The Fall of Troy

The Fall of Troy is an American rock band from Mukilteo, Washington. The band is a trio consisting of Thomas Erak (guitars, vocals, keyboards), Andrew Forsman (drums, percussion) and Tim Ward (bass, screamed vocals) who was later replaced by Frank Ene following his departure from the band in late 2007. Ene would remain in the band until their initial break-up in 2010, but Ward rejoined the band in Ene's place for their reunion in 2013.
The trio is known for their technical and dynamic style, unorthodox song structures, energetic stage presence and also for their song "F.C.P.R.E.M.I.X." which was featured in several video games. The group has released six full-length albums, two EPs, and two singles. Prior to The Fall of Troy's formation, when each member was about 17 years old, all three founding members were in another group named The 30 Years War, who released two EPs.

History

The 30 Years War (2002)

Late in his freshman year at Kamiak High School, Erak provided vocals and guitar for the band The Tribune. The band recorded one EP but disbanded by mid-2002. Erak and classmate Mike Munro then started a four-piece hardcore band under the name The 30 Years War. The band was rounded out with drummer Andrew Forsman. The group had originally intended a much mellower sound than employed. Erak stayed on guitar and vocals, Munro moved to second guitar, and bass and drums were filled by Tim Ward and Forsman respectively. During the life of The 30 Years War, two EPs were independently released, entitled ''Martyrs Among the Casualties'' and ''Live at the Paradox''.

Just as The 30 Years War were about to go into the studio to record again, Munro quit, stating that school commitments rendered him unable to continue playing with the band. After Munro left, the band changed its name to "The Fall of Troy" using the same method with which they had chosen their previous name: "opening a history textbook and pointing at a random location until heyfound a selection they liked".

Self-titled debut album (2003–2004)

In May 2003, the trio entered The Hall of Justice in Seattle, Washington with producer Joel M. Brown to record their first full length. They were all about 17 and a half years of age, and the album was recorded in one take over their spring break in one week. The album was released on November 4, 2003 (see 2003 in music) on Lujo Records) by Equal Vision Records.

The trio also recorded their independently released ''Ghostship EP'' shortly after the release of the self-titled, in 2004. Early versions of the demos included keyboards by Jesse Erickson of Mukilteo, WA and had no vocals. The demos on the ''Ghostship EP''; Part I, II, IV, and V, showcase the Phantom on the Horizon concept album, while "Macaulay McCulkin" is on 2005's ''Doppelgänger''.

''Doppelgänger'' and mainstream success (2005–2006)

The band was invited to submit a new demo for Equal Vision, which saw the band working with Ghostship producers Gordon Edward Greenwood III and Dustin Kochel once again. The resulting two tracks were "Tom Waits" and "Laces Out, Dan". Equal Vision used these tracks as promos for the yet to be recorded album.

In March 2005, the band entered the studio to record their second album, titled ''Doppelgänger''. It was released on August 16, 2005 in Compact Disc and vinyl format, which also had alternate artwork. The trio started touring extensively from the release of ''Doppelgänger'' through the first quarter of 2006.

"F.C.P.R.E.M.I.X." was released as the only single from the album and has led to some mainstream success. The music video was released June 6, 2006 and received massive airplay on MTV and FUSE. The song was featured in ''Saints Row'' for Xbox 360 and in ''MLB 2K6'' for Xbox, PlayStation 2, GameCube, PSP and Xbox 360. The song is also featured in '' Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock''.

''Manipulator'' (2006–2007)

In mid-December 2006, the band entered the studio with producer Matt Bayles (Minus the Bear, Botch, Pearl Jam, Mastodon) to begin work on their third full-length album '' Manipulator''. The album achieved 4 out of 5 K's in Kerrang! magazine and 7 out of 10 from Metal Hammer magazine.

The album features Nouela Johnston of the Seattle band People Eating People contributing vocal and keyboard parts to many songs. The album includes the previously written, "Seattlantis," and mostly all new material, including songs such as, "Problem!?," "Cut Down All the Trees and Name the Streets After Them," and a song with the palindromic title, "A Man. A Plan. A Canal. Panama." Before its release date the band stated that the first single from ''Manipulator'' would be "Cut Down All the Trees and Name the Streets After Them," which was also the first song released to the public on the band's MySpace. The music video for this song was released August 8, 2007, also on the band's MySpace.

To support ''Manipulator'', the band went on tour with and opened for Deftones in the summer of 2007. Footage of this tour was used for the single, "Ex-Creations," which was released later on January 16, 2008 on MySpace as well.

In late November 2007, during their tour with Coheed and Cambria, Timothy took a break from the band. It was later confirmed by the band that he had left the band due to stress. He was replaced by Frank Ene of the band "...Of Stalwart Fads".

The trio went on tour spring 2008 with Foxy Shazam, The Dear Hunter and Tera Melos.

''Phantom on the Horizon'' (2008)

On November 28, 2008, ''Phantom on the Horizon'' was released. The EP features all five ''Ghostship'' parts, with interludes. Erak has described the album as "one song separated by tracks." The album was played in its entirety on their West Coast and East Coast tours, followed by some "deep cuts" from the group's catalogue each night of the tour. Only 3,000 copies have been pressed (despite the misprint reverse side of the ''Phantom on the Horizon'' CD casing numbering the CD's out of a total of 3,300) and were sold online and at shows. After the 1500 physical copies held aside for online ordering sold out on December 1, an MP3 version of the album became available online retailers such as iTunes. A vinyl edition followed in 2009, with 1,000 clear copies sold through Hot Topic stores and 1,000 orange copies sold directly from the band's website.

''In the Unlikely Event'', break up and new bands (2009–2013)

On February 26, 2009, The Fall of Troy confirmed on their website and their MySpace profile that they were entering the studio that week with producer Terry Date to record the follow-up to ''Manipulator'', which will include "a dozen or so songs" and should be in stores this summer. It was revealed on April 30, 2009 that Rody Walker, lead vocalist for the progressive metal band, Protest The Hero, would make a guest appearance on the record. ''In the Unlikely Event

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