Customer Reviews

Falconer

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In 2000, Falconer dropped this incredible work of metal onto the world. It was late in 2001 when I first heard of them. I was captivated.

Their music, specifically the two songs I first heard ("Mindtraveller" and "Substitutional World"), hit me hard. Their music has all the makings of a power metal or melodic metal group, including plentiful double bass drumming (courtesy of Karsten Larsson), fast guitars and bass (played by Stefan Weinerhall; formerly of Mithotyn), and melodic vocals (done by Mathias Blad). There is one thing that separates Falconer from the other power/melodic bands and that is the vocal style. Blad vocals are much like a baritone croon compared to the higher vocal pitches of many other groups.

This album has absolutely no bad track. My favorites include "Upon The Grave Of Guilt", "The Quest For The Crown", "Mindtraveller", "Substitutional World" and "Lord Of The Blacksmith", which is probably my favorite track.

Any fan of power/melodic metal with revel in the power behind these 10 tracks. Many fans of the rock/metal genre would most likely be pleased as well.

Quite possibly one the best power metal albums ever made, right up there with Hammerfall's "Glory To The Brave". At first I was amazed by the vocals, which are very crisp, powerful and deep. It turns out the singer, Matthais Blad, is in theater productions in Sweden, and only gave his awsome vocals to studio recordings with a few tour dates. Anyway...on with the review...</P>

After listening to the album a few times I was surprised at how good the production was and how original their overall sound is. "Heresy In Disguise" is probably the best track with "Lord of the Blacksmiths" coming in a close second. However, every song on this album is killer and except "Royal Galley" which kinda sounds like a filler. The lyrics are very good and medieval, they fit his voice perfectly. "Substitutional World" is probably the best lyrical effort.

Bottom Line: if your into power metal or any other form old school metal, YOU MUST BUY THIS ALBUM!

Truly an amazing debut. There is not one weak song on the entire album. As I wrote in the title, I would say the sound of this band sounds like a mix between two other top notch metal bands, Jag Panzer and Hammerfall. One aspect of this band that separates it from the pack is the vocalist. He sings in a lower register than most other vocalists in this type of metal, which makes their sound original compared to all of the ...power metal bands on the scene now. As far as the instrumentation, the guitar sound is tight and crunchy, there is plenty of double bass drumming, and the bass guitar is thick and prominent in the overall sound. Anyone into power metal will have a great new band to listen to with FALCONER.

"Falconer" (2001) is the debut album by the Swedish folk/power metal band of the same name.

"Falconer" is melodic power metal with folk elements. Singer Mathias Blad makes Falconer unique, and separates them from the rest of the power metal pack. Blad is classically trained, and he brings his clean theater-style vocals to power metal, with success. Other members of Falconer come from the erstwhile viking metal band Mithotyn.

The songwriting is great. There isn't a bad song on the album, and "Lord of the Blacksmiths" is a standout track.

In short, Falconer is quality power metal with Broadway show vocals. This is a great first album.

Great album, seriously recommended for any fans of power metal, or of good old classic metal. Falconer eschews the normal thudding speed runs, instead delivering mid-tempo, pounding anthems. Some speed it up, others slow it down, and some sound downright Medieval (and really sweet). (There's some Jethro Tull influence here, you can pick it out in Mindtraveller!)

A seriously solid album, with a unique sound (great vox, btw, really clean). The only thing keeping it from five stars is that it never really changes internally, there's no "OH MY GOD" moments. But, this is great driving music, or just for pounding out of your stereo in the evening.

Check these guys out, and listen to this album.

A lot of recent power metal acts rely too much on pomp and cheese, rather than giving the right amount of melody AND substance to maintain a career of classic proportions. Countless bands try to put on 100's of tracks of keyboards, choir vocals and wear ridiculous costumes meant for a theme restaurant and expect to be taken seriously with their fantasy theme... Not Falconer though. Falconer is pure substance over style and have a simplistic formula of writing good songs without all the pizzaz. But it works. On their debut, the vocals play a key role in making the hooks of the song, and all the rest compliment an atmosphere that many other bands only hint at. Instead of the usual "sword and sorcery" from the "kings" point of view, Falconer have a unique lyrical style as well emphasizing the peasants point of view in a miedeval setting instead of the usual "kings will be kings" style. All this and the occasional Jethro Tull style blemishes make a truly awesome album. You wont be dissapointed.

Falconer features one of the guitarists and the drummer from Mithotyn, and this influence shows through in many of the songs (especially "Mindtraveller," probably my favorite on this disc). When the melodies are not Mithotyn-ish, the music tends toward generic power metal; perhaps a good comparison would be Primal Fear. The drumming is very aggressive, even thrashy, but the smooth vocals make one forget this. Indeed, the vocals are the focus of this music. Mathias Blad has an excellent voice, lower than that of most power & classic metal singers, and possessing remarkable fluidity and range. The lyrics are quite competently done, drawing on themes from history and legend. This album has received many accolades from critics, and by and large I think they are deserved (though I don't recall the underrated Mithotyn receiving this much praise, even though their "King of the Distant Forest" album was as good or better than the "Falconer" disc). I would like to see more guitar pyrotechnics on the next album, but Falconer have the foundation for something great. With a great singer, good lyrics, and an accomplished guitarist, Falconer can go far.

A lot of recent power metal acts rely too much on pomp and cheese, rather than giving the right amount of melody AND substance to maintain a career of classic proportions. Countless bands try to put on 100's of tracks of keyboards, choir vocals and wear ridiculous costumes meant for a theme restaurant and expect to be taken seriously with their fantasy theme Of course bands like Blind Guardian and Falconer are exceptions to this. Falconer is pure substance over style and have a simplistic formula of writing good songs without all the pizzaz. But it works. On their debut, the vocals play a key role in making the hooks of the song, and all the rest compliment an atmosphere that many other bands only hint at. Instead of the usual "sword and sorcery" from the "kings" point of view, Falconer have a unique lyrical style as well emphasizing the peasants point of view in a miedeval setting instead of the usual "kings will be kings" style. All this and the occasional Jethro Tull style blemishes make a truly awesome album. You wont be dissapointed.

This is an excellent album well worth putting in any power metal lover's collection. While I truly enjoy the subject matter of Mithotyn's discs, Falconer has a much better production value and overall sound than Mithotyn. That said, if you're interested at all in good Viking metal, give Mithotyn a try. (They are on par with acts like Moonsorrow and Thyrfing.) But, this is Falconer...so on with the review.....

This album has great production and an attention to detail unsurpassed in metal music. The riffs are solid, the drums are competent yet not over-produced, and the vocals are incredible. The vocal style fits the mood of the songs wonderfully. The songs are allowed to stand on their own without the vocals overpowering the melodies.

Standout tracks:

Wings of Serenity (excellent riff)
Lord of the Blacksmiths (great story to go with a heavy melody.)

On a side note to the reviewer who suggested this band go to grammar school, here's a tidbit for you....English isn't their first language. Give them a break. We've forgiven the horrendous grammatical errors in classic acts like Helloween and the like. It's part of the charm of these groups.

Pick this up (as well as their follow-up "Chapters from a Vale Forlorn") if you have even a passing interest in the Power Metal genre. Falconer is proof Power Metal isn't dead.

...The Lord of the Blacksmiths keeps forging on.....

Falconer is an excellent swedish power metal band, and very underrated as well. All the songs on this album (including the hidden track "Per Tyrssons Döttrar i Vänge") are great power metal songs, and this album don't even have 1 filler. all the songs are complex and the unique voice of the singer (which sounds very different from other singers of all power metal bands) blends and sounds great with the music. the guitarist is awesome, (the guitarist and the bassist is the same person, by the way) and the same with the drummer. Falconer also blends melodies in their music and it sounds awesome (for example, songs like: "Upon The Grave Of Guilt", "Subtitutional World" etc). All songs are complex as the way they should be. I can't pick a favorite song, it's very hard to choose, but i think i'll go for "A Quest For The Crown", which is extremly fun and cathy song, or "Mindtraveller" which proves the talent of the guitarist. other favorites of mine are: the epic song "Subtitutional World" which is a huge epic and "Wings of Serenity" which is just beautiful, "Heresy In Disguise", "Upon The Grave Of Guilt", "Entering Elternity" etc... shortly all the songs on the album (well, maybe except "Royal Gallery" which i find very annoying.. but still a fun song).

By the way, I'm writing this review today, 11.3, and it's less than a day left before their new album "Chapters From A Vale Forlorn" will be released across Europe. I was so excited today, I can't wait until i get it. I heard from this album MEANWHILE the track "Decadence of Dignity", which is an excellent song, probably one of my top-5 favorite songs by Falconer. As soon as i get their new album i'm gonna review it.

Bottom line: ANY fan of power metal MUST own this album, you won't be disappointed.