The Fall of Troy is a three-piece band from Mukilteo, Washington. The band consists of Thomas Erak (lead vocals, guitars, keyboards), Andrew Forsman (drums, percussion), Frank "Black" Ene (bass, backup vocals)
The band is characterized on their albums by technical, polyrhythmical instrumentation, by the alternating vocals of Erak and former bassist Tim Ward, extended techniques, and Erak's vocal extremes (clean vocals to harsh, shrill screams). All three founding members came from the band The 30 Years War, which they were in when they were all about 17 years old.
History
The Thirty Years War
In his late freshman year of high school, Erak provided vocals and guitar for the band Tribune. The band recorded one EP but disbanded by mid-2002. Munro and Erak then started a four-piece hardcore band under the name The Thirty Years War. The band was rounded out by Andrew Forsman, who played drums. The group had originally intended to have a much more mellow sound than the sound that developed. Erak stayed on guitar and vocals, Munro moved to second guitar, and bass and drums were filled by Ward and Forsman respectively. During the life of The Thirty Years War, two EPs were independently released, entitled Martyrs Among the Casualties and Live at the Paradox.
Just as The Thirty Years War were about to go into the studio to record again, Munro quit, stating that school commitments rendered him unable to continue playing with the band. After Munro left, the band changed its name to The Fall of Troy using the same method with which they had chosen their previous name: opening a history textbook and pointing at a random location until they found a selection they liked.
Self-Titled Era
In May 2003 the band entered The Hall of Justice in Seattle, Washington with producer Joel M. Brown to record their first full length. They were all about 17 and a half years of age, and the album was recorded in one take over their spring break in one week. The album was released on November 4, 2003 (see 2003 in music) on Lujo Records, and reissued on August 22, 2006 (see 2006 in music) by the band's current label, Equal Vision Records.
The band also recorded their independently released the Ghostship EP shortly after the release of the self-titled, in 2004. Early versions of the demos included keyboards by Jesse Erikson of Mukilteo, WA and had no vocals. The demos on the Ghostship EP; Part I, IV, and V, showcase the Phantom on the Horizon concept album, while "Macaulay McCulkin" is on 2005's Doppelgänger.
Doppelgänger
The band was invited to submit a new demo for Equal Vision, which saw the band hooking up with Ghostship producers Gordon Edward Greenwood III and Dustin Kochel once again. The resulting two tracks were "Tom Waits" and "Laces Out, Dan." Equal Vision used these tracks as promos for the yet to be recorded album.
In March 2005 the band entered the studio to record their second album, titled Doppelgänger. It was released on August 16, 2005 on compact disc and vinyl, which had alternate artwork. The band started touring extensively from the release of Doppelgänger through the first quarter of 2006.
"F.C.P.R.E.M.I.X." was released as the only single of the album, and has led to some recent mainstream success. The song was featured in Saint's Row for Xbox 360 and in MLB 2K6 for Xbox, Playstation 2, Gamecube, PSP and Xbox 360. The song is also featured as an unlockable bonus track in the 2007 rhythm game, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock.
Manipulator
In mid-December 2006, the band entered the studio with producer Matt Bayles (Minus the Bear, Botch, Pearl Jam, Mastodon) to begin work on their third full-length album Manipulator. The album achieved 4 out of 5 K's in Kerrang! magazine and 7 out of 10 from Metal Hammer magazine.
Tim Ward, former bassist of The Fall of Troy
The album features Nouela Johnston of the Seattle band Mon Frere contributing vocal and keyboard parts to many songs. The album includes the previously written, "Seattlantis," and mostly all new material, including songs such as, "Problem!?," "Cut Down All the Trees and Name the Streets After Them," and a song with the palindromic title, "A Man. A Plan. A Canal. Panama." Before its release date the band stated that the first single off of Manipulator would be "Cut Down All the Trees and Name the Streets After Them," which was also the first song released to the public on the band's MySpace. The music video for this song was released August 8, 2007 , also on the band's MySpace. The latest single, "Ex-Creations," live video was released on January 16, 2008 on MySpace as well.
In late November 2007, during their tour with Coheed and Cambria, Timothy took a break from the band. It was later confirmed by the band that he had left the band due to stress. He was replaced by Frank Ene of the band ...Of Stalwart Fads.
The band went on tour spring 2008 with Foxy Shazam, The Dear Hunter and Tera Melos.
Phantom on the Horizon
On November 28, 2008, Phantom on the Horizon was released. The EP features all five Ghostship parts, with interludes. Erak has described the album as "one song separated by tracks." The album will be played in its entirety on their West Coast and East Coast tours, followed by some "deep cuts" from the band's catalogue each night of the tour. Only 3,000 copies have been pressed (despite the misprint reverse side of the Phantom on the Horizon CD casing numbering the CD's out of a total of 3,300) and are being sold online and at shows. After the 1500 physical copies held aside for online ordering sold out on December 1, an MP3 version of the album became available online.[1]
In the Unlikely Event
On February 28, 2009, The Fall of Troy confirmed on their website and their MySpace page that they were entering the studio that week with producer Terry Date to record the follow-up to Manipulator, which will include "a dozen or so songs" and should be in stores this summer.[2] It was revealed on April 30, 2009 that Rody Walker, lead vocalist for the progressive metal band, Protest The Hero, would make a guest appearance on the record.[3]
The Fall of Troy released their fourth studio album, In the Unlikely Event, on October 6, 2009. 12 tracks have been confirmed for the album. The band stated that on August 27, 2009, they would release a studio recorded version of one of the new songs on the album; as promised, "Panic Attack!" was released through their mailing list.[4] Pre-orders for the new album also went up on August 27 and can be made through merchnow.com. It was announced through the Merchnow newsletter on 09/25 that Deluxe Versions of "In The Unlikely Event" are sold out. However, Merchnow will run a raffle. All pre-orders of the albums are entries and 10 people will win a free upgrade to the deluxe version
Currently, the band is on touring with the headlining Thursday and La Dispute to promote their new album, which they have been selling since the beginning of the tour.
Band members
Current
Former
Discography
Studio albums
Extended plays
| Year |
Album details |
| 2004 |
Ghostship EP
- Released: 2004
- Label: self-released
|
| 2008 |
Phantom on the Horizon
- Released: November 28, 2008
- Label: Equal Vision Records
|
Videography
- "Tom Waits (Demo Version)" (Equal Vision, March 11, 2005)[citation needed]
- "Whacko Jacko Steals the Elephant Man's Bones" (Equal Vision, October 21, 2005)[citation needed]
- "F.C.P.R.E.M.I.X." (Equal Vision, May 26, 2006)[6]
- "Cut Down All the Trees and Name the Streets After Them" (Equal Vision, August 8, 2007)[6]
- "Ex-Creations" (Equal Vision, January 16, 2008)
References
External links
Official Message Board no longer existent.
- Interviews
