IN THE UNLIKELY EVENT

In the Unlikely Event is disgusting at times, pretty at others; it's prog, post-hardcore, and virtuoso material all at once. There are keyboard breakdowns, southern riffs and impossible air-guitar-friendly bits aplenty. It's a little bit bluesier and crazier than anything they've done, and most importantly it's a completely new direction.

The Fall of Troy's Doppelganger and Manipulator both came off as hits in the scene, being catchy, smart and fun all at once, but some secretly despised Thomas Erak's three piece tour de force for being pretentious or unpalatable and many long-time fans couldn't stand the reimagining of 2004's Ghostship EP into the cleaner, more accessible Phantom on the Horizon this year. This is just the kind of set up for making TFOT a love or hate band, and Unlikey Event will likely reinforce that effect.

This album's got a real urgency to it and assures you from the first ten seconds that you've hopped on a different odyssey from any other. Erak's voice in "Panic Attack!" and "Single" is at the same time poppy and sardonic; his guitar better produced and orchestrated than Doppelganger but less eclectic than Manipulator. Andrew Forsman and Frank Black are there in all the right spots, carrying Erak's prodigious guitar with ease through schizoid-prog fun ("A Classic Case of Transference") and super fast semi-pop alike ("Empty the Clip, The King is Dead, Long Live the Queen").

But they seem to have made these improvements while making changes some long-time fans will not appreciate. A LOT is going on this album. Many of the catchy riffs and hooks they're known for are there; they just rely more heavily on effects and background vocalization. "Straight-Jacket Keelhauled" is fun and dance-y as hell, but harder than anything they've done before. Erak seems to be experimenting with the role of voice in his music, and it'll throw you off if you're expecting Doppelganger-era vocals.

We've come to expect that from these boys though; they're constantly learning and growing. If you don't dig this album it's understandable because it's different; most people will take several listens to process it. It seems that they are finding themselves, and that in itself brings a lot out of them. The last two tracks ("Walk of Fame" and "Nature vs. Nurture") merit the most attention of lovers and haters both, encompassing elements of their former work while clearly heading in a grander direction. The boys in The Fall of Troy may have finally found the right mix of style-switching, virtuosity, and catchiness. And they just might be on to something.

A good effort at a hardcore rock album, but not much else.

The Fall of Troy has so far released four studio albums, each with it's own little spritz of creativity and harshness, and this album is no different. Eccentric, crazy, eclectic, and many more adjectives, for better or for worse, could be used to describe this album. From beginning to end, the album hides multiple creative "easter eggs" of style and insanity. From one intense song, you might find screaming "emo" vocals, and then suddenly a calmer melodic section. It's a good album, but nothing incredible.

Panic Attack opens the album with a poppy riff, which continues throughout the intense song. The vocals are a little harsh and are hard to bear, and so is the all-over-the-place music, but the track, overall, is acceptable and can be listened to without your ears bleeding. This is mainly because of one of those "easter eggs" appears on this song, where the intense riffing breaks into a little guitar diddy that is nicer to listen to, unlike the next track.

Straight-Jacket Keelhauled is just horrible. Absolutely horrible. The intro is atrocious, and is barely listenable. They make it blatantly obvious they are trying to connect to their hardcore metal/rock fanbase on this track, with screechy screaming vocals and intense instrumentation.

Battleship Graveyard is still intense, but is miles better than the previous track. The track is actually somewhat enjoyable to listen to, with Mars Volta-influenced intricate riffing backing the vocals. Still, the screaming vocals do not fit this would-be good music when it is present.

A Classic State of Transference is one of the better tracks on the album, with more intricate riffing backing the vocals, which really makes this type of music really unique. Much less intense loud instrumentation is heard, which is welcome on the intense album.

Single is most likely one of the best tracks on the album. Fantastic melodic guitar work, backed by positively intense instrumentation really makes this song great. Although the "prog" element in this track is still lacking, the great creativity put into creating this track is obvious and is a bright spot on this so far dour album.

Empty the Clip, the King Has Been Slain, Long Live the Queen is one of the wild card songs you sometimes find on albums. The interesting name draws you in, but the song itself is very hard to get into. The pop element is obvious, but it is minutely catchy. Overall, this track is weak in comparison to Single.

People and Their Lives is another great song. It is one of the most definably "progressive" songs on the album, with a longer running time, more creative melodies, rhythms, and harmonies. Creativity really oozes out of this song. One of the best!

Dirty Pillow Talk is a very odd song. Heavily effected guitars really alienate any real musical value, even by Mars Volta standard. The vocals are still eccentric and screechy, which also alienates any listener.

Nobody's Perfect is a nice more melodic song. It is one of the better songs on the album, with creative rhythms and bluesy guitar breakdowns. It still has that sprig of intense insanity, but on this song it's just right. The song starts out slower, but near the end of the song, it quickly picks up to a level of intensity welcome in the slower song.

Webs is a very bluesy rock song, with a very bluesy opening riff. The entire song has this bluesy riff prevalent, and is probably the slowest and easiest track to listen to on the entire album.

Walk of Frame is another intense, heavily intricate riff-based song. It has a nice balance of intensity and melody, and begins the nice ending of this generally good album. Breakdowns are very nice, and the track leads nicely into the last track.

Nature vs. Nature is a great ending. It really synthesizes all the good things about the album, with intense riffing, bluesy guitar work, positive poppy instrumentation, and the good side of the singer's vocals. Overall, another one of the good songs on the album.

ALBUM OVERALL: A good album. Often times when people see a 3 star album they immediately dismiss it as garbage, but people must recognize that 3 stars means "good, but non-essential." So yes, this album is good, but it isn't a "must have." Creative guitar work and odd rhythms and harmonies are positive points, but screechy screaming vocals and often very (very) odd song writing is a negative point. 3 stars.

'In The Unlikely Event' - The Fall Of Troy (5/10)

Like much artistic post-hardcore I have heard, my impression is often that of a mixed bag; although I sometimes find myself endeared to some of the musical aspects, other things tend to really deter from what would have otherwise been a very enjoyable experience. American power prog trio The Fall Of Troy is no exception to this rule. 'In The Unlikely Event' is the band's fourth and final record they released before deciding to call it quits, and for the fans of the band's style, it should not disappoint. Taking their technical approach towards post-hardcore for one last spin, they do not end things on their brightest note, but there enough things to like about the music here to be worth a spin for someone that's not entirely opposed to the style of music that the band plays.

I've never been entirely convinced by the music of The Fall Of Troy, often likening them to being a 'poor man's Coheed & Cambria', but 'In The Unlikely Event' does show that the band has the chops to stand on their own. Defined by the frenetic guitar playing of frontman Thomas Erak, many of the riffs here resound of much of the stuff happening in the mathcore scene, and manage to impress both on a technical level, and a weird sense of guitar experimentation easily reminiscent of Tom Morello, of Rage Against The Machine. Most of the songs here are upbeat, technical, at times noisy, and made melodic only by the higher- register vocal work of Erak, which is a very mixed bag. Although he is certainly a skilled singer for what he does, there are time when it feels he strains his voice too much, which ends up equating to sounding like something more akin to an adolescent wail than the frontman of a band who has been around for the better part of a decade. The screams here are fairly intermittent and sparse, but they are much less successful; always sounding fairly screechy and tending to ruin most of the parts they lead.

The songwriting here is inconsistent at best, ranging from rather noisy and aimless messes like 'Straight-Jacket Keelhauled' to more melodic success in the aptly-titled 'Single' and the surprisingly effective ballad track 'Webs'. It often feels though that in their attempt to make things sound dissonant and technical, they do lose some of the magic, and what melodic aspects they do try to incorporate often feel a bit weak. One of my favourite aspects of The Fall Of Troy's music is their highly technical approach to crafting riffs, but it does feel as if they needed to work the complexity in a little better to work with the melodies. The end result is something that lacks a memorable impact, leaving only a couple of tracks active in the listener's imagination after the album stops rolling.

I find myself impressed by some of the stuff heard on 'In The Unlikely Event', but it still feels as if The Fall Of Troy lacked some tightness on their swansong record. In any case, the band was one of the better post-hardcore acts of the '00s decade, and their fourth album does nothing to tarnish their reputation. I can only imagine that those who find that the band suits their personal tastes more will find much more to appreciate here than I did.