Time Signature Poverty...

Genre: power folk metal

Drawing on both power metal and folk music - tipping more towards the folksy side than the pure power metal side I think - this has got to be the best folk metal release, I have heard in a long time (closely followed by Skáldmöl's "Baldur" and not quite beating Skyclad's "Jonah's Ark").

Most of the melodies, and many of the riffs themselves, follow folk melody patterns, which also applies to the vocal melodies, sung to perfection in Mathias Blad's smooth and solid mid range voice. The vocals are exclusively sung in Swedish, and I must say that Swedish sounds fucking awesome in this context. It also adds a further folksy dimension to the overall music (at least to me, who grew up with a lot of folksy Swedish TV-shows). This album also features the fiddle and other traditional Swedish folk music instruments, but they are never dominant in relation to the metal instrumentation.

A lot of the tunes are in a midtempo pace, although there are some more uptempo parts, and some of the guitar riffage is quite groovy, but you can also expect black metal-like tremolo stuff, and there are even some blastbeats now an then. There are also elements from traditional metal and, of course, power metal, and I really like how the guitars make use of harmonies, and how heavy they sound compared to a lot of power metal.

If you like Nordic folk music and heavy metal music, then this album should definitely be up you alley. A strong contender to the title of folk metal album of the year.

adg211288 Armod is the seventh full-length album from Swedish power metal act Falconer, released in 2011. While musically the release follows the same course as the band’s previous efforts, the band have made Armod slightly different in that all the sung have Swedish language lyrics, although bonus tracks exist with English translations of a few of the songs. The album also takes a stronger focus on Falconer’s folk side, producing what is arguably their first true power/folk metal hybrid, rather than just power metal with folk influences. This is apparently just a one-off for this album though, and not the sound of things to come, although to be fair, the album isn’t exactly worlds away from what came before.

Armod (which means ‘Poverty’) is a real belter of an album that left some very good opinions right after the first listen. I’ve usually had to give the other Falconer albums I’ve heard several spins in order to really sink my teeth into them but Armod grabbed me right from the off. Maybe it’s that larger focus on the folk elements in the music (I’m a sucker for good folk metal, which can often be in shorter supply than may sometimes seem), which are done extremely well, especially coupled with the use of Swedish lyrics, which even though I don’t personally understand a word of them manage to remain just as catchy as on the English language albums. Or it might be that Falconer is also delivering some really heavy and intense power metal on the album, something heard very well in the opening Svarta Änkan, which is one of the least folk influenced songs on the album, although it certainly has its moments, particular in the acoustic duet section between Mathias Blad and a guest female singer.

Although Svarta Änkan sets a high standard for the rest of Armod to follow the album doesn’t have any trouble in delivering excellent track after excellent track. Griftefrid, Rosornas Grav, Grimborg and Herr Peder och hans Syster all stand out as highlights of the bunch though, but in true Falconer style there’s no track included that can be considered below par, resulting once again in an album of the highest sort of quality. Blad’s vocals are, as always, spectacular and if anything, more suited to the Swedish lyrics than the English. The authentic folk melodies are tastefully done, while leaving plenty of room for some great power metal riffs and leads from guitarists Stefan Weinerhall and Jimmy Hedlund.

Overall Armod is another excellent Falconer release and doesn’t disappoint in any way. If you liked their previous stuff there’s no reason not to like this one, in fact, for me Armod stands as one of the band’s best yet. Folk and power metal fans are advised to check this one out!

Additionally there is a special edition of Armod available that includes four of the songs translated to English. Svarta Änkan becomes Black Widow; Rosornas Grav becomes By the Rose´s Grave; O, Tysta Ensamhet becomes O, Silent Solitude; and Grimborg retains the same name. All tracks are just as good as the Swedish versions in their own way, but I wouldn’t necessarily call them as essential as the Swedish versions, and the score I give the album doesn’t take them into account. Worth having so long as you don’t have to pay an extortionately higher price for the special edition.

(Originally written for Heavy Metal Haven, scoring 9.3/10)

UMUR "Chapters From a Vale Forlorn" is the 2nd full-length studio album by Swedish folk/ power metal act Falconer. The album was released in March 2002 by Metal Blade Records.

If you know the 2001 self-titled debut album by Falconer, you pretty much know what you´re gonna get with "Chapters From a Vale Forlorn". The songwriting has marginally improved since the debut but we´re talking details. The music is a combination of power metal and traditional heavy metal with strong folk metal leanings. The best example of the latter style is found in "We Sold Our Homesteads", which is a traditional Swedish folk song that features lyrics translated into english by lead vocalist Mathias Blad. It´s not a whimsical little folk tune though. The melody is beautiful and melancholic but the instruments provide a heavy beat. Definitely one of the highlights on the 9 track, 40:56 minutes long album. The fast-paced opening track "Decadence of Dignity" and the epic power ballad "Portals of Light" should also be mentioned among the highlights but the standard is generally very high. I´d say there are a couple of tracks that doesn´t quite reach excellence, but they are still very good quality compositions.

In addition to mentioning the very high level of instrumental musicianship by all involved, lead vocalist Mathias Blad needs a special mention. He has got to have one of the most pleasant elastic voices in metal. There´s just something very special about that voice and the way he delivers his vocals.

So if you like your power metal without too much cheece on the top and with a strong folk elements this is where you should spend your money. Good production, great musicianship, an outstanding vocalist and some really well written folk/ power metal tunes and it´s hard to see what could go wrong. A 4 star rating is fully deserved.

UMUR "Falconer" is the self-titled debut full-length studio album by Swedish folk/ power metal act Falconer. The album was released in May 2001 by Metal Blade Records. Falconer is the brainchild of Stefan Weinerhall who has composed all music written all lyrics for the album. Stefan Weinerhall plays all guitars and bass on the album. Vocals and keyboards are handled by Mathias Blad and the drums are played by Karsten Larsson. Ulrika Olovsson delivers occassional female vocals. The original album contains 10 tracks, but some versions include the bonus track Per Tyrssons Döttrar I Vänge, which is a rendition of a Swedish folk song. I highly recommend that you seek out a version which features the bonus track, because that track is quite the fantastic folk metal track.

The music on the album is power metal/ traditional heavy metal with medieval and Scandinavian folk elements ( and folky/ fantasy lyrics about Kings and Blacksmiths). The instrumentation does not include any unconventional ( for metal) instruments like it´s the case on many other folk metal albums. We´re talking bass, drums, guitar and keyboards. The music is delightfully energetic. The tempi varies between fast- and mid-paced. You´ll find both heavy riffing and lots of melodic lead work on the album but the greatest asset of this album is without a doubt the elastic and powerful vocal delivery of Mathias Blad. Now that´s one skilled and distinct sounding lead vocalist for you there. While the instrumental part of the music is definitely enjoyable in its own right, it´s the vocals that takes this album to a higher level. The album is highly consistent and there´s not a single weak track featured on the album, but tracks like "Heresy in Disguise", "Mindtraveller" and "Wings of Serenity" are among the strongest on the album.

The album is produced by legendary King Diamond guitarist Andy LaRocque and he has created a great powerful sound for the music.

I was introduced to Falconer the year after this album was released and I remember I listened to the album a lot. Then came a couple of years where I didn´t listen to the album and actually I didn´t know exactly what to expect when I brought the album out again for this review. Fortunately the album hasn´t lost any of it´s charm in the years where I didn´t listen to it and when I listen to it now, it still puts me in a good positive mood just like great power metal is suppossed to. I find this debut album by Falconer highly recommendable to fans of power metal/ traditional heavy metal with folk elements and a 4 star rating is deserved.

adg211288 Chapters From a Vale Forlorn is the second album from Swedish Power Metal group Falconer, released in 2002. For those unfamiliar with the band their sound also incorporates some folk influences into some of their songs, and their music is perhaps characterised the most by the voice of vocalist Mathias Blad, which is far from the typical sort of vocals that one would traditionally associate with a metal band, being one of the most pure sounding voices that I have ever heard. Chapters is the last album from Falconer while they were still a studio band, and it was also the last with Blad until 2006’s Northwind, as Blad was unable to continue with Falconer as a touring band due to his commitments to theatre, him being an actor as well as a singer. So now that the background introduction is done, let’s talk about the music.

You can spilt the songs of Falconer into two categories. The first being those that are full on power metal songs and those that incorporate the folk influences. The album starts with power metal songs, so I may as well follow suit. The first two tracks here are Decadence of Dignity and Enter the Glade. Blad’s vocals may be off-putting to a new listener at first but as you get into the feel of the album it develops what I’d consider to be a pretty addictive sound. The guitars are pretty heavy, sometimes to the point of sounding out of contrast with Blad’s vocals but this is what makes the Falconer sound unique to them. Perseverance is required to understand them, so new listeners beware. In a way there is something of a folk feel in Enter the Glade but it’s very much a power metal song. Blad’s vocal delivery often feels best suited to folk in itself, which is what helps round off that Falconer sound I keep mentioning. And in context of this band’s music this is definitely the sound of them at the top of their game, with every song the album deliveries being as good as the last.

The second category is for those songs which really delve into the folk influences. The first of these that the album gives us is the third track, Lament of a Minstrel. Flutes are very prominent in the sound of this track, which is slower than those that came before it. This is also one of my favourites from the album. For the next folksy song, We Sold Our Homesteads, the band takes it all down into real ballad territory. This is actually a traditional Swedish song, but with its lyrics translated by Blad. These songs are just as great as the full on power metal songs.

Chapters From a Vale Forlorn isn’t the longest album in the world, clocking in at just over the forty minute mark, but it’s a real treasure of an album that never loses any of its strengths throughout its duration and one of the few releases where I literally really love every single song on it. This is nothing short of perfection.

(Review originally written for Heavy Metal Haven)