Review Summary: We are the future... And I guess the past too.
Mukiltearth is the first album in 4 years for the ever volatile (both sonically and ability to keep a consistent touring line-up) post-hardcore act, The Fall of Troy. Creating classics such as Doppelganger and Manipulator is almost dwarfed by their overall influence in the post-hardcore genre. They are deservingly heralded as the progenitors of the clean singing/screaming tandem in combination with noodly, and technically impressive instrumentals formula. Said formula is the same one that bands such as Dance Gavin Dance no doubt took inspiration from and made immensely more accessible. What sets the progenitors apart from their predecessors is just how utterly spastic, chaotic, obnoxiously loud and heavy the band was willing to sound, and how their vocals contained more visceral shrieking than concise and neatly written choruses. They firmly staked their claim in the annals of the genre’s history despite never being commercially successful. Mukiltearth is not necessarily a full new album, in fact, a majority of the tracks are a remastering of the group’s first EP. Said EP was made when they were about 16 years old and still under the name The Thirty Years War. However, the last four tracks on the album are entirely new songs. One could look at Mukilearth as a byproduct of a cemented legacy and a step backwards for the band, or one could see it as the band trying to combine the new and the old together into one cohesive project.
Thirty year olds recreating work from their mid to late teens is most certainly a challenging task, and for what it’s worth the band does a serviceable job at modernizing the old tracks. The playing is up to snuff with every other release from the band, which is an immensely high bar to reach mind you, and the clean singing is arguably better than ever. The raspiness in Thomas Erak’s voice contrasts surprisingly well with the noodly, angular, riff heavy sound. However, especially for the band’s modern standards, the songs can be long, not as characteristically spastic, and the screams are shrill and weak in comparison to the originals. Songs like “Knife Fight at the Mormon Church” and “The Tears of Green-Eyed Angels” are excellent and contain all the great elements that made Doppelganger and Manipulator amazing, albeit in a prototypical fashion. To reiterate, the execution is great and The Thirty Years War EP is wonderful; however, one can’t help but feel as though the songs are devoid of the full charisma the band possesses, especially in their heyday.
That being said, the final four tracks on the album make up for all the charisma the first 6 tracks slightly lacks and then some. “Counting Sheep” was an immediate change in pace in all the right ways. The riffs are more complex and tighter, the drumming improves significantly, and Thomas Erak is no longer attempting a vocal style from when he was half his current age. The aforementioned track is an energetic and uncharacteristically drum lead track. “Round House” ends on a powerful and heavy outro akin to Doppleganger tracks, and “Borborgymi” follows similar footsteps. Yet, the best was saved for last in the case of Mukilearth because “We Are the Future” is by far the crown jewel of the album. The opening riff is the perfect blend of noodly, screechy, and somehow harmonic guitar work, the screaming chorus is remarkably catchy, and the lyrics are unexpectedly powerful. They are harrowing and optimism cry towards the future despite the mistakes society may have made in the past. Overall, the new tracks are astonishingly great and bar none the highlight of the project.
In essence, Mukiltearth sets out what it attempted to do all along by paying tribute to the past whilst looking towards the future, although in the case of Mukiltearth, the future shines marginally brighter than the past.
