The Fall of Troy is bringing their Doppelgänger 20th Anniversary Tour to Trees on May 2. The tour also adds A Lot Like Birds, who recently started touring again, and Closure in Moscow, two post-hardcore heavy-hitters, for some dates. Come hear all the classics from their seminal album and see killer performances from some of post-hardcore’s best bands.
The early 2000s were very formative years for the post-hardcore genre. Classic records like Saosin’s Translating the Name EP, Underoath’s They're Only Chasing Safety and Coheed and Cambria’s’ The Second Stage Turbine Blade set the foundation for countless bands like Title Fight, Pierce The Veil and Sleeping With Sirens to build upon down the line.
The Fall of Troy, a band formed by three high school kids from Mukilteo, Washington, who chose their name by randomly flipping through a history textbook, was another big player in the style's progression. Their balls-to-the-wall blend of math rock riffs, constantly shifting meters, and soaring vocals pushed the genre’s boundaries and paved the way for future bands.
We spoke to drummer Andrew Forsman and guitarist/vocalist Thomas Erak over Zoom ahead of their stop in Dallas, and the guys were very modest regarding their music’s impact. They quickly rattled off some of their influences, including Refused, At The Drive-In, Minus The Bear and Botch from Seattle.
“It’s always awesome to play a part in somebody else’s journey. When bands like Chon or Loathe tell us they’re huge fans…” Forsman briefly pauses as Erak reveals the Loathe shirt under his flannel. “Those are bands that I find incredibly interesting, so I’m grateful to have been part of their journey.”
“I get imposter syndrome sometimes thinking about it,” Erak says. “I very much appreciate it, and it’s very flattering.”
After landing on the Equal Vision Records roster in 2005, Troy released their second album, Doppelgänger. The record took the raw energy of their self-titled debut (recorded in a week during spring break a year prior) and polished the sound without subtracting any of the substance.
“Eyes Like Sidewinder Missiles” and “Whacko Jacko Steals The Elephant Man’s Bones” are perfect examples. These two re-recorded songs from their debut are given new life on Doppelgänger with revamped instrumentals and cleaner, more powerful vocals. Both versions of the songs are great (if the originals weren’t, they likely wouldn’t have been picked up by Equal Vision in the first place), and it’s nice to be able to compare the revised tracks with the rough versions from 17-year-old Erak, Forsman and Tim Ward, the group's original bassist.
“I’m just amazed at how young I was and how the lyrics are still so relevant for me now,” Erak says. “I just turned 40, so it’s also cool that I can still get up on stage to play those songs and fully feel like they still cut the mustard, so to speak.”
Erak and Forsman have been playing these tracks for over two decades, but that doesn’t mean they get to just walk on stage and turn on autopilot when it’s time to perform. The technically advanced and unquestionably impressive nature of their music requires their full focus no matter how many run-throughs they’ve had.
“We’ve been playing those songs for 20 years,” Forsman says. “It’s still challenging. Yes, there’s muscle memory, and we’ve played them thousands of times, but they’re still hard.”
Erak adds: “I don’t think any Fall of Troy song is easy to play, and sometimes I feel like we’ve cursed ourselves to have to work hard every time we play, but that’s a good thing too. It’s never boring.”
“I will say, I’m never on stage performing like, ‘Man, what a snooze,’” Forsman says as the pair chuckles. “Sometimes I wish we were in a band where I didn’t sweat, but I know that’s not actually what I like; I’m accustomed to this suffering.”
While discussing how the genre has evolved, Forsman brings up Hail The Sun, a post-hardcore powerhouse that recently wrapped up its 10th anniversary tour for Wake and is about to embark on a headlining tour through the U.S. and UK. Troy’s influence is palpable throughout the Cali band’s discography, especially their earlier projects POW! Right In The Kisser and Elephantitus. The fierce riffs and seemingly scatterbrained time signatures in songs like “Ready or Not, There I Go” and “Will They Blame Me If You Go Disappearing?” paired with the overall explosive in-your-face attitude behind the music are heavily reminiscent of Troy.
On top of prepping for their tour, the guys have also been busy working on new material. Erak mentions an upcoming project from Push Over, his collaboration with A Lot Like Bird’s vocalist Kurt Travis. So far, the two-man effort has only put out a ten-minute demo back in 2018, but those three tracks were sufficient to warrant more from the killer combo. With both of their bands on the same bill, maybe we’ll be lucky enough to witness an ultra-rare Push Over performance sometime soon.
As if that wasn’t enough to look forward to, Erak somehow tops that news by excitedly announcing an upcoming Fall of Troy album. This will be their first release since Mukiltearth, which was released in 2020 amidst COVID, and the first album with their new bassist, Jon-Henry Batts.
“It’ll be cool to write an album with our bass player now, Henry, who’s been in the fold since the beginning,” Erak says. “He was our first merch guy, and when we went on hiatus, he was the bass player in my other band, Just Like Vinyl. He really fits our writing flow, and he’s very talented.”
The details for their eighth album are still scarce, but the guys are pumped to get in the studio and lay down some new tracks. They’re also eager to roll through Dallas to perform at Trees, which has consistently been a fun stop for the band.
“I always just think of when Nirvana played at Trees, and Kurt bashed that security guard in the head,” Erak says, beaming with admiration for the late rocker from his home state. “Nirvana is my favorite band of all time, so I always think about that, and I’m standing where Kurt Cobain stood. Deep Ellum is just a cool spot.”
“Dallas has always been a place where the crowd is great, and early on in our career, it had some of the biggest shows we’d played, so we love coming to Dallas,” Forsman adds.
The Fall of Troy will perform on Friday, May 2, at 7 p.m. at Trees, 2709 Elm St. Tickets start at $33.50 here.
