| Cover | Artist / Album | Category | Rating | User Rating | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall Of Troy In The Unlikely Event (Equal Vision 2009) | Punk / Emo | N/R | 5/10 |  |
| Fall Of Troy Manipulator (Equal Vision Records 2007) | Punk / Emo | 5/5 | 6.33/10 | |
| Fall Of Troy The Fall Of Troy (Equal Vision Records 2006) | Punk / Emo | 3/5 | 8.75/10 | |
| Fall Of Troy Doppelganger (Equal Vision 2005) | Punk / Emo | 3/5 | 9/10 | |
| Fall Of Troy The Fall Of Troy (lujo) (Lujo 2003) | Punk / Emo | N/R | 0/10 | |
History has proved that every time a prevailing culture grows stagnant, a new artistic uprising takes place in order to wash away the past and look toward the future. For the past seven years Mukilteo, Washington's own The Fall Of Troy has been ignoring fleeting musical and fashion trends as its members have embarked on a quest to cultivate their own unique brand of progressive rock-and that process is culminating with the release of the trio's fourth album In the Unlikely Event (October 6, 2009/Equal Vision). Cinematic in scope and vision, In the Unlikely Event sees the band expanding its sound in every sense of the phrase: the heavy songs are bone-crushing, the melodic passages are instantly memorable and, most importantly, the avant-garde experimentation doesn't overshadow the music's inherent accessibility. In other words, get ready because with In the Unlikely Event, The Fall Of Troy hasn't only reinvented itself, but the band is also hoping to help alter the current musical climate in the process.
"I want to be part of another revolution," explains The Fall Of Troy's guitarist/vocalist Thomas Erak. "I want to see the good bands in this world come together and shift things again. We need another Nirvana, we need another Rage Against The Machine, we need another Bad Brains and At The Drive-In, you know?" While Erak is quick to point out that he's not equating his own band with these aforementioned acts, you can hear all of their influences on In the Unlikely Event. One catalyst for Erak's enthusiasm is the fact that the album is the first The Fall Of Troy recording with new bassist Frank Ene. "Thomas and Andrew were very welcoming of my input," explains Ene. "The recording process was a very organic experience; a plethora of ideas were floating about and I feel like we really captured some great stuff." Forsman confirms the new bassist's sentiment, adding "the formula this time around was for Frank and I to lay down the structure and then Thomas kind of painted over it, so I'm really excited with how it came out."
Recorded with Terry Date (Deftones, Pantera) in Seattle, Washington, In the Unlikely Event was the band's first experience working with a seasoned producer, and the act insists it had a marked effect on the end result. "Terry provided a relaxing atmosphere for us to work in," Ene says when asked what the studio setting was like. "He's a master at what he does and I am very grateful for the time we had in the studio. He was very good at bringing out the best in us," he continues, "and he definitely gave us advice and made suggestions that turned out to be really beneficial for these songs."
The result is an album that unquestionably sounds like The Fall Of Troy, but could also cross into countless other scenes both inside and outside the punk subgenre. In fact, the opener "Panic Attack" (which was written about an actual breakdown Erak suffered in the studio) is a perfect example of the way the band is able to seamlessly switch from melodic passages to head-bang worthy metal-inflected riffs and still keep the structure unique and cohesive. "We're still striving for perfection and I think if you feel like you've already achieved that you shouldn't make music anymore," Erak responds when asked where the band found the creative inspiration for the songs on In the Unlikely Event, adding, "we're never going to stop moving forward." Correspondingly, the disc spans the complete sonic spectrum from the infectious rockers like "Single" to the Black Flag-influenced vitriol of "Straight-Jacket Keelhauled," all while managing to retain the band's rich sense of identity.
Another huge difference on In the Unlikely Event are Erak's vocals, which see the virtuosic guitar player expanding his range in order to bring these songs to a new level both sonically and lyrically. "Obviously the first thing people are going to talk about is that In the Unlikely Event isn't as abrasive and screamy as our other albums," Erak acknowledges. "We're always going to have those elements in our music, but at this point, we want to create songs that mean something to people for more than five minutes... what about five years or five decades?" While most bands are content fitting into a preconceived subgenre, The Fall Of Troy have prided themselves on the fact that they're musical outsiders that don't have any rigid rules when it comes to creating their art-and the fact that they've been embraced on tours alongside everyone from Deftones to Coheed And Cambria is tangible proof of that. "I wouldn't ever want to be pigeonholed into anything," Erak explains. "We live up to our own expectations, we write our own music and no matter what we do it will always sound like The Fall Of Troy."
Ultimately, whether the band is reveling in the impossibly catchy chorus of "Empty The Clip, The King Has Been Slain, Long Live The Queen" or the sweetly syncopated refrain of "Nature Vs. Nurture," In the Unlikely Event inherently sounds like The Fall Of Troy simply because every song is so forward-thinking and innovative. While many of the band's peers are chasing success, the members of The Fall Of Troy are more concerned with creating honest and lasting art-and if the initial reaction to In the Unlikely Event is any indication, those two facts aren't mutually exclusive. "I think this time it's going to take more than one band to catalyze another musical revolution," Erak explains. "The Beatles are gone and Hendrix isn't going to happen again," he summarizes. "I think it's going to take a group of musicians and performers coming together in order to bring real art back to mainstream music, movies, literature and art," he continues. "It's going to take a lot of people to do it, but I truly believe that it will happen in my lifetime and I want to be a part of it."
6/1/08
Daniel Thompson and John Berry recently got the opportunity to sit down with some hardcore gods: Andrew and Frank from the Fall of Troy. Wondering how Frank got into the band? What's the deal with Manipulator? Will the Ghostship demos ever be released? All of those questions and more are answered right here:
Daniel Thompson: I guess we can start off by introducing yourselves and telling everyone what you do for the band.
Mystery Man #1: I'm Frank, I play bass.
Mystery Man #2: I'm Andrew, I play drums.
DT: Okay, you guys released Manipulator last year through Equal Vision Records, how did you guys think people would react to the new album?
Andrew: Well, we hoped that the fans would be supportive. There are a few tracks on there that are definitely a departure from what we had done previously. I at least hope that they'll be supportive and for the most part they have.
DT: What do you say to fans that say negative things about the album?
Andrew: I mean, not everyone is going to like everything so, it's okay (laughs)
DT: What are your plans for 2008?
Frank: We're going to Europe in early June to play some festivals in the UK.
Andrew: Then we're probably going to come back to record some demo tracks, tour a bit more, then hopefully we'll have a new album out by early next year.
DT: I heard you guys were going to re-release Manipulator through Equal Vision. Is there any truth to that?
Andrew: We just re-released Manipulator with a live dvd. Ghostship will come probably some day but I don't know when that'll be. I think it would be cool to do them in between albums and try an online release but we'll see what happens.
DT: What bands do you guys usually listen to while you're traveling?
Andrew: We listen to a lot of Dr. Dre
Frank: We listen to Vampire Weekend a lot, Blonde Redhead is good.
Andrew: Just basically whatever's good.
DT: So Frank, how were you introduced to the band?
Frank: I met them about four or five years ago and just became really good friends with them. One day they gave me a call and asked me if I wanted to play bass and I was like "Uh, are you serious?" It was pretty much that. Simple. No crazy, anything.
Andrew: Yeah that was pretty much it. We met him back in the day, he was tight, and that was pretty much it.
(all laughs)
DT: What are your influences?
Frank: Musically? I mean, I listen to a lot of stuff like I grew up listening to a lot of Motown stuff on my Mom's side and my Dad's African so I listened to those kinds of things through him. I kind of exposed myself to rock on my own though.
Andrew: I was thinking about that the other day actually. There is this band in Seattle and their drummer to me is probably one of the best drummers I've heard. He's really tasteful. I also take a lot from the Beatles, Zepplin, Pink Floyd. I like a lot of classic rock.
Frank: I mean, this band is very unique.
DT: So what bands do you guys like touring with the most and what makes them so special?
Andrew: All of the guys on this tour are really fun. The bands are really diverse and everybody in the bands are actually really cool. Touring with the Deftones was a big thing, I've been a fan of theirs since the 7th grade. Horse the Band is also always a good time too, those guys are nuts. Pretty much everyone we've toured with, we've gotten along with really well.
DT: So, is there anything else you'd like to say to the fans?
Andrew: Thank you guys for your support. You guys blow my mind. I don't know why you guys like us so much but we're definitely glad that you do.
DT: So make sure to check out the Fall of Troy on tour right now and watch out for probably maybe the Ghostship Demos online?
Andrew: Someday, maybe, don't quote me on that (laughs) but I would really like to get them out some day.
DT: Look out for the Fall of Troy on their tour now!
Written By: Sean Collins
Hailing from Washington, the Fall of Troy are one of those bands that you will always and have always hear two varying opinions--never is anyone in the middle ground. Either you are totally in love with them or you are totally hoping they stop making music. They are just one of those bands. Some people will say they can’t stand the levels of which Thomas Erak can take his voice to or there are those people will say that their albums are just plain repetitive (which makes them look unintelligent).
“We’ve got more people listening at this point thann there were before,” so bluntly responds Andrew Forsman, the man behind the drums, addressing this off the bat. And it’s true; obviously, they are doing something right, regardless of what he addressed as “not selling as many albums the first week then last time.” On the other hand and record sales notwithstanding, the new album is a gem. Manipulator is a picture perfect example of maturity, growth, and musical exploration. No stone is left unturned as the unusually relaxed trio experiment with new styles and new dimensions.
“We definitely wanted to explore a little more of the song-writing aspect than just putting a bunch of crazy riffs together. I mean, obviously, we’re getting older always. I think--definitely, we didn’t want to do the same album we did last time,” said Forsman.
All this is expected when you are working with a producer that is Matt Bayles. That man has produced some of the most epic albums in the hardcore scene. “Working with him was great, he’s just an awesome dude…he won’t let you suck…when we heard he was interested, we were really happy.” And all signs seem to be pointing to him doing their next album, Phantoms on the Horizon. “I think we’re going to do our next album with him and he’ll probably be a bit more involved in the songwriting.”
For the confused, yes, Andrew confirmed, Phantoms on the Horizon, is the next album. When questioned about the rumor, “No, it’s going to be the next album,” Forsman stated. “We’ve done some demos of those songs but I think we’re going to go through and change them up a little.” The plan is to redo the Ghostship Demos and “we’ll probably end up writing a couple more songs, we’ve been writing a little bit right before we left [for the Deftones tour].”
No longer is this band the new kid on the block. Fear is beyond and beneath them as is nervousness and anxiety. They chuckle at questions about their hiatus, saying, “I don’t mind it, we did it…people are going to want to know about…” And to the rumors and their creators: “I try to ignore mostly but it’s funny cause I know what’s really going on.”
Be sure to catch the Fall of Troy on tour with Horse the Band as they hit up the US, Europe, Australia, and Japan in 2007.
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