
Will I stand my ground today?
-- Fields of Troy --
07/07/2018
Stijn Daneels

Album genres:
■ | Hard Rock |
■ | heavy metal |
Album artists:
■ | Nick Vanduynslager | Guitars |
■ | Jürgen Elias | Bass |
■ | Sven Herssens | Guitars, Vocals |
■ | Louis Soenens | Vocals |
■ | Lothar Ryheul | Drums |
[METAL SHREDDER REPORTING]
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 SHREDDING BASICS]
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?
[THE SHREDDING VISION]
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!
[THE SHARPEST SHREDS & BLUNTEST BLADES]
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…
[THE SHREDDER’S SCORECARD]
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!