The Fall of Troy/'68/ Illustrations

The Pierce the Veil-worshipping whippersnappers of today may not know this — but back in their mid 2000s heyday The Fall of Troy essentially reinvented post-hardcore, taking the math-y and blistering sound popularized by bands like Glassjaw and At The Drive-In and priming it for the Hot Topic-based audience the genre’s enjoyed for the past decade or so. They did this by keeping the intense instrumental approach intact while throwing a heavy dose of pop sensibility into the mix, topping it all off with a dollop of mind-bending riffage. OK, their first release since reforming in 2013, sounds as if the band didn’t miss a single beat: The constantly moving guitar lines and driving percussion sound like they were pulled directly from a swooshy-haired high school kid’s “Best of 2005” mix CD. (Eli Shively)