A thin moon can be seen hiding in the cloudy ocean night as a mysterious woman with a white dress and long black hair walks into the daunting water. Tentacles reach out from two rocks behind her, and in the distance you can just make out the dark outline of a ship. “All the music is a soundtrack for the story,” said guitarist and vocalist Thomas Erak, whose hobby of short-story writing inspired The Fall of Troy’s new album.
The three-piece experimental screamo band, originally from Mukilteo, Wash. released its new album in late November. The psychedelic “Phantom on the Horizon” is an expansion of the band’s 2004 E.P., “Ghostship.” “It’s a crazy story about a sailor who ends up on (a) ship that takes him through different demonic dimensions and through different places in his own mind,” said Erak. “This is a concept record we’ve been working on for a long time.”

What first looks like a typical emo-gone-metal band actually goes beyond the mind-numbingly unexciting verse-chorus-verse format, to incorporate a long developmental section that plays with rhythm and features a variety of themes. The band, which was initially intended for a much mellower sound, is now heavier than ever. Catchy yet inventive riffs, irregular rhythms, heavy effects, poppy “vocal extremes” and a tad of chaos utilize hardcore, psychedelic, experimental and prog elements. “We weed through the generic, the repetitive, the synthetic, in search of sonic experiences that smash into us like a ton of bricks, leaving us with nothing but awe when we finally catch our breath,” the band says on its Web site.
Founded in 2002, The Fall of Troy originated from the high school band The 30 Years War. “We’re the only thing to come out of Mukilteo,” Erak said. He and former bass player Tim Andrew changed the band name in history class when they found out it was already taken. “We always stuck our finger down in the history book for a band name,” said Erak.
In 2007, the band parted with Andrew, who still does artwork for their albums, in the middle of a tour with Coheed and Cambria, and a new bass player flew out to Texas the following day. “There were creative and emotional differences, but I think Frank has made a great addition,” said Erak.
The Fall of Troy, now based in Seattle, took off for its West Coast tour last week. “There have been plenty of crazy situations,” said Erak, reflecting on previous tours as the band made its way to its first show in Salt Lake City, Utah. “One time, we got into brawl with some locals in Washington who attacked us,” he added.
Nevertheless, Erak was in a positive mood, noting that the band already has seven new songs ready for the next record. “It’s a greater good to create for myself and have others gain from it,” said Erak. “I think it’s one of the only things in life where everybody wins.”
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