Back in early 2016 Fields Of Troy bassist Jürgen Elias introduced me to his band and their debut release Hardship. I had a good time shredding that one and now he brought up the band’s new album The Great Perseverance to my door! Let’s check it out!

The Great Perseverance is the second release from the Ypres based alternative metal band Fields Of Troy. It’s distributed by Dutch record label Painted Bass Records and succeeds their 2016 EP Hardship. After an epic marching Intro (that’s literally the name of the opening track) Fields Of Troy open up for real with the tracks Dethroned and Aphasia which show the band as a down-to-earth, alternative metal act with catchy vocals and headbang inducing rhythms, similar to bands like Alter Bridge, Alice In Chains and Mastodon. The thing I like the most about Fields Of Troy is their flexibility and overall finesse throughout the Great Perseverance. Very often the band will switch gears and put emphasis on either groovy breakdowns, moshing beats, melodic metal or epic, commanding vocals from Louis. It’s a varied and balanced cocktail of modern metal and you can feel Fields Of Troy are at their element here. They play with full energy and conviction and they successfully transfer those feelings to you when you listen to The Great Perseverance. It’s easy to sing along to the vocals, to go wild on the aggressive beats or to sit down let the more bombastic melodies sink into you. Their sound isn’t the most technical metal you can find but Fields Of Troy clearly play to their main strengths and what more could you ask for?

On the front cover is a tree with a female face and breasts (yeah, we men and our perverted minds) waving her arms/branches through the air and getting “stripped” of some red cloth. And as a fun Easter egg to the cover art of the band’s debut EP Hardship, you can see the exploding planet from that EP’s front cover in the background in all its explosive glory!

I certainly have a couple of favorites on this album. The tracks Dethroned and Aphasia are great openers with the first track having badass, pulse-pounding melodies and the second track featuring a slower and more melodic sound. Both songs serve as perfect introductions to Fields Of Troy’s flexible alternative metal sound. Aside from those two, I also greatly enjoyed the album’s penultimate track Last Words, its structure of switching back and forth between a moody acoustic guitar melody and heavy and angry beats reminds me of Alice In Chains’ classic Would? It’s awesome! And finally there’s the final track, Doomsayer and it does exactly what it’s supposed to do! Summarize all the elements you’ve heard earlier in the album and bringing it all together for one final showdown! As for the weakest elements on The Great Perseverance, I’d say that the band’s overall modern sound may be a turn-off to some people who enjoy more old-school oriented rock and metal. Of course, that’s just my opinion and I don’t want the band to change their sound just to appeal to any particular demographic. I enjoy the band as it is right now and that’s the reason why The Great Perseverance gets…

8 femme trees out of 10! As with Hardship I had a lot of fun shredding my way through Fields Of Troy’s newest release! They evolved their sound from their 2016 EP and if you enjoyed that release or if you dig modern alternative metal in general then Fields Of Troy is a band well worth checking out! Sure, if you prefer your metal to be more old-school or with impressive guitar solos then I’d suggest you look elsewhere! But I can’t deny that Fields Of Troy is a band with heart and passion and I look forward to seeing them live on stage again in the very near future. So consider this album a sign of great perseverance!

Here's the album's third track, Aphasia! Enjoy!