Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Falconer
Label: Metal Blade Records
Release: 2014
Length: 51:05
Rating: 4/5
Falconer, the power metallers from the Swedish town of Mjölby, are celebrating 15 years together this year and putting out their eighth studio album, »Black Moon Rising«. Defiance pays off. Sure, Falconer are one of those cursed bands who will never get wider recognition for their body of work, let alone wider fame, but a dozen releases and non-stop activity show toughness and devotion to the religion of music, and with their honest stance they hold on to the firm support of a small but loyal fan base, as well as the steady goodwill of their label From modest beginnings as a project with no particular ambitions to growing into a proper band and a quintet, they reached stability and creative maturity, especially after singer Mathias Blad returned to the lineup.
The clichés are of course scattered everywhere, but once again repackaged (and served up) with incredible skill and effect! With their previous album »Armod« (2011), Falconer caught everyone off guard: they made the whole record in Swedish and stuffed the arrangements to the brim with folk elements. The new album »Black Moon Rising« brings back the feelings that listening to »Among Beggars And Thieves« (2008) used to evoke. And then some. In both production and songwriting terms, »Black Moon Rising« is the heaviest and also the darkest record of the entire »Falconer« career. Heaviest simply because Falconer have cut the medieval and folk-flavored cushioning out of the arrangements for good. Those elements pop up now and then in the foreground, as in the song Sqouandrel and the Squire, but otherwise the album is almost entirely locked in the grip of sharply honed guitar phrases riding a traditional rhythmic undercarriage of double bass drum pedals.
The songs are also endlessly dynamic, both in their lead motifs and in their structure. Even the opener Locust Swarm is that varied, with Falconer going all in on aggression. The middle breaks bring in fast picking over riffs, backed by blast beats, which conjures up black metal moods. The song Wasteland could easily have swapped places with Locust Swarm as the opener, and the closing The Priory comes very close to both. In both, the band uses blast beats in the transitions (Priry in the outro) and even »thrashed-up« riffing (Wasteland). Of course, Wasteland remains thoroughly written in power metal bombast, with guitar ornaments hovering over the phrases that once again trade in Celtic folk melodies. The title track is once again defined by the double bass drum pedals going berserk at top speed, and the band makes generous use of the picking trick over guitar phrases, following the tradition of the old Running Wild school. The harmonies in thirds are laid down the same way. Songs like that are something today’s Ruunning Widl can no longer pull off. The last one like it they made was the year Falconer were just founded. Sure, it’s »copied« material, but since you so rarely hear it these days, it stirs up good feelings and affection all the more intensely. Halls And Chambers borrows a galloping Maiden rhythm, the kind the pioneers of metal hacked out in the golden eighties. Of course, all these nods tie back to Falconer’s earlier output. As mentioned, this is a slightly angrier and even darker record than the sixth studio album »Among Beggars and Thioeves«, but the song structures are very, very similar to the band’s past work, which means that throughout their career Falconer have simply been trading in »copying« from older (European) metal bands.
Falconer remain perfectionists. Melodically, the songs achieve great compactness, and in atmosphere a predatory bombast that wins you over with instantly infectious choruses. Both guitarists show off outstanding chops. The ultrasonic solos are filigree-detailed and technically flawless, and they sit fantastically within the framework of the compositions. Matthias Bald’s vocals keep their trademark traits. He sticks to the mid-range and doesn’t push into the high registers. His voice is strongest in the middle to slightly lower registers, which Bald handles with incredible confidence. It’s precisely Bald’s voice that deepens the album’s darkness. At times his vocals pull toward Gary Hughes (Ten). In the melodies of the choruses, Falconer get close to Kamelot, especially thanks to the well-tuned chorus hooks and the bombast. Of course, they get that effect with far less arranging glitz and kitsch.
“Black Moon Rising” is a quintessential Falconer album! The Scandinavians’ perfectionism led the crew into meticulously polishing the sound and the arrangements. Idea-wise, the album is endlessly varied and creatively, convincingly inspired. So within the predictable genre confines of power metal, it achieves effective dynamics and a variety of moods. Full of recognizable anthemic power and ultra-melodic catchiness, it will once again be tailor-made for all fans of the band’s classic character and work. With darkness as the highlight, the new studio album carries a palette of superbly packaged songs, full of melodic hunger and, as a result, big potential to grow into live favorites over time. A proven, consistently high-quality effort, faithfully devoted to the building blocks of power metal, was once again done with flying colors!
Lineup
Mathias Blad – vocals
Stefan Weinerhall – guitar
Jimmy Hedlund – guitar
Magnus Linhardt – bass
Karsten Larsson – drums
Production
Andy LaRocque
Tracklist
01. Locust Swarm
02. Halls and Chambers
03. Black Moon Rising
04. Scoundrel and the Squire
05. Wasteland
06. In Ruins
07. At the Jester’s Ball
08. There’s a Crow on the Barrow
09. Dawning of a Sombre Age
10. Age of Runes
11. The Priory
