Falconer – Among Beggars And Thieves

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Metal Blade
Produced by Andy Larocque & Falconer

Continuing precisely where they left off with 2006’s Northwind Falconer, who have sold 100,000 albums to date in their career, start to lean more than ever back in the folk power metal direction of the self-titled 2001 debut.

Tracks like Carnival of Disgust (for which a video has been made and is included on the limited edition version of the album), Boiling Led and opener Field of Sorrow retain a strong power metal feel, with big riffs and fluent soloing, with the folk overtones that dominated the sound on previous albums, but other songs leave the power influences, at least in parts, almost completely behind in favour of the folk direction. The middle section of Mountain Men, for example, brings in some female vocals to compliment Mathias Blad’s tailor-made voice during some particularly medieval moments.

Vargaskall is even more folk-metal than their normal output both in musical style and with the use of Swedish lyrics, something they do again later on with the slower paced metal of Viddernas Man and Skula Skorpa, Skulk, and along with short interlude A Beggar Hero make up the most folk-styled moments of the whole album.

Other songs tread the folk metal path unashamedly, like Pale Light of Silver Moon which starts out as very fast power metal, the chorus, and violin-mimicking solos give it that folk flavour. Boiling Led (presumably intentionally misspelt) hints at an acoustic folk melody with its intro, but quickly becomes the heaviest song on the album, with perfectly medieval folk vocal melodies. Finally epic closer Dreams and Pyres leads with piano and flute, alternating male and female vocals and the occasional flourish of medieval military drums before full-tilt power metal on about two minutes, adding the obligatory folk touches before going back again on four minutes and so forth between the two mixing different voices and styles into one song that could probably be used by itself as a definition of Falconer.

Depending on what listeners like most about Falconer will dictate whether they like this one more or less than the last one. Fans of the folk-tinged power metal sound of the band will probably prefer Northwind, while those of a heavier emphasis on the medieval aspects with metal to compliment them, like on the first couple of albums, will favour this one. Either way Falconer have produced another strong album and don’t falter with the quality all the way through.

“ perfectly medieval ”

Tracklist: Field of Sorrow / Man of the Hour / A Beggar Hero / Vargaskall / Carnival of Disgust / Mountain Men / Viddernas Man / Pale Light of Silver Moon / Boiling Led / Skula, Skorpa, Skalk / Dreams And Pyres
Limited Edition Bonus Tracks: Darks Ages / Vi Sælde Væra

Written by Andy Lye
More: Albums, Power Metal, Falconer