ANF Les Mureaux

The Fall of Troy

The Fall of Troy is a three-piece Progressive rock band from Mukilteo, Washington. The band consists of Thomas Erak (lead vocals, guitar), Andrew Forsman (drums), and Frank Black (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 a harsh, shrill scream). All three founding members came from the band The 30 Years War, which they were in when they were all about 17 years old

The Fall of Troy is currently managed by Velvet Hammer Music & Management Group along side System of a Down, Scars on Broadway, Taproot, Alice in Chains, Deftones, Achozen and Cypress Hill.

History

Thirty Years War

Erak live in 2007

Erak began in his late freshman year of high school when he was in the band Tribune with himself on guitar and vocals. The band recorded an EP but broke up by early senior year. Munro and Erak then started a four-piece hardcore band under the name The Thirty Years War. Erak was friends with Andrew Foresman, whom who was in drumline with. The two had planned on forming a mellower-sounduing group then what turned out. a Erak stayed on guitar and vocals, Munro moved to second guitar, and bass and drums were filled by Ward and Forsman. During the life of The 30 Years War, two EPs were independently released, entitled Martyrs Among the Casualties and Live at the Paradox.

Just as The 30 Years War was about to go into the studio to make another recording, 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 picked their previous name: opening a history textbook and pointing at a random location until they found a selection they liked.

Self-titled

Main article: The Fall of Troy (album)

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 contained all original songs, excluding "Reassurance Rests in the Sea," which was a Thirty Years War song. 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 and had no vocals. The demos on the Ghostship EP; Part I, IV, and V, showcase the upcoming Phantom on the Horizon concept album, while "Macaulay McCulkin" is on 2005's Doppelgänger.

Doppelgänger

Main article: Doppelgänger (The Fall of Troy album)

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. On April 30, 2006 at The Basement in Columbus, Ohio, an angry Erak stated "This is the last song The Fall of Troy will ever play together". Due to this, rumors arose that the band were splitting up. However, an official statement was released by the management on the official Fall of Troy message board stating that the band has not split up. In the December issue of Alternative Press, Erak said of the break-up rumors, "I think they're funny. To me it feels like we're just getting started."

"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 because of Chariot from IRC. The song was featured in Saint's Row for Xbox 360 and in MLB 2K6 for Xbox, Playstation 2, Gamecube, PlayStation Portable and Xbox 360. The song is also featured as an unlockable bonus track in the 2007 rhythm game, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock.

Current

Main article: Manipulator (The Fall of Troy album)

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, Manipulator. The album has now been released, achieving 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". The band has stated that the first single off of Manipulator will 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 "Cut Down All the Trees and Name the Streets After Them" was released on August 8, 2007 on the band's MySpace. The latest single, Ex-Creations, live video was released on January 16, 2008 on MySpace as well.

The band will be going on tour spring 2008 with Foxy Shazam, The Dear Hunter and Tera Melos. This is what they had to say on a recent myspace blog:

"The Fall of Troy will be heading out on their first nationwide headline tour since the release of Manipulator last May. This will most likely be the last time the band tours the States (and a 'lil bit O' Canada) before they pack it in for the summer and begin working on a new record. Joining them on tour will be The Dear Hunter, Foxy Shazam, and Tera Melos. Tickets go on-sale this Friday (Feb 15th), so check back for more info and make sure you don't miss this one. It's going to be one hell of a show!"

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 Black of the band ...Of Stalwart Fads.

On May 7th 2008, The Fall of Troy closed down their forums, upsetting many dedicated fans and "forum regulars". When the link to the board is clicked this message appears:

Hello friends, and foes...

After quite an interesting run, we've decided along with many others that this forum really isn't conducive to our band in any way. What was once a good way for us to keep in touch with friends/fans is now a place of nothing but sarcasm, sexism, racism, and just plain ignorance. We don't believe any of those things are legit, or even funny in the least bit. We apologize to all of you that have remained positive and enlightening, but this board has had it's time. We'll miss the forums, but will remember the positive times and things that it brought.

Sincerely, Thomas, Frank, and Andrew

Unreleased material

Upcoming studio album

Thomas has stated that their record label may not allow them to do two separate EPs, and a new blog points toward the next release being a full-length instead of an EP. The band confirmed that "Battleship Graveyard" would be on the new record. Other tentative titles include "The Vomiting Winter" and "Straight-Jacket Keelhauled." Thomas talked about their upcoming album on ultimate-guitar.com in April 2008:

"...It’s going to be going back to the avant-garde feel of the band that the first two records had. Manipulator was an experiment on how many different directions we could go on one record. This one is going to be a cohesive, challenging, and for lack of a better word, epic record from our band. It’s going to bring us to a whole new level. I think there is going to be lots of chaos in the music, but definitely I think the vocals are going to be stepped up – probably times five or ten. [...] We’re getting older. I think we’re kind of getting over screaming a little bit. I know I’ve become a lot more confident of a singer in the last year of my life. My girlfriend is a jazz singer from Stockholm, so being around her a lot in the last 6 months has really lifted me to a new level with singing. I’m trying to learn as much as I can from her about it. She went to the LA Music Academy for a year and was like a really high-ranked singer. [...] Frank sings, too. Tim never sang. Tim was just a jet engine, and he was great for that. Frank has got a great scream, too. I mean, I’m not saying that we’re turning our back on screaming and that aspect of our band at all. I think the idea of song structure will be a little more prominent now. I think we’ll actually have things that will be able to get stuck in your head or maybe be around for five years instead of five minutes."

On Sunday, September 14th, A demo was released of the new song "The Vomiting Winter" over 107.7 The End.

Phantom on the Horizon

Erak has stated that the Ghostship demos will be re-recorded and released as Phantom on the Horizon, but the release date is unknown, possibly 2009 or later. (The band has recently shown much animosity towards the speculation of this record. Erak states on the band's forums: "We're kinda bored of hearing questions and shit about it. It's not in our minds and it's not gonna be for quite some time. Maybe when people stop obsessing we'll actually find interest in it again, but for now, there is NO news on it at all.") The album may feature eight tracks. The storyline consists of Erak's Spanish galleon meeting a ghost ship from another dimension, and hell ensuing. He has described the album as "one song separated by tracks", much like that of Between the Buried and Me's "Colors" album or The Mars Volta's "Cassandra Gemini".

Erak stated the following like in March/April of 2007 on the now defunct forums:

"Phantom On The Horizon"

Chapter 1 "Introverting Dimensions"
Chapter 2 "A Strange Conversation"
Chapter 3 "Nostalgic Mannerisms"
Chapter 4 "Enter The Black Demon"
Chapter 5 "The Walls Bled Lust"
Chapter 6 "Forebodingly Lost"
Chapter 7 "Semi-Fiction"

That is all there is right now... parts 3 and 6 have never been recorded before.
I will not release the name of the record or anything about the story at this time.
We are planning on writing 2 or even 3 more parts to add to the story,

the songs will be re-written, re-conceptualized, and re-constructed."

The Number Twelve Looks Like You split EP

Erak has also stated in interviews that the band will be doing a split EP with mathcore band The Number Twelve Looks Like You, sometime before Phantom on the Horizon. However, in a recent interview with AbsolutePunk.net, The Fall of Troy said they want this to happen but they doubt it will anytime soon, because Eyeball Records will not hand over the rights to do the split with Equal Vision Records. However, on September 25, 2007 Eyeball Records addressed the issue in a statement stating they were unaware of a split EP between the bands. The former manager of the band (The Number Twelve) is also believed to have sparked insight into the situation. Until further notice, the project is halted.

Discography

• The Fall of Troy - November 4, 2003 (Lujo)
• Ghostship EP - 2004 (independently released)
• Doppelgänger - August 16, 2005 (Equal Vision)
• Manipulator - May 1, 2007 (Equal Vision)

Videography

• "Tom Waits (Demo Version)" (Equal Vision, March 11, 2005)
• "Whacko Jacko Steals the Elephant Man's Bones" (Equal Vision, October 21, 2005)
• "F.C.P.R.E.M.I.X." (Equal Vision, May 26, 2006)
• "Cut Down All the Trees and Name the Streets After Them" (Equal Vision, August 8, 2007)
• "Ex-Creations" (Equal Vision, January 16, 2008)

External links

• Official site
• The Fall of Troy on MySpace
• Equal Vision Records
• The Fall of Troy on Velvet Hammer site

Interviews

• The Fall of Troy Interview June 24th, 2006
• The Fall of Troy Interview February 2nd, 2007
• The Fall of Troy Interview October 26th, 2007
• The Fall of Troy Interview April 22nd, 2008