They call him the man with the blood of Christ honesty-a man who isn't afraid to bleed brutal truths-all the while drinking to excess with our finest heathens and blasphemies.
Rody Walker, untamed lyricist, heretic and killer front man of Canada's most unpredictable act Protest the Hero (PTH), has a reputation for being a cruel enigma. With a swan's grace, he switches between being the lurid leader of a brutal musical movement and quiet philosopher, no more intimidating than the glasses he wears as he catches up on the dregs of history.
Descending from up north, Walker did his best to clear things up, or at the very least, like James Hetfield circa Ride the Lightning, let all those in his path know that he "doesn't give a sh*t!"
For those who have, or even haven't seen Protest live over the past few years, a noticeable change has occurred. From skinny jeaned and clean, to bearded and filthy, Walker and his fast and furious band mates adapted to a metal crowd.
When you're associated with a genre that basically requires long hair, unkempt facial growth and shirts with no sleeves, at some point you're going to have to oblige.
"Around that time, we had a whole different look going on for us. You know, like we were all f*ckin' wearing skinny jeans and that sort of thing and we kind of cared a little more about how we looked and how we performed...how we danced around the stage," Walker said, in reference to early-era PTH. "I think when you bring yourself out to a metal audience like that, they're just automatically gonna hate you. And that's totally cool."
He progressed.
"Nowadays, it's sorta like we don't give a f*ck about anything. We don't dance, we don't move or anything like that. We just kind stand around. People take to it better, I guess. Our indifference breathes a difference in the audience," Walker said.
In reference to that very audience, Walker made light of those that support him, and those that he wished didn't.
"I'm pretty happy with the people who come out to our shows. It seems to be an eclectic mix of different varieties of people. You know, you get a lot of the actual metal heads and then you get, you know, some weird little emo kids that come out and then you'll get these genuine music fans that are coming out and they don't associate themselves with any genre specifically. They just f*cking like music," Walker said.
Coming from the man who penned "Goddess Bound" and "Goddess Gagged," he obviously wasn't finished dissecting and tearing apart his audience, limb from limb. But before he did so, he addressed the assumption that many a people have that he hates his fan base.
"I've got a certain reputation for being a bigger d*ck than I am. I don't actually hate them. I appreciate them buying sh*t and coming out and singing the lyrics and stuff like that, but I am a fan of a good cruel cynical joke and apparently, some people don't receive it so well," Walker said.
And now to those kids who spoil the scene and defecate on the tradition masculinity...
"Yeah, those are the kind of the fans that I hate. You know, people that just come out to our shows because it's like a little sort of underground and like cool to know of or something like that and they f*cking spend an hour in the mirror doing their hair," Walker said.
He continued.
"F*ck all that, that has nothing to do with music and that's the stupidest sh*t I've ever heard of. I hate those people, whether they like the band or not. It sucks that those people, that some of those people have associated themselves with us and therefore have associated that type of person with us, because essentially you are the company you keep."
As aggressive and unabashed as Walker is with speaking his mind, his music follows suit. Protest the Hero's frantic, yet melodic metalcore takes unexpected turns and progressions left and right, all the while telling succinct tales of treachery and historically incited violence.
"When we set out to write songs, we don't set out to be like hey lets f*ck everyone up and write some crazy crap. We just sit down and try and write music. If it comes out frantically and confusing for people, that's sweet to us but (laughter) you know, it's more just about cohesion within songs and not sticking to like a normal structure of just chorus verse, verse chorus bullsh*t," Walker said.
Even with music that's less predictable than a weekend in '94 with G.G. Allen, Protest the Hero have managed to acquire a pretty hearty fan base, though they're far from the commercialized bands most of you are familiar with.
"It doesn't seem as though many bands with integrity make it through. It seems like they all either die or give up or get produced by some f*ckin record label and end up writing really sh*tty pop tunes," Walker said.
And since they're from Canada and basically all that "great" country is known for is hockey, beer and Nickleback, we obviously shot a hockey question Walker's way.
"Favorite team that isn't the Leafs? Well, I'm not gonna say the Sabres, if that's what you're thinking (laughs). We only really watch the Leafs. We watch them lose every year. We love them and hate them," Walker said.
How familiar those sentiments are.
Before Walker walked off into his own morbidly drawn sunset, he offered his credo, a true man's manifesto for self-fulfillment.
"At night you gotta drink and f*ckin' fight and in the morning you gotta wake up by the toilet," Walker said.
Maybe some day when this bloody skull has dried and the city is in ruins you'll want to protest. Or maybe you can just go and check them out this Thursday (Jan. 29), when they'll be playing the Town Ballroom with As I Lay Dying and The Human Abstract.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
