Protagonist – States

These guys play melodic skate punk that would have made them household names in the heyday of the 90s EpiFat reign. This is a short introduction for those new to the band, coming at you fast and relentless for a whopping 14 minutes. The songs are all winners here, but the album is frustratingly short, making listeners dig up their copy of The Chronicle to make up for the lack of quantity.

The album kicks off with “States,” a 2 minute throwback song that sounds like pre-thrash Propagandhi with some gang vocals tossed in for good measure. It is fast and over before you have a chance to realize how much you love it. The screamed vocals add a slight hardcore influence to the song, which helps to set it apart from scene coat tail riders. “Turnbridge” starts off with a slow melody, before kicking into another fast paced melodic punk song. “Destination Desolation” brings back the Propagandhi and Strike Anywhere sound, with hints of H20 hardcore punk blended throughout. “Sirens” keeps in tune with the sound of the album, with a little more This Is A Standoff than the others, while “The Stranger” brings to mind No Use For A Name. All of the name dropping may seem like a lazy way of describing the album’s sound, but in reality it is the most relevant. These are classic melodic punk skate punk songs that would fit comfortably on a Fat compilation.

The brevity of the album makes for a short review, but it doesn’t mean that it isn’t worth checking out. If you grew up on this style of punk rock, then you will be happy to hear a fresh band putting their own spin on the classic sound. Protagonist should be much bigger than they are, but they came around a decade late.