The Fall Of Troy
Doppelgänger (2005)
Brian Shultz
The Fall Of Troy matched a visceral intensity from the creative side of aggression with combustible balls of prog rock on their self-titled debut. Needless to say, it was a flooring debut from the three-piece (!) that managed to combine the Blood Brothers' hardcore strides with the complexity of the Mars Volta. Despite a healthy smattering of older material appearing in re-recorded form (4 from TFOT and 3 older demos) here on their Equal Vision debut Doppelgänger, it's a rather strong followup that mostly continues in the same fashion as its preceding release.
The cleaner production featured on the disc, courtesy of veteran Barrett Jones, brings out the notably increased prog aesthetic of the band. The disc unmistakably marches forth with the clear guitar-prog sound in many of its tracks, immediately ushered in with the first few noodling seconds of opener "I Just Got This Symphony Goin'." It seems with this opening offering of chords that the band may have lost some of their intensity in the label transition, but any first impressions with this in mind are misleading. Daughters' fingerprints appear smudged all over the bridge of the frenetic "Laces Out, Dan!" as climbing guitars bounce left and right while gutterall feminine wailing takes place, and vocal acrobatics assist in "F.C.P.R.E.M.I.X.," which is severely sped up and subsequently a slight departure from the mid-tempo anthem it once was. "The Hol[ ]y Tape" smacks around with jagged riffs and Thomas Erak's crooning on top, while the redux of "Mouths Like Sidewinder Missiles" features racing, layered guitar leads at its initial setting, transitioning with a series of screams and then jumpy, dual vocals at the chorus seething with vitriol.
It's a feat to employ consistent stop-start rhythms with melodies, intensity, frantic and anthemic moments and simulatenously avoid dull junctures of cold calculation, but the inspired Doppelgänger is a fluid exercise in just that. While the LP may suffer from a severe lack of new material for longtime fans, its predictable unpredictability is what sets it apart and keeps the Fall Of Troy near the forefront of exciting and challenging music.