Scurrilous

Scurrilous is the third studio album by Canadian progressive metal band Protest the Hero. It was released on March 22, 2011 on Vagrant Records in the US and Underground Operations in Canada. The word scurrilous is defined as “vulgar verbal abuse; foul-mouthed; coarse, vulgar, abusive, or slanderous.”

Critical reception for Scurrilous has generally been positive, with the album receiving four out of five stars from Allmusic, who lauded the band for its shift towards more personal lyrics. Adam Thomas of Sputnikmusic found the album to be “a lot less jarring when compared to their past work, with the transitions between the light speed arpeggio runs, tight modern metal riffing, and mathy stop start sections seamlessly binding it all together.” However, Decibel magazine gave the album a five out of ten.

The album cover is a picture of a 60-year-old painting by bassist Arif Mirabdolbaghi’s grandfather, Jafar Petgar, titled “Scurrilous”. The painting was inspired by a disagreement between Petgar and his wife that stemmed from “conjecture and scurrilous lies” being spread by a neighbor. The painting is meant to represent the world fleeing from the lies originating from the human tongue. According to Mirabdolbaghi, the piece was selected by Protest the Hero as the cover art for Scurrilous because they, “thought the wide and varied use of color in the piece reflected the contrasting sonic landscapes of the music on the album.”