ALBUM REVIEW: Falconer go back in time to refresh their self-titled début

WHEN you are not in the premier league of metal the thorny issue of re-releases can seem like an indulgence, something to be avoided. However, Swedish act Falconer have managed to avoid the trap and achieve something of a coup with the forthcoming re-issue of their first release.

Given that the band are supposedly about to quit the live circuit it is timely that they re-visit the album - and add in loads of bonuses so at least by the time they arrive in Atlanta for their allegedly final show fans will be able to claim to have the definitive collection.

Last year's release of 'Black Moon Rising' was a considerable step up for the band - and this re-release is definitely a risk.

However, having Andy LaRoque in charge of remastering breathes new life into tracks such as 'MindTraveller', Wings of Serenity' and 'Royal Galley'. Now they have the 'brightness' and separation to make them leap from the speakers..

However, the song 'Per Tyrssons Do╠êttrar I Va╠ênge' really showcases the band's merging of power metal, pagan metal and traditional folk. Excellent.

The bonus tracks are were this release comes into its own. The acoustic versions of 'Royal Galley' and 'Wings of Serenity' pop from the speakers with real vigour. Even the demo versions of 'Lord of the Blacksmiths' and 'Entering Eternity' seem justified additions.

Metal Blade are badging this as the 'Ultimate Edition' and while we argue that no band can produce an 'UItimate Edition' this is a luscious package.

The "Ultimate Edition" will be available as a double CD Digibook. Disc 2 is a bonus CD that features seven previously unreleased versions and demos of tracks from the album. The album will also be released on vinyl (Europe ONLY!) for the first time ever.

Guitarist Stefan Weinerhall explained some of the rationale:

"Re-releasing our debut album in a remastered version is a great kind of interlude while we do our last gigs as a live band", he said. "On top of that we offer our fans to finally hear the demo we did back in 1999, something very few people have heard.

"We also decided to re-record three songs from the debut in acoustic, very scaled down versions. It really got the songs to shine in a new kind of way. So about 35 minutes of unheard Falconer music in both exclusive CD and vinyl versions!"

Is it a good thing to re-twiddle and fuck about with tracks that have been firmly embedded in the psyche of Falconer fans? Ultimately they will be the ones to make up their minds, but the only we can explain our view is to say that we've been listening to the acoustic version of 'Mindtraveller' on repeat for some time now...

Falconer - Ultimate Edition is released on Metal Blade on 21st April 2015

Review by Jonny

 

 

 

Flaconer muscle up their folk metal blast with a battle metal edge

FALCONER -  they've always been a weird beast of a folk metal band, lurking somewhere on the edge of our consciousness, sometimes great, sometimes average: but with their latest release (out today!) Black Moon Rising can they convince us of consistency?


Vocalist Mathias Blad always sounds like he should have been a medieval minstrel who could be performing for earls and knights, but right from the off there is a feeling that his measured tones are being put to good use.


The wonderfully OTT power metal thrust of Locust Swarm just works. It shouldn't, but it does by sheer pig-headed insistence on doing it as Falconer want to do it.


For those not familiar with the Flaconer backstory, the Swedish guys have been knocking around since 1999, and after a brief hiatius in 2002 they have been churning out albums ranging from prog themed, heavy power metal and folk metal with entirely Swedish lyrics.


We've always seen them as a band to dip into rather that stack he shelves with their CDs, or clogging up the hard drive, with the possible exception of Grime vs Gradeur in 2005, an album that alienated many of their fans with its harder take on the Falconer sound.


Black Moon Rising manages to merge the elements that we love and what we hope will have fans gagging for the five-piece to return to the live circuit.


The folk-ish melodies are there in the vocals of Blad and the guitar attack of Weinerhall and Hedlund, while Lundhart (bass) and Larsson (drums) propel the pace to insane power metal/euro metal levels.


The title track 'Black Moon Rising' is the exemplar, with its romp through dark themes, made all the more pertinent by the slowed, harmonic ending of the previous power track 'Halls and Chambers'


However, right after that the folk intro of  'Scoundrel and Squire' gives way to a mid-paced tale, which merges the metal with visions of knights and "false chivalry".


Despite the fury of 'Wasteland' and the stomp of 'In Ruins' the theme of past days are present throughout, with the album closer 'The Priory' and Dawning of a Sombre Age' keeping the balance just about right.


We cam to review this album with a fair amount of skepticism after 2011's Swedish folk Armod. Black Moon Rising is more guitar focused than previous releases and seems to have captured an essence of what the bastard son of folk metal and battle metal would sound like as it screamed from the unholy womb.


Andy LaRocque's production has brought the edge to the sound that suits Falconer, without letting them drift too far from their vision and history.


Could this be a new dawn for Flaconer?  We hope so, because as daft and ludicrous it is to write the words 'folk metal' or 'battle metal', the musical experience is so much more than a genre, or mix of genres; its just simply good music.

Review by Jonny

Black Moon Rising is out today (June 10th) on Metal Blade Records