Among Beggars & Thieves

Falconer | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 2, 2008)
• Original Release Date: 2008
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Metal Blade
• ASIN: B00197THQ6
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #154,164 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Following the demise of Viking/folk-themed black metal band Mithotyn in 1999, Swedish guitarist/bassist Stefan Weinerhall and drummer Karsten Larsson took a right turn toward power metal with their next project, Falconer, whose studio lineup was initially completed by accomplished stage actor and singer Mathias Blad. Promising demos quickly landed the group a deal on Metal Blade, and early Falconer albums like 2001's eponymous debut and 2002's Chapters from a Vale Forlorn distinguished themselves for meshing lingering traces of Scandinavian folk music into power metal's often predictable template. But the band's rising fortunes only led to conflict: Blad decided to quit rather than let ever increasing touring commitments get in the way of his parallel theatrical career, forcing Weinerhall and Larsson to replace him with new vocalist Kristoffer G”bel even as they hired second guitarist Anders Johansson and bassist Peder Johansson to flesh out their concert lineup. This same quintet also recorded Falconer's third album, The Sceptre of Deception, in 2003. On 2005's Grime vs. Grandeur, Falconer did away with their medieval/fairy tale/Tolkien lyrics. Original vocalist Mathias Blad returned to the fold to begin work on a fifth Falconer album Northwind, and with his return the band's signature sound returned more vibrant then ever, Now with their sixth Metal Blade, FALCONER continues their prolific career as one of the most unique and treasured underground metal acts, with a loyal following that is ready to share their secret.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great medieval metal!, December 9, 2008

By 

Cynthia Meden "Old Newcomer" (Davenport, IA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Among Beggars & Thieves (Audio CD)

This is probably one of the best groups on the field of power metal. Its power comes from its historical themses and awesome vocals. Matthias Blad has some of the best pipes of any vocalist in metal, at least contemporary metal (Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, and Queensryche I give the most credit to historical metal).

Most of the songs are limited to themes concerning medieval "Beggars and Thieves" The song "Boiling Led" is something about assasins attempting to eliminate a king in the winter cold. There is also the "Carnival of Disgust," one of the best songs about the spectacle of killing traitors for amusement. The guitar playing is thick in simple rhythms for the fanfares and elaborate solos that rival many of the guitar shredders of the 80's. The metal sound is probably more produced the most in this album and the folky sounds are minimized somewhat except for the ballads.

Speaking of the ballads, there is even a very good female guest vocalist on the track "A Beggar Hero." Three of the eleven songs are even sung in Falconer's native Swedish tongue.

I would probably recommend this album second to Falconer's self-titled debut, thought this album has some good variety it can only come close to the originality of that first masterpiece.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is medieval metal!, October 14, 2008

By 

Justin R. Robben "Kalidor" (Spring Hill, Fl United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Among Beggars & Thieves (Audio CD)

I have been a Falconer fan for a few years now. I truly enjoy all of their releases, although the ones with original vocalist (who has since returned for the last 2 releases) Blad are a bit better.
This newest release by the group (who have to maintain other jobs through the year to support their families!) is tremendous.
I can't say enough how this type of power metal hits me just right.
I like Dungeons & Dragons.
I like the Renaissance Faire.
I like medieval times.
This is metal music for those who love that atmosphere...

Amongst my favorites off of this album include:

Boiling Led : Absolutely incredible. Some speed, some storyline. The best song on the album, imho.

Dreams and Pyres : A small digression for these metal masters; this sounds almost more progressive in it's composition.

Pale Light of Silver Moon : Majestic sound, great power metal melody.

All of the songs (except Mountain Man, imho) are very strong. An excellent Falconer release and a superb power metal release.
From strongest to weakest Falconer releases, imho are:

Chapters From a Vale Forlorn
Amongst Beggars and Thieves
Falconer
The Sceptre of Deception
Northwind
Grime vs. Grandeur

To clarify my list above, I will say that GvG is the only "weak" release at all. Northwind, falling in at 5th out of 6 is still an amazing album, very, very good.
Thanks for reading!

4.0 out of 5 stars Fairly Typical Falconer, October 8, 2008

By 

TH (Leesburg, VA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Among Beggars & Thieves (Audio CD)

Among Beggars and Thieves is typical of all of the Falconer albums with Mathias Blad on vocals. Falconer has a consistent style that works for them and they stick to that road without too much variation. I think the first two albums with Blad as vocalist, Falconer and Chapters from a Forlorn Vale are their best two albums. Among Beggars and Thieves is a solid album like Blad's return on Northwind. There are a song in Swedish on this record and the last track is a bit more of a theatrical type story, which is a bit of a departure. All in all, if you like the other Falconer albums, you'll probably like this one. Nothing spectacularly different, nothing bad either.