THE FALL OF TROY

A friend of mine who doesn't listen to any (traditional) prog whatsoever recommended this band to me. I was kind of skeptical given his tastes, but I did some research on them and figured they would probably suit my tastes and decided to give them a chance. And to be honest, I'm quite glad I did. They're a post-hardcore/heavy prog band that really has some lightning-speed chops, especially in guitarist/lead vocalist Thomas Erak.

As I said, the music on here is a mix of post-hardcore and heavy prog in the vein of The Mars Volta. Throw in the technicality of, say, Protest the Hero, and you'll kind of get an idea of what this music is like. One quickly learns that The Fall of Troy really only have two speeds most of the time: off and as fast as possible. They also love using polyrhythms in their music, and being a musician and fan of much in extreme and experimental metal, this is an element of the music I particularly enjoy. While I do enjoy the band, this album isn't the reason I do. The music really doesn't have too much variation except for slowing the tempo down occasionally (F.C.P.S.I.T.S. G.E.P.G.E.P.G.E.P. for example, which would be one of the four songs on here that would be remixed and re-released on their second album). The music on this release is also not fully matured in comparison to what the band would create in future albums. There are a few good songs on here, but not enough for me to give this any more than 3 stars. Start elsewhere with the band, preferably with their next album, Doppelganger, or their fantastic EP Phantom on the Horizon. Barely 3 stars and this is really only recommended to those who are already fans of the band.