The Sceptre of Deception

Falconer

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 4, 2003)
• Original Release Date: November 4, 2003
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Metal Blade
• ASIN: B0000D7Z66
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #67,995 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Falconer - The Sceptre of Deception, June 11, 2008

By	Gandhi the Vile (Tulsa, OK) - See all my reviews

"The Sceptre of Deception" (2003) is the third release from Swedish folk/power metal band Falconer. This is a concept album; all the songs have to do with a story of Falconer's own devising, and which is further explained in the liner notes.

Broadway-style singer Matthias Blad has been replaced by Kristoffer Göbel (although Blad does appear on this album). Göbel's voice is vaguely similar, although he sings much more in the metal tradition.

Musically, Falconer continues to write interesting (if not amazing) power metal songs with catchy choruses. There's not a bad song on this album, but there's nothing destined for the metal hall of fame, either.

On the whole, this is quite a decent power metal album, although with Göbel replacing Blad, Falconer takes a step back toward the rest of the power metal pack.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Falconer just won't die, May 19, 2004

By A Customer

It's depressing to see people judging this album based on the lineup. Yes it sucks that Matthias Blad isn't in the Falconer anymore but they did well finding someone with a similar voice who would preserve the sound of the band. Kristoffer and Matthias actually sing together or trade off on several of the tracks and they sound like identical twins. This is a great album in the tradition of the first two. The songwriting is creative and diverse, definitely more so than on Chapters. The hints of accoustic guitar, keybords and operatic backing vocals all combine to create a very mystical atmosphere in the midst of driving power metal that Falconer has always done better than most. Docked a partly for the lyrics, which really needed to be proofread by a native speaker, and the minimalist liner notes reading like a zany video game quote.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Finally grew on me, April 8, 2004

By	SEAN C JORDEN (Calgary, AB Canada) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

First of all, I actually came into Falconer under their previous incarnation with the incomperable Blad on vocals. Chapters of a Vale Forlorn was an excellent offering musically and vocally and of course I was dissapointed to hear that Blad had decided to pursue other endeavors.

When I first heard this album, I was certainly not impressed - the music did not seem to be up to par. However, something happened around the fourth or fifth listen, and I found myself cherishing certain parts of songs in the same way I did before.

This is a CD to be enjoyed - its well written and the new singer has added some power that did not exist before. You will love it.. eventually!