The Fall of Troy

live in New York [Sat.] (2007)

Brian Shultz

The Fall of Troy have a daunting task on their current tour: (1) managing to please their own rabid fans in a compact, half-hour set; (2) win over likely impatient Deftones fans who in all likelihood did not come to see the Fall of Troy. If Saturday night at Roseland Ballroom in New York City was any indication of the entire tour, the band is surprisingly accomplishing both.

The band took the stage 17 minutes prior to their scheduled start time -- this was a definite thumbs-up for starters. After a modest introduction, the intricate guitar work of Thomas Erak in the opening of "I Just Got This Symphony Goin'" began to ring out in the booming venue. With long, permed hair, Erak looked not unlike the classic rock guitar bravados that long preceded him.

The band's own following was there in impressive numbers -- plenty of finger-pointing broke the heavy air, while there looked to be well-done first impressions amongst other bespectacled members of the crowd. Some headbanged; others nodded approvingly.

While the Fall of Troy incensed the crowd with the sledgehammer breakdowns of the material off Manipulator, when Erak yelped his caterwaul screams he was shot some confused looks by those seemingly not accepting of it. He was also the obvious catalyst for overall stage presence from the band; while drummer Andrew Forsman was definitely flailing at his kit to keep up (which he did fine), bassist Tim Ward took a relaxed stance, even for his screamed backup vocal parts. When it came time for the end of "Sledgehammer," Erak took off his guitar, pulled the mic off the stand and really riled up the audience for a riotous finish. He honestly held the crowd in his hands by this point -- not something I'd expected from a band usually compared to the Blood Brothers and Mars Volta before an audience there for a `90s shoegazing alterna-metal act.

Set list (7:13-7:34):

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