Protest the Hero is a Canadian progressive metal band from Whitby, Ontario. Originally named Happy Go Lucky, the band changed their name to Protest the Hero shortly before releasing their debut EP, Search for the Truth, in 2002. In 2005, the band released their first full-length album Kezia on the indie label Underground Operations.

On January 23, 2006, the band signed with Vagrant Records for Kezia's American release on April 4, 2006. Their second full-length album, Fortress was released by Underground Operations in Canada and by Vagrant Records worldwide on January 29, 2008. The band released their third studio album, Scurrilous, on March 22, 2011.

Expressing frustrations with record labels, in January of 2013 the band announced that they would crowdfund their fourth full-length album. The Indiegogo campaign was a runaway success, and the independently-released Volition debuted on October 29, 2013, distributed with the help of Razor & Tie. In October of 2015, the band announced that their fifth release would take the form of a subscription service using Bandcamp entitled Pacific Myth.