Band Spotlight: The Fall Of Troy

Years Active: 2002- Present

Line-Up:
Thomas Erak- Lead Vocals, Guitar
Frank Black (not the Pixies guy!)- Bass, Backup Vocals
Andrew Forsman- Drums
Tim Ward (former member)- Bass

Label: Equal Vision Records

Genre: Experimental Rock (Many would say Progressive Metal or Mathcore)

History: The Band formed way back in good old 2002 under the banner "The 30 Years War." (Ahh, you gotta love those History names!) All of the members were 17 years old upon this inception. 2003 would see the release of their eponymous debut album, The Fall Of Troy on Lujo Records. The Band then signed to Equal Vision Records, which has proven to garner them even greater attention and success. The band has achieved a smidgen of mainstream success with their 2005 single,"F.C.P.R.E.M.I.X." The song appeared in various video games including Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock. FOT still continue to release albums and they even have two upcoming releases: Double E.P. Album (2008) and Phantom on the Horizon (2009).

Musical Style: The band combines elements of Progressive Rock with insane heavy metal. Singer, Thomas Erak goes from singing soothing, poppy harmonies to brutal, shrilling shouts. Even though most of FOT's music is extremely heavy and unrelenting, there is also quite a bit of pop thrown in the bag, especially on their latest release, Manipulator. Drummer, Andrew Forsman claims,"
...a mix of staying true to our punk rock roots whilst pushing new musical ground. We definitely wanted a more poppy sound; we love good pop and we wanted to explore what we could do with that kind of sound. Other than that we wanted to make the songs flow a little better; instead of riff after riff after riff we wanted something that would be more cohesive regardless of the specific style." Another aspect of their music that sets them aside from many of their contemporaries is their bizarre sense of humor. Nearly every single song by the group has a strange, frequently long title, that references random elements of pop culture (i.e. Macaulay Culkin and Ace Ventura).

Best Album: Manipulator (2007)

Top Songs:
"Rockstar Nailbomb"
"I Got This Symphony Goin''
"Act One, Scene One"
"F.C.P.R.E.M.I.X."
"You Got A Death Wish, Johnny Traunt"
"Laces Out, Dan!"
"Whacko Jacko Steals The Elephant Man's Bones"
"Tom Waits"
"Macaulay Culkin"
"Cut Down All the Tress and Name the Streets After Them"
"The Dark Trail"
"Oh! The Casino!"
"Shhhh!!! If You're Quiet, I'll Show You a Dinosaur"
"Caught Up"
"A Man A Plan A Canal Panama" (look at it backwards, hahaaaaahaaaaa!)

Influences: King Crimson, Yes, At The Drive-In, The Blood Brothers, Weezer, Aphex Twin, Saves The Day, The Beatles, and Hip Hop Music.

Influenced: The Number Twelve Looks Like You, Dance Gavin Dance, and Silhouette Rising.

Why You Should Listen To The Fall Of Troy: Where else can you find songs about Tom Waits, Michael Jackson, Macaulay Culkin, The Elephant Man, and dinosaurs... all on one album?! I rest my case.

Grade: A- 91," Whacko Jacko" is their greatest gem, imho; Erak sounds like he's completey fucked and isolated beyond human nature, and yet somehow I can relate to it. And for you non-screaming fans check out "Oh! The Casino!" one of the best modern pop songs and certainly Top 40 worthy imho, but who cares?