Let's Listen: The Fall Of Troy - Phantom On The Horizon

Phantom On The Horizon came out at the end of last year, much to the pleasure of Fall of Troy fans everywhere. After several promising demos, the 5-track EP was mastered and released for our listening pleasure.

Let's listen!

Chapter 1: Introverting Dimentions is a daunting 10:51, and starts with an epic-feeling waltzy intro that threatens to climax and break several times, but doesn't fully release the fury of The Fall Of Troy until about 3 minutes into the song. At this point we can hear Thomas Erak's distinct singing and screaming, accompanied by some amazing guitar work that mere mortals will never be able to play while singing. The bassline is moody and the drums are perfect as Erak sets up the concept of the album by screaming:

"Help! Are you running from the fear?
Are you really even there? Did it come from the rear?
Hello! ? What bearing do I steer?
I swear to god it was here! Now I see it over there!"

The song changes pace for a breakdown, before some more lyrics reveal that we're traveling on a ship, apparently being assaulted by some ghosts! After the ship musically 'sinks,' we're treated to some melodic guitars and another buildup, and another sinking portion. This song won't die easily though, and we've got a good minute and a half of ambient noise before...


Chapter 2: A Strange Conversation begins! Check out the drumming at the beginning of this track! The Fall Of Troy's members are so damn talented it makes me squirm. The hardcore-style chugging guitars show off TFOT's roots, but Erak's lyrics are a little ganky here:

"The teeth in my mouth felt like knives,
I ate you it tasted so nice.
Can I even believe my own eyes?
And upon my horrendous insight
I still felt that it was so right.
His face looks so strange in this light."

The ensuing "whooaaaa"s are really well placed though, hauntingly and throughout the track. This song is really dissonant and gritty, and doesn't have much in terms of catchy melodies on the instruments, but it doesn't even matter. After 3:45 we're given another dose of ambience before a new drumbeat starts, taking us by the hand into...


Chapter 3: Nostalgic Mannerisms ! This song does a lot more for melody, and the lyrics reminisce of the cannibalistic nature of the last track. If you listen closely, you can hear a monstrous bass-line in the mix at the beginning of the track. Erak's chug-chug-wank style is really prominent on this track, with many guitars layering all sorts of tremolo picking, sweeping, and tapping.

And how about that vocal solo? Erak's screechy voice has come miles and miles to get where it is today, sounding like an opera singer with all his might. Everything dies out and we're given another singer (female?) and some happy, melodic bells/xylophone, over some of the most depressing lyrics ever, how clever. Listen again for the bass-line as the music builds up again, that guy's got mad skills. After a climax with some screamed vocals about greed and confusion, we're treated to a slowing section before the song randomly hits full pace again. It feels a bit pretentious here, but this album is supposed to be epic and over-the-top, so I don't hold it against TFOT.


Chapter 4: Enter The Black Demon Man with a track name like this we better be given a tastily evil treat. And we are, this song doesn't funk around with building up, but starts at full pace with some harmonic guitars, driving drums, and nice bass again. The aforementioned Black Demon (probably who ate the ship in the first track and the crew in the second and third) sings through Erak:

""God's not a goldmine, God's on the inside,
Selling everybody on the front-lines out.
Did you think you were right-side in, maybe inside out?
Reaching for, the gun, to load and persuade you, to stay..."
(BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! )
The thoughts in your head taking hold,
And all the knots are tied too tight to hold!
(Are you sold?)
Do we have to make a deal? Let me know!?
(Are you sold?)"

before the narrator pulls a HORSE the band and screams MURDER MURDER! A nifty chord progression takes the song down a notch before the drums kick it back in the opposite direction. I'm absolutely baffled by how good these guys are at their instruments. They don't disappoint live either, Erak mind-blowingly able to scream and guitar solo at the same time. As expected, we've got a slower portion to this song with some harmonic guitars and slowed down drums and bass, but this one won't pick up. Instead, we have an ambient blowing wind in the background that builds up as the track closes, and...


Chapter 5: The Walls Bled Lust begins! Another song that starts off right away with progressive guitars and Erak treating us with the following lines:

"The words you said are dead to me,
I'll get the last laugh you'll see!"

Check out the punk drumming going on during that portion of the song, before we're treated to a dirty rock and roll riff and drumming. I can't help but get chills at the next portion, with duelling guitars in each ear before it cuts off into a My Chemical Romance style riff that sounds wayyyy too poppy for this album. But of course, interlaced are some technical fills on all three instruments. More bells, before a suitably hardcore and dissonant riff. The time-changes at 4:35 are fantastic, as are the time-breaking guitar fills.

Tremolo picking starts in our right speaker and works it's way across the ears, while a hungry drum and bass-part slowly taper off, and build back up into the dirtiest breakdown on the album. The song chugs along at hardly 60 bpm, with plenty of pinch harmonics and death-growls of the words "FAKE! FAKE! FAKE! FAKE! FAKE! FAKE! FAKE! FAKE!" Everything dies off again (is the demon dead? Is the Narrator?) before we're treated to a portion that's much like Chapter 1's sinking ship, but in reverse. The music gets a little faster as it goes and the guitars seem to portray a ship coming back OUT of the water! The journey is done!



This album is fucking fantastic, there's no getting around it. And that's coming from a pop fan. Does it meet all epic expectations? Yes. Does it cement TFOT as the best hardcore/mathcore act around? Yes. Will I listen again? Right now :)