Falconer-Among Beggars And Thieves Review

Posted by Dan Marsicano on 09.24.2008

Power metal band Falconer return with their sixth studio album, Among Beggars And Thieves. Does the band succeed in mixing traditional power metal with folk elements?


The Band

Mathias Blad-Vocals, Keyboards
Stefan Weinerhall-Guitar, Keyboards
Jimmy Hedlund-Guitar
Magnus Linhardt-Bass
Karsten Larsson-Drums


The Track Listing

1. Field Of Sorrow-5:35
2. Man Of The Hour-3:56
3. A Beggar Hero-2:02
4. Vargaskall-4:19
5. Carnival Of Disgust-4:04
6. Mountain Men-4:39
7. Viddernas Man-3:43
8. Pale Light Of Silver Moon-4:05
9. Boiling Led-4:58
10. Skula, Skorpa, Skalk-3:51
11. Dreams And Pyres-7:48





The Review

Sweden’s Falconer is a power metal band that dabbles in folk music, creating a rich sound that falls between a less flashy Dragonforce and the soundtrack to Medieval Times. On a first impression, some people may find that to be an odd combination, but Falconer has had almost a decade to perfect their sound. The band lost their way with the loss of singer Blad in early 2002, but he returned three years later and Falconer has been on a roll since then.

On their sixth studio album, Among Beggars And Thieves, Falconer continues in the direction of their previous release, 2006’s Northwind, but ups the aggression a bit and employs female vocals, beautifully performed by Evelyn Jons, at key points to highlight the epic nature of the music. Among Beggars And Thieves is a great album, one that could be the sleeper hit of the year so far.

I mentioned the epic nature of the album in the previous paragraph, which is an important characteristic of Falconer’s sound. No matter how long the track is, the band always seems to evoke as much emotion as humanly possible in each song. Opener “Field Of Sorrow” flies out of the gate, blasting all in its path before slowing down for an acoustic closer that shows the versatility of the band.

Falconer has a tendency to repeat this throughout Among Beggars And Thieves, switching between folk-ish acoustic melodies and power metal riffing at the drop of a dime. It helps to keep the album fresh and interesting, something most power metal bands tend to forget when writing an album. The prime example is single “Carnival Of Disgust,” which starts with a soft opening before seamlessly mixing folk and power metal influences together, leading to a fantastic solo section straight out of the Iron Maiden playbook.

Three tracks are sung in Swedish (“Vargaskall,” Viddernas Man,” “Skula, Skorpa, Skalk”), further enhancing the folk nature of the music. While I don’t speak a word of Swedish, I still appreciated these tracks and applaud the band for not forgetting where they came from. “Skula, Skorpa, Skalk” is the most memorable one from the group, sounding like a song from the depths of the battlefield, from its Middle Ages-esche beginning to the heavy, Pantera-like riff that comes out of nowhere in the second half, driving the main melody for the rest of the track.

A female vocalist is used for the first time, to my knowledge, since 2003’s The Sceptre Of Deception. Jons makes her presence felt in the short, but sweet, “A Beggar Hero.” Largely acoustic, Jons and Blad interact quite well together, making a formable duo. The wonderful closer “Dreams and Pyres” has Jons taking the helm in a good portion of the song, heightening the epic nature of the music even further. A piano introduction soothes the listener into a calm frame of mind, before the rest of the band comes in, snapping any sense of calmness from your skull. The song is its own separate journey, a unique entity from all the other tracks on the album, and one that demands your attention.

In his second performance since he rejoined the band in 2005, Blad shows how a power metal vocalist should sound. He doesn’t try to go over-the-top with falsettos and screeching notes, opting to keep his voice low and strong to augment the rest of the band. Guitarists Stefan Weinerhal and Jimmy Hedlund play well off each other with solid riffing and acoustic work. Magnus Linhardt and Karsten Larsson don’t do anything special as a rhythm section, but do a decent job keeping the music on task.

Among Beggars And Thieves will most likely be largely ignored by the general pubic, as is most of the music I review. However, don’t let that stop you from listening to this album, as it is definitely one of the sleeper hits of 2008. The power metal and folk influences blend well together and add a unique touch to the standard play-as-fast-as-possible-cheese-fest that power metal has evolved into. The album flows well and has enough moments to make for a memorable listen. Among Beggars and Thieves is the sound of a band comfortable with themselves, and while they don’t push the envelope, Falconer has composed eleven tracks that integrate all the strong aspects of previous albums into one coherent package.

The 411: Among Beggars And Thieves is an album that deserves your attention, one that showcases the immense talent of Falconer. Their mix of power metal and folk works well and helps to bring a bit of variety to the proceedings. From the epic closer "Dreams And Pyres" to the acoustic diddy "A Beggar Hero," the album is full of quality material that Falconer fans will eat up. Power metal fans sick of all the crap out there will be thrilled with Among Beggars And Thieves, one of the sleeper hits of the year.

Final Score:  8.0   [ Very Good ]