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By JEFF MAKI
I've just finished listening to Manipulator, the new album from Seattle's The Fall of Troy, and I'm not quite sure what just happened.
Metalcore, rock, classic metal, punk, a heavy dose of emo, blues and even '50s are melded into a sound that is as indescribable as it is interesting. I've heard a lot of critics rip this album for the lack of direction and for the confusing sound, but I say good for them! Sure, it doesn't all work—in fact, some of it is downright awful—but at times, beneath all the genre-bending, I hear an eager group in their early 20s not content to be normal. Isn't this what music is supposed to be about, freedom of expression? Vocalist/guitarist Thomas Erak says Manipulator was written in a “really dark time” of his life, and it shows with his crazed and unconventional performance on the mic. In fact, it doesn't sound pleasant at all. It sounds more like someone dying when he hits his high notes, but it's a unique, albeit weird style of singing. Erak's guitar work is equally unique with fast picking up and down the spectrum. And you can pretty much throw out song structure. But just as songs appear to being going nowhere, special things suddenly happen: A headbanging riff here, a shout-along chorus there, manic vocals and awe-inspiring solos. “We've figured out what we want to be and it's a million different things,” says Erak, a statement that perfectly sums up this album.
This certainly is an acquired taste. A close-minded listener will immediately dismiss this band after the first few songs. But coming in with an open mind does have its benefits. I already want to listen to this album again to see what I missed the first time around. But I'm not quite sure my head can take it. I'm in somewhat of a musical haze after Manipulator.
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