Red Bull Records
May 23
Words by Kris Peters
Up until interviewing them on their Australian tour last year, I had never heard of House Of Protection, but after learning of their pedigree (Fever333, The Chariot, Night Verses) and listening to the track Pulling Teeth that blight on my conscience was soon rectified.
More than a sum of their collaborative pasts, House Of Protection looked and sounded like exactly the thing a stagnating musical landscape was screaming out for – music from the heart – and their attitude and disdain for convention that reeked from every pore of their body only accentuated the thought that finally music was being reclaimed by the people who genuinely don’t give a fuck. The ones from which real music with real meaning could trace its genesis to.
Bridging the unwelcoming worlds of hardcore, electronica, and punk with boundless creativity and a penchant for chaos, House Of Protection offered the first glimpse of impending salvation with their debut EP Galore. It was a release that for once, genuinely followed no rules, nor followed any trends, nor allowed itself to be constrained by expectation, both external and from within.
Though short and musically sweet, it also contained much in the way of intent, and even more in the way of defiance. It was a welcome breath of rebellious aggression, whose only possible negative could have been that it wasn’t enough in terms of length and substance.
But good things have more cause and effect when digested in manageable portions.
So it is that House Of Protection return with their second EP, Outrun You All, but this time with the burden of public expectation. Will that become an issue? I honestly doubt it but the only way to be sure is to give it a spin, so ladies and metalheads, please turn your ears to the opening track, an unpronounceable number that starts with the numbers 524 and ends with a series of symbols and characters that I wouldn’t even know where to start looking for on my keyboard.
The song itself makes about as much sense, a partially glitching and ambient 33-second piano-led introduction that basically just welcomes you to House Of Protection and their music in a manner completely not befitting an introduction to House Of Protection and their music.
Make sense? Let’s move on, then.
Afterlife is up next, bursting to life with an industrial heavy underbelly that seems to have set in for the duration before vocalists and core members Stephen Harrison and Aric Improta (don’t ask me which one is singing at any given time because the short answer is fuck knows, they both share vocal duties) flip the whole track in a slightly different direction and take a turn into heavier territory musically but softer ground vocally. This transition and contrasting viewpoint punctuate the eclectic, carefree nature of House Of Protection and their musical output. If there are no rules to follow, then how can you get anything wrong?
Just when you start to feel that things will retain the same trajectory to the song’s conclusion, House Of Protection have one final surprise up their sleeve, hastening proceedings quickly and concisely before an almost Resident Evil style monologue dripping with malevolent intent urges us to meet her in the Afterlife, but if I have learnt anything from movies it is to say no to such invitations. They are never as fun as they appear.
Godspeed brings a touch of holiness to the EP with a softer, inviting opening salvo that lasts all of a couple of seconds before a rapidly spat vocal passage washes over samples and electronics, settling on a more shuffling dance type beat complete with rougher edges. It’s actually quite catchy and almost has me moving in my seat, a feat rarely, if ever, achieved by any band past, present or future.
Again, to try to lump this track into any one specific, or even one loose genre would be an exercise in futility, meaning you have to actually listen to and enjoy the music rather than try to examine it.
As it progresses, Godspeed finds moments of heaviness served on a bed of electronics, but never looses that irresistible groove that most bands for some reason pay scant attention to in the modern age of music. Listen and learn, kids. This is how it’s done.
I Need More Than This has a more conventional beginning, a solid drum pattern laying the groundwork before guitars kick in underneath an almost ambient, layered vocal delivery that screams crossover radio material.
I’m not even sure I like the song just yet, but it has already imposed itself on my musical consciousness, which means House Of Protection have hit the nail on the head whether they intended to or not. Music is supposed to be felt, not trivialised by what the next big trend could be or what is safe in the market. Trust me, if I heard this song on the radio, I probably wouldn’t love it, but I wouldn’t turn it off either.
There is something about it that makes you want – no, need – to keep listening, and I’m glad I did as House Of Protection get their metal on around four minutes in, and what was a blur of noise to me only moments before now makes total sense.
Does that make sense?
Fire (Explicit) is next and the fact I can’t see Fire (insert superlative here) anywhere else is a tad confusing, but then I remember who I am listening to and elect to investigate no further. This track has its roots in hip hop and dance but also features a meaty guitar riff that acts as a go-between to two opposing musical words. And an effective one at that.
I know I have already said it before, but to reiterate the point, shall say it again. By and large, this is nothing like the music I would normally listen to, but for some reason find myself unable to turn away from. Not because of the possibility of something more, but more because of the blatant disregard for form or convention applied to the creation of these songs that provides enough of everything by promising nothing to keep you interested.
Phasing Out has the task of continuing this musical romance and begins just like that. Romantic and enchanting.
While not a love song or ballad per se, it is definitely the softest track on the EP and has more in common with the Backstreet Boys than anything remotely in my musical catalogue. But because of the mystery and sporadic nature of the previous tracks, it holds my interest enough to listen on where I would normally have pressed skip and made only fleeting mention of the track.
Even as Phasing Out approaches the four-minute mark and hasn’t veered even slightly into more favourable territory, it still holds my attention, if not my acceptance, which is an extremely difficult thing to do. Fuck me, did I just listen to a whole dance song? I think so, but I also don’t feel as dirty as I should, which says something.
Slide Away marks the end of Outrun You All and even with an emotion charged introduction piece I still can’t help but marvel at what I have just listened to. But before I start to bore you with my personal EP reflections and confine Slide Away to a welcome afterthought, the track shifts gear into a heavier, more abrasive version of itself that diverts my attention back to the song at hand.
This inevitably gives way to a cleaner underbelly that makes welcome room for the aforementioned heaviness, and the two seem intent on waging their own personal battle for supremacy, with my money firmly placed in one direction. It is actually a pretty cool contrast of light and shade kept apart by a wicked passage of drumming that ultimately sees the harsher side of House Of Protection gain increasing ascendancy as the song continues its sonic journey before collapsing in a wall of fury that brings Outrun You All to a close.
To be 100% honest, I’m still not sure if I actually completely enjoyed the EP or not, but the fact I am still thinking about it shows that House Of Protection have once more hit the mark here.
Music is supposed to be divisive, but when it causes conflicting emotions within the one listener, then surely no more needs be said. But it undoubtably will…
