Ontario, Canada's Protest the Hero's third full-length probably had fans of the progressive metalcore band searching for a dictionary for the meaning of its title, 'Scurrilous.' Adding to the air of mystery is the work of art on the cover, created by the late grandfather of bassist Arif Mirabdolbaghi, Jafar Petgar. "This piece appeared to him in a dream," Mirabdolbaghi recently told Noisecreep. "[The dream came] after a gossiping neighbor had created a rift between him and his wife based on conjecture and scurrilous lies -- hence the title of the piece, 'Scurrilous.' It depicts the whole natural world cowering from the untruths of the human tongue."

"We thought the wide and varied use of color in the piece reflected the contrasting sonic landscapes of the music on the album," Mirabdolbaghi explained. "[We thought] that our audience would appreciate the story behind the artwork."

Petgar was no lightweight in the artistic community. He ran an art school in Tehran, the capital of Iran, and left behind an extensive and varied body of work. "Some of his work hangs in the national gallery," Mirabdolbaghi said. "He was buried in the state cemetery for artists and other contributors to Iranian heritage."

Luckily for fans of Protest the Hero's chaotic-yet-precise brand of metal, Mirabdolbaghi has continued to follow in the footsteps of his grandfather's family. Loosely translated from the Pahlavi language, the Petgar surname means 'artist,' and much of the Petgar family "found careers in fine arts, calligraphy, music, and film," according to the bassist.

Protest the Hero will soon embark on a Canadian and US tour with Maylene and the Sons of Disaster and Tesseract.

Watch the video for 'Heretics and Killers'

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