Review Summary: Like Paul F. Thomas on The Pick of Destiny;I must introduce this band by saying they are fucking awesome. Or at least this album was
For a band that has seemingly regularly disappointed me since their Equal Vision debut, it’s amazing that I am still a fan of The Fall of Troy. Ever since day one, they’ve been on the musical slow down, writing poppier, more intolerable songs, with fewer highlights song wise to really count it up. Some uppity moments on both
Manipulator and
In The Unlikely Event have peeped their heads above the sludgy waters of general mediocrity. Which is why it’s almost depressing to listen to
Doppelganger and like it so much. Sure, they re-wrote four songs from the undercooked, unprepared, slightly amateur self-titled release, but the general point is that they made it more of a joy to listen to.
Doppelganger, despite my qualms about almost everyone of their future and past records, seals The Fall of Troy as one of the bands that forever remains in my minds.
Despite my disenchanted feelings on most The Fall of Troy records due to the songwriting or Erak’s sheer arrogance behind the microphone, Thomas Erak’s guitar-playing was certainly never one of them. His sweeping, masterful twiddling and chugging culminated into something beautifully awesome almost every time. It’s only even better here. To put it simply, his guitar is mechanical and bombastic at the exact same time. The sweeping-off the floor, almost dance-able riffs on “Mouths Like Sidewinder Missles” lead in Fall of Troy’s hook department, the blurry, arpeggio n’ chug-infused madness of “We Better Learn To Hotwire a Uterus” ; combined with the purely amazing name, illustrates an interesting interlude to the later parts of the record.
Even with this guitar mastering, however, Erak somehow does not possess the pure arrogance of his future, and his spazzy, schizophrenic riffing does not at all take away from the other instruments or moments of the record. Bassist Tim Ward’s deep, low-plucking bass sound truly helps even out things on the record, and adds another layer of technicality to this already enhanced master work. His tone is clear, smooth, and clean for the most part (other than the bridge of “Wacko Jacko Steals The Elephant Man’s Bones”) , and balances out the scales perfectly from the distortion of Erak. The drums, although nothing necessarily special in terms of post-hardcore, rummages through the drum kit in the same messy style that a lot of hardcore drums take to heart. Even Thomas Erak the vocalist doesn’t sound horrible here, possessing a vocal that is even then like Claudio of Coheed & Cambria mixed with Cedric of The Mars Volta, but executes it perfectly amongst these songs.
How exactly, though, are these songs written? To be for sure, this band is catchy as heck. The album starts off with the almost mechanical guitar lead-in on “I Just Got This Symphony Going”, led by tiny twiddling riffs, thumping bass, and howling, throaty screams. However, there’s something in the mix that makes it interesting to listen to instead of merely technically proficient. Thomas Erak is a tech guitarist, but in his heart his truly a pop songwriter. The album is led by arena-sized hooks and booming choruses, cliff hanging breakdowns, and loud, powerful vocals. The tunes and songs themselves are incredibly catchy, like the stop-gate riffing and swirling riffing on the hook of “Act One Scene One”, the glorious, tumbling Queen-sized chorus “F.C.P.R.E.M.I.X.”, and the dramatic closing of the vocals three minutes in of the eight minute epic “Macaulay Mcculkin”. Erak uses the over-dramatic nature of his teenage years and uses it for the good of hooks, not so much for the evil that makes music sound depressing.
Drawling hooks, vibrant and incredibly fast guitar-playing, and somehow decent songwriting manage to cover up
Doppleganger’s minor flaws, which appear to be noticed rarely. Songs blend in, occasionally transitions are haphazard, Thomas Erak isn’t exactly the best singer in the world, and the fact that 4 songs are just retakes of earlier ones are just minor, unnoticeable complaints once you actually get into the meat of the record and listen to it in full. Catchy, technical music from a band that has consistently disappointed since this release, after spending an incredible amount of time listening to this album, its not any wonder why The Fall of Troy have been having trouble following
Doppleganger up quality-wise.
I guess it’s too elite for even Erak to handle.
