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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fall to Your Knees and Yield for the Sky, September 11, 2007
Scandinavian origins, a medieval name, and songs born of too many Dungeons & Dragons sessions could easily - and often do - add up to one mediocre metal band. But Swedish power metal outfit Falconer have enough tricks up their sleeve to set them apart.
Firstly, there's bandleader/guitarist Stefan Weinerhall. Weinerhall is blessed with a tremendous ear for melody and a passion for traditional European, and especially Celtic, folk music, imbuing Falconer's music with an appropriately epic medieval quality and giving them a tuneful edge over their contemporaries. But perhaps just as important to the delivery of the music itself is vocalist Mathias Blad. Going in for neither the incomprehensible grunting nor the shrill yowling of many heavy metal vocalists, Blad opts instead for a powerful, dramatic baritone that wouldn't sound out of place in a Broadway production, a circumstance born of his career as a professional actor in Swedish musical theatre.
The title of the band's second album, CHAPTERS FROM A VALE FORLORN, offers an apt description of the music within. With titles like "Decadence of Dignity" and "Enter the Glade", each song reads like a chapter in some grand medieval saga. Some of the highlights include the recorder-tinged "Lament of a Minstrel", the Tolkienesquely verbose "Stand in Veneration", and "The Clarion Call", a triumphant epic that makes you want to take up arms and answer the titular summons, all graced with gorgeous melodies and soaring leads. And emotions run highest on the heavenly (literally) ballad "Portals of Light", which portrays the plight of a lover whose loved one has passed on. As elsewhere on this record, the lyrics are overwrought and more than a little ham-fisted, but the majestic music and passionate vocals speak louder.
To call CHAPTERS FROM A VALE FORLORN silly or overdramatic is rather to miss the point. For while the album and Falconer themselves are all of these things, they do not simply indulge the conventions and stereotypes of power metal; they wholeheartedly embrace them and, in doing so, transcend them. And they make some great noise while they're at it.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Best Vocalist in Power Metal, April 1, 2004
I am new to the genre of power metal. I'm more of a Cannibal Corpse kind of gal. However, when I heard that voice, I couldn't get enough of it. This guy can really sing! A lot of bands try too hard to sound like opera stars, but Falconer has serious vocal talent. I don't have the know-how to break down the music and really give you a detailed review of this album. But I can tell you that the album has standard renaissance rhythms that I found very enjoyable and even infectious. I just wanted to inform everybody out there that no matter what your metal taste, if you have an ear for quality vocals, you need to listen to this album.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Perfect Follow-Up, March 22, 2002
In 2000-2001, this power/melodic metal group, Falconer, released their self-titled debut. Filled to the brim with fast guitars and bass, pounding drums and outstanding vocals, the album was a taste of musical perfection. Now, in 2002, Falconer has served up another shot of their infectious tunes and hooks but this time, they have a few surprises.The line-up is the same as the first. Stefan Weinerhall resides over guitars and bass and continues doing everything he did on the previous album. Drummer Karsten Larsson lays down spectacular drum tracks that are filled with more energy than the first and compliment the music extremely well. And again, in the front is Mathias Blad, singing each song beautifully with more range than before. The album starts off hard with Decadence Of Dignity, much like how their debut began with Upon The Grave Of Guilt. A fast song, the guitar is heavy and lashing while the drum beats could probably change the pattern of your heart beat. Enter The Glade slows the album down a bit. Much like Mindtraveller, the guitar is nice and thick, the drumming is good, especially on the choruses and the vocals are quite powerful. Lament Of A Minstrel is kind of a curveball. It starts off with a soft flute-sounding keyboard and then proceeds into a slow yet heavy song. The lyrics are interesting and the vocals shine. The guitar is pretty cool and interesting, since most fans are used to hearing the band play faster. For Life And Liberty picks up with the heaviness and speed again. This is one of the songs that demonstrate Blad's vocal range and ability. The guitar is fast, almost in the vain of the "Iron Maiden Gallop". The drumming here is fast, furious and raw. The band throws in a second surprise for us all with We Sold Our Homesteads. Again, the song is very slow and intriguing. I enjoy the guitar immensely since it is very inspiring and different from the traditional. The second standout is Blad's vocals. His range is great and his vocals fit the mood extremely well. The Clarion Call is another boot to the face as far as heaviness and speed goes. The guitar is just awesome. A lot of fast picking and starts and stops. The vocals are nice, as usual but the drums are the standout here. Larsson's double bass drumming is incredible (of course, he was inspired by the best, Nicko McBrain) and he stops on a dime when its called for. Now, the first two curveballs were something different but Portals of Light is something TOTALLY new. The song begins with Blad singing over a lone piano. The guitar, bass and drums enter and this turns into a slow, heavy and yet very beautiful ballad. This is the song for Blad's vocals to shine. The whole song is beautifully orchestrated and the guitar solo and general instrumentation of the band is beyond awesome. The best song on the album is right here. Stand In Veneration is almost exactly like Quest For The Crown. The guitar is identical and the rhythm of the vocals is nearly the same. There are a few difference but in most areas, the two songs are almost the same, but that doesn't make it bad at all. The guitar is fairly fast, Larsson pounds the drums with great energy and vocals are pretty good. The album comes to a close with Busted To The Floor. This song doesn't have too much speed but the song is sort of upbeat. The choruses have Blad playing tambourine and singing as awesome as usual, the guitar is a bit slower than usual while the drums set a more upbeat rhythm to the song. A good closing song. On their follow-up to their self-titled debut, Falconer have followed the formula that made their first album so great while throwing in some new tricks that they've picked up over the past year or so. If you liked the first album, I definitely recommend you pick up this album. This album is just as good, if not better, than its predecessor. Fans of power/melodic metal would be pleased as well and maybe even fans of the general metal scene. Pick it up today.
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