When The Fall of Troy announced they were planning to release a new album, any fan of rock music (particularly post hardcore) was immediately thrilled. They are one of the bands that have influenced the new generation of the genre in every way. They are also a group that I don’t think any of us thought we would hear from again.
Fortunately for us, 2016 brought with it the release of “OK”, the seventh album from the iconic band.
I was recently able to sit down and speak with Andrew Forsman about the reunion of TFOT, tour, and plenty more.
Nick: What is the difference in gear on this album specifically, than what you normally use?
Andrew: “The only major difference as far as gear was that we used C&C drums, Evans heads, and Orange amps for the bass. Everything else we used was the same that we normally use, Zildjian cymbals, Orange amps for the guitars and Gibson guitars and basses.”
N: Was it awkward coming back together after being apart for so long?
AF: “It wasn’t awkward so much as rusty. We had spent so much time together when we initially were a band, living together and practicing and touring, that the bonds from those times will always be in place. We know each other extremely well, and are comfortable being around each other, and that will never change.
Since we hadn’t written music together in roughly 7 years however, that rhythm took a while to get back into, including just the routine of practicing, due to the new commitments (families, jobs, etc.) that we had developed in the time since we last tried to write an album. It took longer to write songs for the first part of writing the album than it ever had before.”
N: Where would you place this album on the level of production in comparison to past albums?
AF: “The “level of production” is the same as it has been for most of our albums: it was recorded by someone who knows what they are doing in a facility that produces “professional” recordings consistently. It was recorded by Johnny Goss at Dandelion Gold.
I think there is some confusion around this issue due to what people’s perception of what “over/under produced” sounds like, and so it makes talking about production hard. While some people hear things like re-sampled drums, or heavily compressed instruments as “professional” that is a gross oversimplification of the issue. The main difference in this album vs. our others is that it was mixed by people who haven’t mixed anything we have done previously, and they brought their own style to those mixes. That alone accounts for any difference in sound much more than any other factor. Suffice to say, the album was recorded using quality gear by a talented producer named Johnny Goss, and mixed by him as well as Chuck Macak.”
N: What songs on the most recent album were the hardest to write? The ones that really took the most effort and critical thought to actually put together?
AF: “I think we spent the most time on “Inside Out” and “Your Loss”. “Suck-O-Matic”‘s verse took quite a bit of time as well, getting the drums and bass to line up with the guitar structure.”
N: Tell me about the first reunion show. Was it what you pictured after being apart for so long? Was it vastly different than the most recent tour?
AF: “The first shows were pretty unbelievable. I had gotten out of rehab about a week prior and my head was still spinning from that. To then walk into what basically felt like a Fall of Troy convention was similar to being in some weird dream. The amount of people who had traveled thousands of miles to be there was shocking. It really made us aware of the impact and level of interest that we had generated, even in the years that there was no new music. It was pretty far from what I had even hoped for, let alone pictured, and felt like a giant love-fest.
It was pretty similar to a lot of the shows on the last tour, with people often telling me that they had been hoping to see us for years, and were finally getting to. The major difference was that it was the same people every night at the reunion, so by the end of the shows, it looked like new friendships had been made amongst the crowd, which was cool to see.”
N: What was your favorite city on the Adventour Time tour? Also, why an Adventure Time themed tour name? Just out of curiosity.
cheapest tadalafil india So, men can simply enjoy sizzling and thriving nights. Add fried on line cialis broken wheat to it and pressure cook it. It offers effective cure for erection problems, early discharge, low semen cialis pfizer achat volume and erectile dysfunction. Always go for herbal pill as they are both artificially lowest prices viagra https://unica-web.com/archive/2018/THOMAS-KRAEUCHI-candidate-UNICA2018.html same. AF: “There were too many great crowds to pick one from the Adventour Time shows, but anywhere on the coasts is always incredible. Also, the crowd in Salt Lake City listened to us play two albums straight through (Phantom on the Horizon and Doppelganger) and kept up their energy the entire time, which was very impressive.
We love Adventure Time and looked like the main characters, just seemed like fun.”
N: Did Tim have a hand in the artwork for the new album?
AF: “No, the artwork for this album was all done by Wood Simmons (WEBSITE) and Connor McPherson (WEBSITE).”
N: I’ve noticed a correlation in the return of early 2000’s post-hardcore. Thrice, Saosin, Alexisonfire, and even From First To Last came out or are coming out with new albums. Do you think the Fall Of Troy reuniting had a hand in this?
AF: “Only in the sense that we are an additional band that reunited at the same time as some others. My ego wants to say otherwise, but I don’t think so.”
N: Do you have any tours lined up for the rest of 2016?
AF: “We are touring in Australia at the start of July, then the US in July and August, and then the UK and Europe and Russia in September. All dates/tickets at www.thefalloftroy.com“
N: So what do we see for the future of The Fall Of Troy?
AF: “We are focused on playing good shows on our upcoming tours, and continuing to release music with more regularity in the next year. Since we aren’t beholden to any labels, we can do whatever we want release-wise. We have some things in the works currently, that should see the light of day before the end of the year.”
N: Did you guys have philly cheesesteaks when you played Union Transfer?
AF: “Just me, I had Jim’s on South Street, they were delicious.”
Check out some videos of Andrew playing live with The Fall of Troy:
https://youtu.be/HyZ_E2EM6HQ