Robert Gray at Ultimate-Guitar.com recently caught upwith PROTEST THE HERO guitarist Tim Millar to discuss the band's new album, Scurrilous. An excerpt is available below:

Q: How would you compare 'Scurrilous' to Protest The Hero's previous two albums?

Millar: "I just think we had a little bit more time to comfortably get all our ideas down, and we didn't really rush anything. I guess with Fortress it took us three months to write and then we recorded almost directly after, but with this record we had a year and a half to let the songs sink in. In the studio the whole recording process took over four months, and it was just a more laid-back environment than in the past. I guess Fortress was a record where we felt a lot of pressure and a need to get something out there to start getting some attention. This time we wanted to take our time and give it the best quality we could I guess."

Q: Would you describe your rhythm work on Scurrilous as unconventional, which is what it has been touted as?

Millar: "I guess so. I have trouble with a word like 'conventional' because I just imitate the guitar players I like, and maybe it's because I listen to a bunch of different styles of music. I think the biggest thing for me as a rhythm guitar player though was getting into the rhythmic side as well as the chordal side where I backed off from trying to harmonise everything that Luke was doing, but at the same time was finding creative ways to play around and compliment what he was doing. A big thing for me was learning some theory and getting some four-note chords, and really taking the time to voice them in certain ways. It's really cool playing intricate rhythms with wacky sounding chords, which just makes for a sound that I don't know if a lot of metal or progressive guitar players particularly play."

Q: Are RUSH and those types of groups an influence?

Millar: "Yeah, a little bit I think. We feel a need to relate to Rush because they're from our hometown, they're Canadian and we like their music. I listen to a lot more jazz and even some classical now and again, but I really stopped listening to a lot of current heavy music and just wanted to explore my playing. I learned how to fingerpick and learned some jazz charts and things like that, but when I tried to apply a lot of that it didn't work. You have to use that idea and then think of how a lot of the Protest The Hero material sounds, and come up with a happy medium. I was happy with how it came through in the end."

Go to this location for the complete interview.

Protest The Hero released their third studio album, Scurrilous, on March 21st in the UK via Spinefarm Records UK and on March 22nd via Universal Music in Canada and Vagrant Records in the US. Scurrilous is the follow up to the band’s 2008 sophomore release, Fortress, and reunites the band with producer Julius “Juice” Butty.

The band have just launched the first single from Scurrilous called 'C’est La Vie'. It can be found below.

Scurrilous tracklisting:

'C’est La Vie'

'Hair-Trigger'

'Tandem'

'Moonlight'

'Tapestry'

'Dunsel'

'The Reign of Unending Terror'

'Termites'

'Tongue-Splitter'

'Sex Tapes'

Protest The Hero's tour schedule is currently as follows:

March

26 - Oshawa, ON - The Green Bottle
27 - Barrie, ON - The Mansion
29 - Thunder Bay, ON - Crocks
30 - Winnipeg, MB - WECC
31 - Yorkton, SK - Agri Pavillion

April

1 - Edmonton, AB - Avenue
2 - Calgary, AB - The Gate / SAIT
4 - Abbotsford, BC - Abby Arts Centre
5 - Seattle, WA - Corazon
6 - Portland, OR - Branx
8 - San Francisco, CA - Slim’s
9 - San Diego, CA - Soma Side Stage
10 - Los Angeles, CA - The Troubadour
11 - Anaheim, CA - Chain Reaction
12 - Phoenix, AZ - Nile Theatre
14 - Las Vegas, NV - Area 702
15 - Salt Lake City, UT - Avalon
16 - Denver, CO - Marquis Theatre
18 - Austin, TX - Emo’s Outside
19 - Houston, TX - Warehouse Live
20 - Dallas, TX - The Door
22 - Orlando, FL - The Social
23 - Atlanta, GA - Masquerade Downstairs
24 - Greensboro, NC - Greene Street Club
26 - Detroit, MI - Magic Stick
27 - Chicago, IL - Bottom Lounge
29 - Cleveland, OH - Grog Shop
20 - Baltimore, MD - Ottobar

May

1 - Worcester, MA - Palladium Upstairs
3 - New York, NY - Gramercy Theater
4 - Philadelphia, PA - The Trocadero
6 - Toronto, ON - Sound Academy
7 - London, ON - London Music Hall
8 - Chatham, ON - Encore Bar
9 - Kitchener. ON - Wax Nightclub
11 - Hamilton, ON - Studio Theatre
12 - St. Catharines, ON - L3 Nightclub