Protomartyr - Ultimate Success Today [2020]

 

Ultimate Success Today is bleak and eerily prescient. The seemingly optimistic title of Protomartyr's fifth album is in jest, diametrically opposed to its grim content. The album name makes a murmured appearance on opener "Day Without End", a song in which frontman Joe Casey paints a picture of imminent death. Although there is nothing even relatively close to a joyful celebration of success on Ultimate Success Today, that isn't anything the Protomartyr fans would expect, and more importantly, it's an exceptional album.

The production of Ultimate Success Today is extremely crisp, and at its most hectic, the band is an enthralling attack from all sides. Greg Ahee's guitar playing is varied and consistently excellent. Regardless of whether he is conjuring ominous miasmas or ripping through pointed visceral riffs, he always sounds great. The explosive hook of "Tranquilizer" and the dark aggressive guitar work in the second half of "I Am You Now" are both extremely impressive. Drummer Alex Leonard and Bassist Scott Davidson are also fantastic. The rhythm section shines in each track, but is particularly good in the more rapid moments like the desolate and descriptive "June 21" or "Processed By The Boys".

"Processed By The Boys" puts the greatness of one of the key elements of Protomartyr on full display - Casey's lyricism. The song gets at the insidious nature of American state-funded violence: the police and ICE immediately come to mind. Casey's words are riveting and passionately delivered. That the striking opening lines would take on a new overt meaning in light of the recent global pandemic is not something the lyricist could have predicted, but it does give the song a scarily ominous power.

When the ending comes, is it gonna run
At us like a wild-eyed animal?
A foreign disease washed upon the beach
A dagger plunged from out of the shadows

A cosmic grief beyond all comprehension
All good laid low by outside evil
Against belief, a riot in the streets
A giant beast turning mountains into black holes

Even though Ultimate Success Today can be relentless, the last song, "Worm In Heaven" shows it can also be mellow in a beautifully downtrodden way. Death started the album in "Day Without End" and closes it in "Worm In Heaven", which captures Casey brilliantly ruminating on his passing and its aftermath. It's the closest to a ballad a post-punk band like Protomartyr can get, but "Worm In Heaven", just like the rest of Ultimate Success Today is a stunning achievement.