The Fall of Troy In the Unlikely Event
by Joe Mis
Staff Writer
In The Unlikely Event is the latest release from the Washington state based trio called The Fall Of Troy. These guys seem to be a band in search of a genre – their music is mostly progressive rock, but contains elements of blues rock, thrash, some screamo, a bit of punk and a tinge of black metal. All of these styles mixed together makes In The Unlikely Event an inconsistent and sometimes jarring listen.
The Fall Of Troy have been around for a number of years, and are veterans of the West Coast music scene. Founding members Thomas Erak (guitar and vocals) and Andrew Forsman (drums) are joined by new member Frank Ene (bass and vocals) on this latest recording. They hit the studio with the intention of keeping their unique sound alive, and they succeeded. Their songs are mostly melodic, but contain some really pounding passages and sudden tempo/tone changes that can easily catch the listener by surprise. Occasionally, their sound seems to jump into some experimental, almost “art rock” dissonances. Erak’s voice has limited range, but he uses it fairly well – except when he switches into his scream and his lyrics become difficult to understand. His guitar is interesting – he can lay down some amazing and unusual riffs (the very close to the bridge solo on the opening “Panic Attack” for one). Ene and Forsman are a very technically capable rhythm section, and both are able to handle the abrupt tempo changes cleanly. Both are comfortable playing slow and moody, and shift over to near manic when called upon.
Lyrically The Fall Of Troy seems to fall into more of the grunge anti-society area, spitting anger at many things. One of the band’s problems as implied earlier is that the lead vocals are at time unintelligible when Erak goes into “screamo” mode, and most of the track “Straight-Jacket Keelhauled” is that way. However when Erak decides to sing the band is very good and very tight. The band comes across as almost punk rock in “Battleship Graveyard”, but mid-song it seems to switch to screamo, then to almost classic rock and back to screamo. Erak displays his solid guitar chops and good clean vocals nicely on “A Classic Case of Transference.” “Single” is much more of a mainstream progressive rock tune with great guitars, a catchy riff and a solid chorus.
The highlight of the album has to be the infectious and bouncy “Empty The Clip, The King Has Been Slain, Long Live The Queen!” – great vocals, good lyrics, incredible musicianship. ”People And Their Lives” is a moody piece that gives Ene and Forsman a chance to show their stuff. “Dirty Pillow Talk” seems to mix in almost every possible rock genre from screamo to guitar-god riffs. “Nobody’s Perfect” is very Coheed & Cambria-like, while “Webs” is an excellent, almost classic rock ballad. “Walk Of Fame” is a very pointed criticism of the Hollywood lifestyle, and “Nature vs. Nurture” sports a smooth groove and an interesting syncopated rhythm line.
In The Unlikely Event is a mixed bag. While fans of art rock will definitely appreciate it in its fullest, this album will probably not find wide appeal with the general listening public due to wide mix of genres and abrupt and jarring style and tempo changes. While almost everyone will find a number of songs enjoyable, most will also find some that aren’t. For the most part the band is melodic, but The Fall Of Troy seems to take tempo changes and style mixing to the extreme, making for a somewhat musically confusing and inconsistent listen. The band is at their best when they stick to a more consistent sound throughout a song. They get some bonus points for technical proficiency, but need to work a bit more on coming up with a unique sound rather than a unique mix of styles. In The Unlikely Event is an interesting listen if you want to check out the cutting edge, but may be beyond the tastes of the average listener.
Label: Equal Vision Records
Web: http://thefalloftroy.com/ , http://www.myspace.com/thefalloftroy , http://www.equalvision.com/artist/The_Fall_of_Troy
Track Listing:
01 – Panic Attack!
02 – Straight-Jacket Keelhauled
03 – Battleship Graveyard
04 – A Classic Case of Transference
05 – Single
06 – Empty The Clip, The King Has Been Slain, Long Live The Queen!
07 – People and Their Lives
08 – Dirty Pillow Talk
09 – Nobody’s Perfect
10 – Webs
11 – Walk of Fame
12 – Nature vs. Nurture
HRH Rating: 7.5/10