Northwind [Import]

Falconer | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 3, 2006)
• Original Release Date: 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Metal Blade
• ASIN: B000I2KS1Q
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #228,052 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great songwriting, great singing... do they do anything NOT great?, October 26, 2006

By 

Jon Gunter (Greensboro, NC United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Northwind (Audio CD)

I had started to write a review of this album based on one listen, but we all know that to write a proper review, we need to listen to an album multiple times to allow it to soak in. Upon listening to the new Falconer album a second time, I feel differently about it than I did upon listening to it initially. It all has to do with changing my feeling about the predictability of the album.

I have to remind myself that it's extremely hard to do something original in this day and age and if bands replicate things they've previously done, should we fault them for that? No, I don't think so, especially when it's bands that have their own trademark sound.

I've listened to many metal bands in my time and I've never heard a band that sounds like Falconer except Falconer. The melodic elements they use in their music are basically unparalleled in other bands that attempt to play this style. Their use of melody in their choruses are of the kind that get stuck in your head for hours (remember the first time you heard 'Emotional Skies?'). Even though some of the guitarwork may sound a bit run-of-the-mill, all of the guitar melodies that highlight the songs sound like Falconer melodies through-and-through. I should say that they sound like Stefan Weinerhall's melodies, as he wrote all of the music and lyrics to this opus. His songwriting skill is the type that we songwriters envy, to actually be able to compose music that sounds like his own. He has achieved this and what an accomplishment to have as a musician and composer.

Back to the album: the vocal performance is nothing short of stunning. Welcome back Mathias Blad, delivering an inspiring vocal performance throughout the album. A couple of places the vocals should've been brought higher in the mix for his lower range, but just his voice with the music is magical. The stand-out tracks are really all of them! There are little intricacies thrown into each song to make them their own, like the use of a harpsichord on "Legend and the Lore" and the other nuances like their use of keyboards and acoustic guitar and mandolin, all brilliantly placed in their proper places.

I must admit, I really focused on how predictable the album was the first time I listened to it. The second time, however, I focused more on the songs as a whole and have completely enjoyed the second listen. Please come to the United States, Falconer!! We need true metal to come and lay waste to a lot of this uninspired bandwagon-hopping we have going on right now in the metal scene.

4.0 out of 5 stars Embraced by the Northwind, April 22, 2007

By 

Murat Batmaz (Istanbul, Turkey) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Northwind (Audio CD)

Though Grime Vs. Grandeur was a good release in its own way, it didn't sit well with the band's long-time fans and called for the return of return of original vocalist Mathias Blad. And while it is again guitarist Stefan Weinerhall who wrote all music and lyrics for this album, the direction in the songwriting indicates a return to their folkier style of power metal, mixing both fast and slow pieces into their trademark melodic framework. Blad's vocals are still as amazing as always, and he certainly possesses the most fitting voice to Falconer.

If you enjoyed Chapters for a Vale Forlorn, be prepared for a nice follow-up type of release. Imbued with lots of memorable melodies, excellent vocal parts, interesting instrumental sections, and folky elements, Northwind begins with the ambitious title track, packed with a dynamic guitar arrangement, pounding double bass drums, and melodically charged guitar soloing. New lead guitarist Jimmy Hedlund brings in a new dimension to the band, sharing cool call-and-response leads with Weinerhall and also offering solo spots. His tone on (as on "Waltz with the Dead") is noticeably more metallic and easier to distinguish, so his fretwork adds a welcome contrast to the music. The classical guitar tandem of "Spirit of the Hawk" is unadulterated speedy power metal with relentless double bass battery whilst the slow opening of "Legend and the Lore" features beautiful harpsichord courtesy of Johannes Nyberg. Lots of mandolin work dominates the more vocal-based pieces, such as "Tower of the Queen" which sort of sounds like a sped-up Blackmore's Night number with male vocals. "Long Gone By" is the album's moving power ballad boasting nicely strummed acoustic guitars, an excellent guitar theme, and subtle keyboard melodies. Falconer immediately get back to their fast-paced power metal anthems in the forms of "Perjury and Sanctity" and "Blinded", the latter being more diverse in its structure. The album also sees the Swedish sung "Himmel Så Trind" and the anti-Bush piece "Home of the Knave" towards the end, still retaining its folky roots and expanding on it with switch-ups between streamrolling electric leads, crushing drum attacks, and soaring vocal harmonies.

The digipack of the CD contains bonus tracks and video documentary of the making of the album, so die-hard Falconer fans may want to pick that version up.
_________
Tracklisting- Northwind . Waltz with the Dead . Spirit of the Hawk . Legend and the Lore . Catch the Shadows . Tower of the Queen . Long Gone By . Perjury and Sanctity . Fairyland Fanfare . Himmel Så Trind . Blinded . Delusion . Home of the Knave (instrumental)

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Spectacular, September 30, 2006

By 

DANIEL DELUCIE "dan38628" (Rolling Hills, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Northwind (Audio CD)

This is a KILLER CD and a worthy follow up to the 1st album ( I skipped the ones in between). I love the 1st CD and this is perhaps even better. Great songwriting, great melodic hooks, innovative riffing, high energy, cool lyrics and superb vocals. Worthy of purchase.