Protocol Hit All the Right Notes with Crushing Debut Album ‘Friar's Lantern'

The Mumbai prog-rock band deliver a spellbinding record filled with introspection and high-quality musicianship

- DAVID BRITTO

If you must pick out one flaw in Mumbai prog-rock outfit Protocol, it is that they make us wait way too long until they have new music out. However, we’re not complaining any longer as it’s definitely been worth the wait. The group – who last released their anguished and emotional single “An Honest Conversation” in 2018 – are now out with a smashing new eight-track debut album called Friar’s Lantern.

Towards the end of last year, the band drafted in bassist Rajiv Menon for Vivian D’Souza. Menon would join an already stellar lineup with guitarists Sandesh Rao and Desikan Gopalan, keyboardist Rahul Kannan, drummer Nachiket Karekar and vocalist Shweta Venkatramani. “Our sound has changed quite a bit from our 2016 single ‘Alive,’ especially since Rahul came in on keys. And the writing process has also become a lot more organic and cohesive, as opposed to one person composing the entire song and other members writing on top of it,” says Venkatramani.

The vocalist also explains that the group widened their influences and soaked in as much as they could from guitar-driven prog-rock bands like U.K. outfit Monuments and Indo-American group Skyharbor to atmospheric bands such as English prog metallers TesseracT and Haken as well as their Polish counterparts Riverside.