FALCONER CHAPTERS FROM A VALE FORLORN
Metal Blade - 2002
By Rodrigo
The mix of folk music and metal continues in Falconers sophomore effort Chapters From A Vale Forlorn. This successful marriage of styles that separated Falconer from other power metal bands, while adding a breath of fresh air to the over crowded genre, once again manages to impress. This time the overall speed has slowed down just a bit, it may not be as heavy and the folk elements have been given more freedom making Chapters From A Vale Forlorn a stronger album than their predecessor.
Besides the excellent guitar playing of Stefan Weinerhall, the one aspect that makes Falconer shine so brightly is the singing of Mathias Blad. No other singer could really fit with this sort of music and Mathias manages to sound even better this time around. He shows more confidence and control. He knows what range to stay in and he know sings with more passion and effort. From the fast and galloping "For Life and Liberty" to the traditional and slower (I am assuming a local Swedish song) "We Sold our Homesteads" Mathias has no problem adjusting to the pace of music. Tell me you dont want to sing along with him during the chorus on "The Clarion Call" and "Busted to the Floor", two totally non-power metal songs. The former has some stunning guitar work all over it, from the slithery riff that starts it off, to the heavy one during the chorus, and the very cool solos right before the chorus is repeated for the third time. The latter, which ends the album, features Andy LaRocque as the lead guitarist (you can definitely tell the difference especially during his solo) and maybe one of the catchiest choruses I have ever heard with a Hammond organ in the background. But while all these songs are excellent none compare to album opener "Decadence of Dignity", the fastest and heaviest song in the album as well as the song that contains the best guitar solo ( 2:49 3:15) of the album.
I had two "problems" with Falconers last album. One, was some of the songwriting didnt seem to flow well and the other one being that some of the lyrics were repeated too often. This is no longer the case. All the songs flow well and while there is still some repetitive lyrics they are not as annoying or as abundant as before.
There is no sophomore jinx with Chapters From A Vale Forlorn. This is another great release by Faloncer and a much better one too. The future is looking bright for this band and I am excited to find out what their next offering will be.
Metal Blade Website
Falconer Official Website
Metal Blade - 2002
By Rodrigo
The mix of folk music and metal continues in Falconers sophomore effort Chapters From A Vale Forlorn. This successful marriage of styles that separated Falconer from other power metal bands, while adding a breath of fresh air to the over crowded genre, once again manages to impress. This time the overall speed has slowed down just a bit, it may not be as heavy and the folk elements have been given more freedom making Chapters From A Vale Forlorn a stronger album than their predecessor.
Besides the excellent guitar playing of Stefan Weinerhall, the one aspect that makes Falconer shine so brightly is the singing of Mathias Blad. No other singer could really fit with this sort of music and Mathias manages to sound even better this time around. He shows more confidence and control. He knows what range to stay in and he know sings with more passion and effort. From the fast and galloping "For Life and Liberty" to the traditional and slower (I am assuming a local Swedish song) "We Sold our Homesteads" Mathias has no problem adjusting to the pace of music. Tell me you dont want to sing along with him during the chorus on "The Clarion Call" and "Busted to the Floor", two totally non-power metal songs. The former has some stunning guitar work all over it, from the slithery riff that starts it off, to the heavy one during the chorus, and the very cool solos right before the chorus is repeated for the third time. The latter, which ends the album, features Andy LaRocque as the lead guitarist (you can definitely tell the difference especially during his solo) and maybe one of the catchiest choruses I have ever heard with a Hammond organ in the background. But while all these songs are excellent none compare to album opener "Decadence of Dignity", the fastest and heaviest song in the album as well as the song that contains the best guitar solo ( 2:49 3:15) of the album.
I had two "problems" with Falconers last album. One, was some of the songwriting didnt seem to flow well and the other one being that some of the lyrics were repeated too often. This is no longer the case. All the songs flow well and while there is still some repetitive lyrics they are not as annoying or as abundant as before.
There is no sophomore jinx with Chapters From A Vale Forlorn. This is another great release by Faloncer and a much better one too. The future is looking bright for this band and I am excited to find out what their next offering will be.
Metal Blade Website
Falconer Official Website
