is an opera singer from Chicago came in and he just killed it for me.”

Now, Protest plans to hit the road hard in 2014, something it wasn’t able to do during the last album cycle.

“It sucked and honestly we watched our fan base decrease because we weren’t on the road as much,” Walker says. “With this record we really want to get out there and tour until we’re blue in the fucking face.”

Published in Volume 68, Number 10 of The Uniter (November 6, 2013)