Biography
Mathcore trio the Fall of Troy came together in Mukilteo, Washington during 2002, built around singer/guitarist Thomas Erak, singer/bassist Tim Ward, and drummer Andrew Forsman. Those three had already worked as a unit inside the screamo band 30 Years War alongside guitarist Mike Munro, another classmate from high school. Following the independent release of two 2002 EPs—Martyrs Among the Casualties and Live at the Paradox—Munro stepped away because of obligations to his day job, leaving the remaining members to carry on under the name the Fall of Troy. They arrived at that name by flipping open a history textbook at random. Their self-titled debut album appeared on Lujo Records toward the end of 2003; at the time of those sessions every member was younger than seventeen. Outside a few Pacific Northwest shows and one short California run, live activity stayed minimal until the self-released EP Ghostship surfaced the next year.
Mid-2005 brought Doppelgänger, the band’s first release for Equal Vision Records. The record arrived as a furious, unruly explosion filled with outlandish track titles and quickly earned classic status inside the genre. On April 30, 2006, during a performance at the Basement in Columbus, Ohio, a visibly frustrated Erak declared from the stage, “This is the last song the Fall of Troy will ever play together.” The trio soon dispelled breakup speculation on their official site and headed into the studio that December with producer Matt Bayles, whose prior credits include Isis and Botch. Bassist Tim Ward had by then been replaced by Frank Ene. The resulting album, Manipulator, reached stores in early May 2007; the spring months were spent opening for the Deftones across the country. Phantom on the Horizon followed in 2008 and In the Unlikely Event arrived in 2009 before the group formally announced its dissolution in 2010. Members scattered into other projects, the most prominent being Chiodos.
Three years afterward the Fall of Troy reunited for a string of concerts that featured complete performances of their first three albums. In 2014 Erak departed Chiodos to devote himself entirely to a fresh Fall of Troy record, which was completed and issued in 2016. Titled OK, the album proved somewhat less heavy and less intricate than the band’s earlier, more turbulent landmarks such as Doppelgänger, favoring a more direct approach instead. As the first release the group handled itself, OK was offered as a free download, with vinyl serving as the sole physical edition. An alternate mix, OK#2, appeared not long afterward.
Mid-2005 brought Doppelgänger, the band’s first release for Equal Vision Records. The record arrived as a furious, unruly explosion filled with outlandish track titles and quickly earned classic status inside the genre. On April 30, 2006, during a performance at the Basement in Columbus, Ohio, a visibly frustrated Erak declared from the stage, “This is the last song the Fall of Troy will ever play together.” The trio soon dispelled breakup speculation on their official site and headed into the studio that December with producer Matt Bayles, whose prior credits include Isis and Botch. Bassist Tim Ward had by then been replaced by Frank Ene. The resulting album, Manipulator, reached stores in early May 2007; the spring months were spent opening for the Deftones across the country. Phantom on the Horizon followed in 2008 and In the Unlikely Event arrived in 2009 before the group formally announced its dissolution in 2010. Members scattered into other projects, the most prominent being Chiodos.
Three years afterward the Fall of Troy reunited for a string of concerts that featured complete performances of their first three albums. In 2014 Erak departed Chiodos to devote himself entirely to a fresh Fall of Troy record, which was completed and issued in 2016. Titled OK, the album proved somewhat less heavy and less intricate than the band’s earlier, more turbulent landmarks such as Doppelgänger, favoring a more direct approach instead. As the first release the group handled itself, OK was offered as a free download, with vinyl serving as the sole physical edition. An alternate mix, OK#2, appeared not long afterward.
Albums
