Composed of Stephen Harrison and Aric Improta, the duo have storied musical legacies, featuring involvement with Night Verses, The Chariot, and Fever 333. After the pair simultaneously departed the latter, they found themselves drawn to working with one another over a shared vision of infinitely energising and unpredictable music, with no idea too wild. From this was born their debut EP, Galore.
Featuring production from Jordan Fish (formerly of Bring Me The Horizon), everything about Galore is intended to sound as immense in scale as possible; a roiling collision of musical ideas from punk, post-hardcore, EDM, dubstep, and many other genres. Whilst this does mean that the end product as a whole is chaotic and lacking in cohesion, the tracks themselves are so ferociously electrifying, the repeat button becomes an irresistible temptation.
The whole project is empowered by anger and defiance; It’s Supposed to Hurt encapsulates this perfectly, with it’s abrasive glitch-punk instrumentals and lyricism that speaks of the pain and sacrifice that exists in anything worth doing. Learn To Forget doubles down on these themes with its relentless, guitar-focused instrumental and immensely catchy choruses. The lyrics are a viscerally bitter affair, and could very easily be construed as a documentation of Harrison and Improta’s divorce from Fever 333; a pure anger at having their love of their craft go totally unappreciated and undervalued.
It is perhaps the more electronic moments on the EP, however, that prove to be when the band shine the most. Being One is a glittering, spacey anthem, with rattling percussion being enshrouded in layers of truly gorgeous synths, alongside some genuinely powerful vocal work. Better Off closes off the EP in exhilarating fashion, with a ferocious dubstep styled breakdown at the climax of the track; the band are aware of the intersection that exists between raves and mosh pits, and channel that special energy in a way that makes impossible not to move when listening to them.
Galore is less of a cohesive body of work, and more so exists as a rich sampling platter of what House Of Protection are capable of. There isn’t a single disappointing moment on this EP, with all of the musicians involved demonstrating just why they have earned their respective legendary reputations. With twin debut live performances either side of the Atlantic, 2024 is truly marking the start of a very special outfit; enter the House Of Protection.