'The Fall of Troy is everything you wish your band could be - younger, faster, louder, and well'better looking. These are the facts, but don't let it get you down. You're a snowflake, unique in your own way.' This is taken from the Equal Vision Records website.
With a press release like the above, a band is sure to have female (and male) fans swooning. Let's face it The Fall of Troy is that much better looking then us regular folk. In today's pop culture climate this statement alone is enough justification for impressionable teens to buy into regurgitated riffs, stop and start tech parts, and repetitive harmonies. That is what The Fall of Troy brings to the table on there second full-length and Equal Vision debut, Doppelganger.
It's not all bad though. Within Doppelganger there are some great musical ideas. It's just sad, however, that the musicians involved had to apply them to such an unoriginal band. The highlight musically, and what most people will notice outright is guitarist Thomas Erak's noodley and spacey guitar lines. On the opening riffs of 'F.C.P.R.E.M.I.X' and 'Mouths like Sidewinder Missiles,' Erak displays fret board gymnastics while holding vocal duties, only to fall short when the song gets to the verse and chorus, falling into chunky palm-muting and mandatory screaming. Bassist Tim Ward keeps the pace for most of the album, and adds more then most bassist playing this style of music do, while drummer Andrew Forsman knocks out the mandatory syncopated stop and start beats.
The musicians, albeit talented and young, fail to bring enough originality to the plate to differentiate themselves from the lot of bands playing this singing/screaming genre-bending style. The Fall of Troy while at some points coming across as a younger poppier Yes, often times come closer to being a Coheed and Cambria tribute band. Add in some breakdowns they heard Botch play - they were from Washington too you know - and you have something like Doppelganger. To me it sounds like a more accessible, mainstream version of Hot Cross.
Though even with the comparisons to older more mature bands, their age and influences transcend too much on Doppelganger. With their age (which Equal Vision has shoved down the throat of everyone checking these boys out) comes immaturity. Not to say that their music is completely banal, but with age comes original vision and a sound that is refined. Doppelganger is certainly not a bad album either. The Fall of Troy certainly bring some great original ideas to the table that when added to the formula for what's popular today, fall short of originality. With time though I think The Fall of Troy could create a record that stands on it's own without the obligatory breakdowns and pop-laden choruses.
