DOPPELGÄNGER

It's easy to miss The Fall of Troy in the steady stream of metalesque prog-outfits out there. When discussing music with fellow metal-lovers I'm surprised to find that a rather few of them have heard this treat of a band. Well, I say band, but to me they are pretty much this album. Where all the other albums have been sketchy and sometimes downright mediocre, this one hits the mark in all the right places.

The music on Doppelgänger(and of TFoT) can be described as something like Mars Volta on amphetamine. It's wild, it's intense and sometimes almost atonal. Thomas Erak's guitar work is very imaginative and fun to listen to; this coming from a guy who generally dislike guitar driven music. He plucks, strums and sweeps his way through the songs at a breakneck tempo, but unlike other guitar players of his extremely high standard, the songs never suffer from that fact, never torturing you with endless screeching solos that make your ears bleed.Everything on Doppelgänger has a place and a purpose.

The level of musicianship on the album is superb, with the bass actually taking a very prominent role in the mixing. The band being a trio does a lot for the overall sound and feel of the music; keeping the music from becoming to ecstatic, grounding the sound a bit.

Production is also something that must be mentioned, high lighted and elevated on this album. In an age of polish upon polish upon polish it's so great to hear production that keep the edges in the sound picture. Where their other albums focused on a more bland, main streamed production, Doppelgänger stands out as rough and gritty, something that helps the music a ton, as the open feel of the mixing gives the very hysteric songs room to breathe.

What makes me want to recommend this album, unlike their other works, is that I think that this release actually has some kind of musical relevance in this age. TFoT stand out from the masses with their rather unusual mix of hardcore, metal and rock. The mix in itself has been done, quite often by now, but the way it all comes together for Doppelgänger is amazing.

There's something in here for everyone and it deserves its spot in any serious record collection!

4,5/5