365 Days of Metal: A Trojan Horse

Day 105

The Fall of Troy - Doppelgänger

Band Origin:  Mukilteo, Washington, USA
Genre: Mathcore / Post-Hardcore / Progressive
Label: Equal Vision
Running Time: 44 minutes 
Release Date: August 16, 2005

Best Part: The closing track Macaulay McCulkin is a good rounding of this record and has a great instrumental exit.

Favorite Tracks: Mouths Like Sidewinder Missiles, I Just Got This Symphony Goin', F.C.P.R.E.M.I.X., We Better Learn How to Hotwire a Uterus, Macaulay McCulkin, and the Hol[]y Tape

Grade: 4.0

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Doppelgänger in way more than 20 words or less: 

The second full-length album by the three man Washington crew got a popularity boost in thanks to tracks being featured in popular mediums, but their blend of trippy, discordant mathcore instrumentation and highly inflected vocals are worthy enough of a listen.

The Band: 

The Fall of Troy is a three piece band from Washington that over the course of their evolution have dabbled in a sound structure that mixes together elements of punk rock, mathcore, post-hardcore and progressive rock. Their music is often akin to shifting from a cleaner, almost pop oriented vibe due in part to the clean vocals of guitarist and vocalist Thomas Erak, to one of discordant guitar flourishes, hardcore screams and down-turned beats. The band has continued to evolve their musical style over the years, never settling for one specific style or structure and have release four full-length albums each of a varying nature.

The Fall of Troy's other releases include: The Fall of Troy (2003), Manipulator (2007), and In the Unlikely Event (2009)

Jay's Take on Doppelgänger: 

I'm not afraid to admit that the main reason I even thought of putting up The Fall of Troy today is because someone asked me a question akin to a certain song that appeared on an old version of the sometimes loved, sometimes hated Guitar Hero and a scuffle may have occured. The track in question someone was asking me about was F.C.P.R.E.M.I.X. which appeared as a bonus track on GH2. That fact aside after the seed had been planted in my brain I went digging through my iTunes playlist to find the two albums by the band that I actually did have, as I was curious to see what else the band had to offer a long time ago. One of the main reasons that drew me into The Fall of Troy was their odd blend of discordant, technical instrumentation and the vocal work of Erak who gives me the urge to listen to The Mars Volta because he makes me think of Cedric Bixler-Zavala. His high, clean passages are frequent and the cornerstone of the group and album, but in moments of heavy discord morph into high-pitched piercing screams that fit the more insane moments of the album, together with the deeper backing vocals of former bassist Tim Ward. The instrumentation on Doppelgänger is always dynamic and flows well according to the particular 'mood' of the current moment, whether it's a more melodic and clean passage, a noisy flourish of high-pitched guitar wailing or a heavy rush to finish off a track. 

Sample of the Day: 

 



- J