review by: Roberto Martinelli

As of not too long ago, I had thought of Falconer as this dorky, cheesy power metal group that had its own sound but was largely too plain and boring to warrant my attention. There were one or two songs off the first album that I liked, but I was used to the style that most power metal bands stick to nowadays: high vocals, flashy solos and happy riffs.

I used to think that Falconer's singer wasn't up to task to support songs that seemed pretty light in the riff department. Mathias Blad's clean, golden-throated voice may be profoundly annoying to some (read ~Vargscarr~'s hilarious review of the first album in issue #4), but in a genre that is made up primarily of copycats, he stands out.

And so I was going to tell you that the new Falconer is a lot like the first one: The first song is irresistibly likeable, and then the album goes downhill.

But then there's this song called "The Clarion Call," which is probably going to be my pick for the best song (that is, with singing) of the year. Not only are the vocal melodies very well chosen, but the song features some nice harmonies that seemed to have been absent from Falconer's music up till now. The song is arranged well, and it has riffs that give the listener something else to enjoy past the stirring vocals. Indeed, it seems that this song, which is the clear best on the record, sets the stage for a stronger second half. Of particular note is the last song, "Busted to the Floor," which strays the most from the Falconer persona with a large heaping of classic rock elements.

Hearing "The Clarion Call" and then seeing Falconer live made me start to see Falconer with different eyes. I found myself going back to Chapters from a Vale Forlorn and the debut album, and finding all sorts of stuff that I liked that I hadn't noticed before. Stuff like really cool melodies and vocal arrangements, and riffs that actually are individual to songs. Sure, Falconer is still totally gay, often infusing their music with "medieval" themes (think: Renaissance pleasure faire). The first album has this cheesy song, "Quest for the Crown," that always makes me think of that part in "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" in which "Brave" Sir Robin is going through the woods as his minstrels sing about how "he's not afraid to die in nasty ways." The new album stays in form with a song about being a lonely minstrel and another about singing to children.

Isn't one of the main tenets of Buddhism something about expectation being the cause of disappointment? Well, if you expect Falconer to be like all the other power metal bands you like, you'll hate it. But if you go in with the intention of enjoying this band for its unique style, then you may grow to like it too. It only took me about a year and a half.