Last year, I stumbled across House of Protection on YouTube and immediately became a fan, with their debut EP ‘Galore’ getting featured on repeat on a constant basis. They have been releasing new songs from this follow-up for several months now, with the full release of ‘Outrun You All’ dropping on May 23rd.  The band is made up of the duo Stephen Harrison and Aric Improta, who had previously been in Fever 333 together. The two of them have created a band where I don’t think they would rule out any musical idea.

After a mellow 30-second intro, the band launches into the electronic-infused ‘Afterlife’ that at times reminds me of ‘Pretty Hate Machine’ era NIN crossed with an infusion of extra heaviness on the methodical beat. The blend of their vocals across their songs works to perfection, and each of them has their own style when singing lead. The band transitions into ‘Godspeed’ where the tempo gets an infusion of adrenaline. The vocals sit in the middle of the mix of the chorus and remain incredibly catchy. The guitars squeal and rip through the mix. Headbanging or fist in the air is required throughout the song. There are just a few seconds at the very end of the song where the drums and guitar get to highlight how close they are to going into chaos. Last single ‘I Need More Than This’ slows things down to a cool groove with a very melodic verse featuring Harrison’s vocals. The song adds more elements as it reaches the chorus and creates a very cool hook. I think one of the factors that has drawn me to the band is that their music sometimes feels like a more listener-friendly ‘Endless Nameless’ album by the Wildhearts crossed with NIN, punk, and other electronic elements.

Starting the second half of the album is the frantic and surging ‘Fire’, which the listener will be singing by the end of the song. There is an energy that flows through the soul of this band that just immediately grabs hold of me. The band go straight for the jugular with the chorus hook here and destroys everything in their path. Lyrically, the band create an anthem for self-growth and determination. There is not a wasted moment anywhere with the cacophony of sounds coming together perfectly. The cheerleader section has not worked this well in a song for me since Faith No More did it many years ago on the ‘Angel Dust’ album. Changing gears completely with the mellow ‘Phasing Out’ provides a great contrast with a lot of digital elements bouncing around in the mix. The drums work great here with a killer beat raising the song to another level. ‘Slide Away’ closes the album out with the opening vocal providing a feeling of coming out of a dream that leads into the chaos of waking up in the middle of chaos. The chorus provides another strong hook with the verses pounding inside the listener’s skull trying to escape.

As much as I enjoyed their first EP, the band have exceeded it on their second release. I have not cited the band’s hardcore influences, but they are also baked into the band’s music and approach. There is a great chance this will end up my EP of the year, although I will likely spend a lot of time listening to both of their EP’s back-to-back to simulate an album. Turn the music up loud and dive into the experience. House of Protection or House of Perfection?

‘Outrun You All’ is available now on digital and vinyl. Here

Author: Gerald Stansbury

‘I Need More Than This’ video      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trzefJeYKkc