The Fall of Troy's influential album, Doppelganger turns 10 this year. We have commentary on the album from vocalist/guitarist, Thomas Erak. Enjoy the read and let us know your thoughts on Doppelganger ten years later.
How did you feel when the album came out?
I definitely felt excited but also nervous about how it'd be received. We moved into some new territory and felt very proud.
Where do you think the album fits in the band's legacy?
It's definitely our "break out" album as far as becoming visible popularity wise. As far as personally, I think again, it cemented the fact that we could experiment but mature at the same time.
How the band approach writing?
Much like we always have, a lot of it is jamming out singular ideas and letting them naturally take form, yet other parts are particular and thought out exactly. Again, we experimented with our song writing structure during the creation of Doppelgänger.
What inspired the lyrics?
I think the lyrics deal with a lot of kind of personal themes, such as betrayal, anger, trust, hatred, love, sex, and drugs at the time.
What were your hopes and expectations for Doppleganger during the writing and recording process?
I think we just wanted to create the most ambitious an cohesive body of work that we could.
When you were in the studio, how was the morale of the band?
It was very high, we were in a nice big studio for a lot longer than we ever had been before, we had a decent budget and a lot of new year and toys to play with. It was fun, and we had a great time creating the sounds that became Doppelgänger.
When was the last time you listened to the record? Are there memories and emotions that come back?
I listened to it probably a month ago, it's a VERY nostalgic album for us, as well as myself personally. It takes me back to that time in my life, and helps kick start a lot of memories that I kinda don't think about until I hear certain things on that record.
What do you remember most about making the album?
Just working with Barrett Jones and a few other people that collaborated, as we'd never really worked with anyone with that kind of a reputation.
What sort of place was your life in when the album came out?
We were young, and enjoyed some success we never expected. All of our friends and family were very proud and excited for us. It was a very fast and sometimes confusing time, but also it was really badass to kinda get some recognition, being kind of a different kind of band in that "scene" at the time.
Did you ever expect the album to have the influence it did?
I don't really think about that so much? I think it's very flattering if it influenced other people/artists, but as far as expecting it, no I don't think we expected anything like that, nor do we now.
Do you remember what you were listening to at the time?
We were all listen to a vast amount of things, and also very diverse things. I think it comes through when you listen to the album we were pulling from many areas.
Is there anything about the album you'd change?
Absolutely not, I think Doppelgänger is exactly the way that it should be, I'm not saying its a "perfect album" by any means. But it's most definitely the best work that we could've done at the time, and that makes us 3 very happy after 10 years!