THE FALL OF TROY (US)
The Fall of Troy formed in 2001, originally under the name The 30 Years War. Over the next 9 years they released four studio albums. The band’s commercial peak came via the single “F.C.P.R.E.M.I.X.,” which dropped in 2005 and was featured in Guitar Hero III. After numerous close calls (breaking up on stage multiple times), interpersonal conflicts, a new bassist, and drug and alcohol addiction, The Fall of Troy broke up in 2010, only to reform in 2013 and self-release their fifth LP, OK, in 2016. Reinvigorated with the freedom from record labels, they toured worldwide and continued to work on new music. Four years later in 2020, they self-released Mukiltearth, a collection of their oldest (from The 30 Years War) and newest songs together.
‘68 (US)
How much noise can two people make? ‘68 is the sound of simultaneous implosion and explosion, of destruction and creation unbound. These are songs that could almost fall apart at any moment, yet never do, devilishly dancing between life and death. It’s a primitive impulse delivered with postmodern purpose; a blacksmith’s resolve with an arsenal of electric distortion and raw nerve. Josh Scogin kickstarted his small band with the big sound in 2013, naming the two-man outfit he modestly undersells as “a little rock, a little blues, a little hardcore” after his father’s old Camaro. And there’s a muscle car-sized rumble beneath the hood of what the Atlanta, Georgia native and his percussive partner-in-crime, Nikko Yamada, unleash with an array of guitar, bass, drums, keys, and pedals, careening between swinging barnburners, wild hay-makers, and moody atmosphere. Like a Delta Blues reimagining of Bleach-era Nirvana or the disgraced punkish cousin of The Black Keys, ’68 adheres to a single ethic: unbridled authenticity. There’s not a “plan” with ’68 so much as a ride, with the duo hanging on for dear life in the eye of the storm every bit as much as the audience. The obstacle is the goal. The journey is the destination. Inventive, disruptive, frantic; even when dipping into a bit of Otis Redding or James Brown style funk, ’68 sound urgent.
VILLENOIRE (BE)
If you have never heard of this band before, do not feel bad as this Brussels based four-piece comes fresh off the shelf. But don’t expect to see some newbies. These guys have already skimmed stages all over the world with bands such as Arkangel, LETHVM, Death Before Disco, Zaccharia and electric)noise(machine.
With VILLENOIRE they go back to their roots and aim to provide us with a blend of absolute heaviness and melody, covered with a monstrous sound. And that they deliver has been proven with their first single “Rest Amazed”, a track that immediately brings them in the regions of Cave In and Thrice. But, if we are to believe the few that have already witnessed them on stage, these guys can go as heavy as Every Time I Die.
