FALCONER - Among Beggars And Thieves
September 19, 2008, 16 years ago
(Metal Blade)
Second offering since vocalist Mathias Blad returned from a one disc absence. Quiet haunting pipes introduce ‘Field Of Sorrow’ which quickly jumps to a full gallop, punctuated by double bass drumming, spirited guitar and just a hint of medieval influence. The same can be said of follow-up ‘Man Of The Hour’, although the chorus forms a jig. The full Renaissance effect encompasses the slow, nearly acoustic male-female duet (the first of three!) on ‘A Beggar Hero’, complete with tambourine. The multi-voiced, metallic guitar-enhanced ‘Vargaskall’ is entirely in Swedish (as is ‘Skula Skorpa, Skalk’), the final few bars being a cappella choir. The acoustic-begun ‘Carnival Of Disgust’ pertains to the public execution, hangman style. The aforementioned ‘Skula Skorpa, Skalk’ starts a cappella, gradually getting faster to the beat of military snare/tambourine. Definite Celtic feel. ‘Pale Light Of Silver Moon’ is another speedster start-to-finish, while ‘Dreams And Pyres’ seems an attempt at Nightwish-style Broadway dynamics, complete with female accompaniment. Crazy start-stop changes in intensity. Sudden upswing, no problem, but from fluid metal to near acoustic minimalism at the drop of a hat? Sorry. Wisely left until the end. Not sure what the two bonus cuts (‘Dark Ages’ and ‘Vi Salde Vara Hemman’, available only on limited edition) sound like, but this might have been better served as a non-album extra.
