Feature: THE PROTEST – The Gold Metallic Lightning T

by Chris Gatto

Our hard hitting heroes from Indiana have been creating a disturbance now for about 15 years. The band is made up of brothers Joshua Bramlett (vocals) and Jarob Bramlett (drums), Adam Sadler (guitar) and TJ Colwell (guitar). If you’ve seen them live, you can attest to the high energy of their show. Sure, singer Joshua has perfected the David Lee Roth-bending over backwards pose, but we all know that great rock music has a whole lot more to do with the sound than the acrobatics. This band will leave you with more than just catchy hooks and choruses, as the Truth sinks in to your brain. The newest The Protest album drop is upon us, so join me as I chat with Joshua and he lays out all the details for us:

The Protest is about to release its new self-titled album, your first new album in a few years. Given that you guys are road dogs (tour a lot), did you schedule time off the road to craft new songs, or were you were working on new material all along?

The writing and recording process for this particular album was a labor of love, but proved to be one of the most challenging mountains in our career. Our original intention was to release another record shortly after our 2021 ep Death Stare, but the Lord had other plans, it seems. So many things happened that were both amazing and difficult. Band members enjoyed becoming husbands and first time fathers, and we had some amazing touring opportunities as well that we couldn’t pass up. With these new responsibilities, and still playing a lot of shows, we had to be very intentional about meeting up to write and record down in Nashville. We are the type of band that writes together. The four of us in one room. We started writing in 2021 and just steadily made the time whether we were on or off the road. All that said, we wouldn’t trade HIS timing for anything. The result is hands down our best work. We are very proud of the songs. They feel earned and lived in. 

Why a self-titled album now, at this time in your career?

I love this question. From the instant we started talking about album names it was almost unanimous that it would be self-titled. It’s hard to describe, but the album just feels unapologetically “us.” With this in mind we decided that a bold album cover and self-titled approach was the way to go.

 Symbology is important in rock music and the “lightning T” on the new cover is a simple, but stylistic representation of the band. Who came up with it? Does it mean anything in particular? Will the big gold emblem of it follow you guys on tour?

The four of us grew up on classic rock/metal from the 70’s and 80’s. So many of these bands had such recognizable branding. You could just see an outline or shadow and know exactly which band it was referring to. For years we’ve had a full logo (which we still use), but also wanted an icon, something synonymous with our band. So while we were working on the release of our single “Dying Breath” a couple years ago we started drafting ideas. Our drummer, Jarob, is a very gifted graphic designer and we spent months trying to nail down the emblem. Once we had it, we knew it, and have used it on almost everything the last 3 years. 

We wanted the album cover to be as authentic as possible. Instead of settling for photoshop we ordered the golden emblem seen on the cover, hung a white sheet, and had a good friend of ours take some amazing photos. We are still trying to decide what to do with the sign actually, but I do think that it would be really cool to take it out on tour and have it represented in some way! 

I agree on the importance of branding. It would be cool to see a Lightning T on both sides of the stage. If it lit up, even better.

Absolutely! If money wasn’t an issue we would likely have wild stuff on stage like Dio or Maiden used to do lol. 

So you’ve had some time to marinate in this batch of songs. Can you tell us about some of your favorites? Did any of the songs work on you instead of the other way around? Is there a theme or a message throughout the album? 

We are very fond of all the tracks on the record. We spent a lot of time with each song. One of my personal favorites is “Schematics of a Shadow.” The song was helmed mainly by Jarob (our drummer). The lyrics refer to the immeasurable love that Jesus has for us. Measuring His love is impossible. It’s like trying to find the blueprint of a blur or the Schematics of a Shadow as the title mentions. He is often long suffering with us. The love He bestows we may not deserve, but we are so thankful for it. Many of our songs deal with personal struggle, which can be powerful as well, but this track is all about the goodness of God and being thankful for it. We haven’t really done anything like that before. Musically I could say the same thing. It’s different for us. Though this album features many songs with chunky riffs and breakdowns, this opens all together with intricate drums and pulse pounding alternate picking that gives way to a soaring chorus. We were trying to channel our inner Dayseeker or Sent by Ravens. 

“Chains are for Breaking,” “Griefcase,” and “Cloudwalker” are all singles that were released ahead of the new album. Are these songs pretty indicative of the style of the new album? I saw recently on your fb feed you were asking the fans something to the effect of “What style of music are we anyway?” Assuming that most bands change over time, do you feel like style change has been on purpose, or just a natural progression from album to album?

Looking back our albums have always been very eclectic. While I do feel like overall we’ve gotten heavier with each release, I still think this new record offers a variety of styles to the listener. It was really important to write what we wanted to write. We didn’t want to exclude any idea just because it was “Too Heavy” or “Not Heavy Enough.” We wanted these songs to be authentically “Us,” and I believe we accomplished that! This record has some of our heaviest stuff to date, but also features a song that is our attempt a huge 80’s power ballad! 


Touring and finances can put a heavy strain on families. When you’re on tour a lot, what are some of those little moments when you know that God has called you to this and you know it’s worth it? 

Touring can be very difficult. Being in a band these days can be very difficult as well. We all have families and many of us have other jobs we have to juggle while on the road too. It would come as no surprise to many that we don’t make much money in rock n roll ministry. I often say that if we weren’t doing this for the Lord what would be the point? For us, if we didn’t have a reason to do what we do I don’t think we would still be a band after 15 years of doing this. Our God doesn’t NEED The Protest. There are much better bands out there, and besides if we were all silent the rocks would cry out His name! It is a privilege to share the hope we have. 

Moreover, He often shares with us the fruits of the seeds planted (which He doesn’t have to do). He is always showing us those little moments that keep us encouraged. Anytime a concert-goer or listener reaches out to say that our music or something we did or said affected them it’s huge for us. 

Times have changed in regard to record companies and how fans consume music. In your experience, is it essential to be DIY or keep everything in-house to be a successful band these days?

This is a great question and admittedly hard to answer. I’ll start by saying labels can be great! Having a dedicated team that believes in you and handles many things for the artist can be so very helpful. We’ve spent time on a label and it was great! That being said this is probably the best time to have a DIY approach. Any artist has the ability to build a fan base. Social media and streaming services have certainly leveled the playing field. Even on the recording front; some of the best albums are being made in basements! Some may argue that the industry is over-saturated. While this might be the case, I believe that artists have the ability to be in the driver’s seat these days. To me, that is very special. The people that support you are important. Investing in new and old fans alike is huge in my opinion. The best advice I ever received about being in band is to always be genuine and sow good seeds. That will take you a lot farther than you think. 

If a fan says, “I love you guys’ music and I believe in what you’re doing”- what’s the best way for them to support The Protest?

There are many ways to support us! One would be pray. Pray for our safety, for our families, and that we stay focused on the WHY of what we do. Coming to shows and buying merch is always going to be huge for artists as well. In today’s culture following a band on socials and streaming them is also big. 

Thank you, Joshua. Be safe out on the road and best of luck with the new album!

www.theprotestrocks.com

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