The Corps - Fractured Protocol (2024)

     When The Corps officially announced that Vol 1. of the band had come to an end via a social media post of January 26 of this year, my heart nearly stopped. With the news that founding members Andrew Pedersen (guitars/vocals) and Ronnie Ellis (bass/vocals) were hanging up their rings and giving up a life of crime fighting, my mind (and many of yours no doubt) went to some pretty dark places. Who was going to defend Sector 2814? And  what could this possibly mean for a band that has, at this point, become a punk rock institution in the city of Vancouver. Was I overreacting? More on that in a second,  but at that moment in time,  all I kept seeing was the Death in the Family graphic novel cover that fucking haunted me as a 9 year old comic book reader.  A few days later, and several fingernails shorter, I slowly creaked out of the fetal position I’d been living in with the news that Vol. 2 of The Corps had already begun to take shape, with guitarist Morgan Farrell (Blacked Out, ATD) and bassist Dave Derksen (ATD) quietly slipping into the space metal rings. For those that have ever questioned music’s ability to rouse someone from a bout of depression, I can assure you, the announcement had me putting Grandpa Joe's golden ticket grubbing ass to shame. I smiled at the thought of all the new shows. I smiled wider at the thought of new music. After all, it’d already been nearly six years since the release of the bands last full length, Tales From 2814 . In typical  fashion, it turns out that The Corps aren’t the heroes we deserve, but the heroes we need—they already had a new LP in the can. WITH the original lineup. Pinch me.   

     With masks adorned and rings glowing, The Corps make their stoic return with Fractured Protocol, a 13 track journey into the bowels of DC comic-dom. If their first two EPs In Brightest Day (2015) and In Blackest Night (2016) are the origin stories and debut LP Tales From 2814 is finding their footing as widely known and respected hero(es), then Fractured Protocol is an album that represents the band as wisened, battle-scarred and at the absolute height of their powers. From just the opening several minutes, Fractured Protocol is audible testament to the strides a band can make in the years of grinding in the dirt together. It’s still undeniably The Corps: earworm riffs and breakneck speed paired with unrivaled (and even more ear-wormy) vocal melodies—but the band makes some tremendous creative leaps with this sophomore LP. Opening with  ‘Tragedy’, an absolute ripper of a  track that runs a lean and mean 0:45 seconds,  this is The Corps by way of the warehouse scene in Batman V. Superman (directors cut obviously). They aren’t fucking around. As Dan Garrison so aptly barks in the guitar wailing follow-up, ‘Dogs of War’:  “my bite, it leaves mark”. And indeed, this grizzled foursome have their teeth out across Fractured Protocol’s 33 minute run time. There are no ‘The Pocket’s here folks. Guitars whine and lash at a kinetic pace that few outside the likes of Barry Allen could hope to match.  Check out the belting one-two punch of ‘Buried on a Sunday’ and ‘Born on a Monday’ which segue so seamlessly together, you’ll barely have time to catch your breath. Or early album highlight, ‘Thrown Away’  which features a masterful mid song simmer-to-boil moment that the band wisely employ elsewhere on the album. (‘Jonah Hex’, I’m looking at you specifically  but more on that in a minute.) And I’m still nursing a wicked bout of whiplash from the slingshot opening riffs of ‘New Gods’. If this track doesn’t incite a circle pit when played live, I’m retiring from shows. If you’re starting to see a trend here, it’s that guitarists Dan Garrison and Andrew Pedersen are in top form, creating one memorable series of riff(s) after another. Pedersen specifically, flexes his axe muscles with some ripper solos throughout. Swan songs don’t come much sweeter than this. Not to be outdone, Ronnie Ellis nails a craterous superhero landing  on bass guitar. He’s shown some flash in the past, but he’s on another level entirely here. Feast your ears on those basslines in ‘Thrown Away’ and ‘Personal Responsibility’. Reliable as always, drummer Dan Stenning holds the rhythm section down with another thunderous but tactile drum performance. Simply put, Fractured Protocol sees these four supes LOCKED in.

  I’d alluded earlier about the creative strides The Corps have made over the years, but they make some very bold choices here. The above mentioned ‘Jonah Hex’ is a sizable gamble stylistically  but it pays off in a big way, culminating into (what THIS listener thinks anyway) one of the best songs the band has ever written. Re-remploying that simmer to boil tactic they’ve used since the early days of ‘Alan’, ‘Hex’ meanders into bluesy, western like territories, but still keeps a diamond hard punk rock edge. It's easily the most diverse song on the album (‘Personal Responsibility’ notwithstanding) and also one of the most aggressive. But as much blood as the band draws over these 13 tracks, they’re always at the ready to employ a soothing salve of delightful vocal melody. Fractured Protocol is quite possibly the most endearing front to back vocal performance(s) of the bands 10+ year career. Garrison has always had the magic touch, but he rolls out an extra layer of velvet for this one. The harmonies are just exquisite. ‘Buried on a Sunday’, ‘Born on a Monday’, ‘The Long Winter’, ‘Riddle Me This’….fuck it, ALL of it. Few albums have created such a juxtaposition of wanting to crash violently into another body, but also swing your arm around them and belt out a verse/chorus or two.

Of course, none of this would matter if the record didn’t SOUND great. And boy , does it. The production/mixing/mastering by Tim Creviston (who also handled these duties on the excellent From Oblivion EP in 2022) is sublime. It’s fitting I suppose, as The Corps have truly reached the pinnacle of Vancouver punk rock hierarchy with Fractured Protocol. I’ll be sad to see Andrew and Ronnie leaving the fold, but the future of The Corps is bright with Vol. 2 moving forward. What a jump off point this incantation of the band will have with this release. It’s rare that a punk rock album will disrupt my Top 15 list at years end, but I can assure you that Fractured Protocol will be on it. If this album doesn’t help launch the band into the stratosphere, then I’m quitting MUSIC for good.

6.5/7.0

Standout Tracks: ‘Thrown Away’, ‘Jonah Hex’, The Long Winter’, ‘New Gods’