- The Sceptre of Deception
Okay so here I go writing about the album I didn’t want to talk about AGAIN (accidentally deleted my first blurb). There are some fun moments on this album, songs like Trail of Flames, Night of Infamy, Ravenhair, and Sceptre of Deception are all actually pretty decent songs. Unfortunately they are beset on all sides by mediocrity and mid tempo slogs. The majority of this album is really boring and unmemorable and I would only suggest this album to two kinds of people: 1) Falconer completionists, 2) people who like generic, mid tempo traditional heavy metal. Otherwise, I suggest you skip this one, it’s really not worth your time, even for the better songs.
- Grime vs Grandeur
I really didn’t enjoy the two non Mathias Blad albums, Kristoffer Gobel is a fine singer and would fit in great in a more generic power metal band, but he just doesn’t really mesh with the style for me. However the more I dug into Grime vs Grandeur the more I was able to appreciate it as its own unique thing. Songs like Emotional Skies, Humanity Overdose, Power and Child of the Wild keep this from being a wash and really if you like more standard heavy/power metal you might just love this album.
- Armod:
It legitimately hurts having to rank this album so low, I hadn’t really dug into it before I started this Shred, but the first couple times it was blowing my mind and I was thinking “oh man, I’ll have to bump this way up the rankings. The more I dug into their discography and really paid attention I realized that while Armod has some amazing moments (Svarta Ankan being one of their best songs for example), but as a full album it’s just not as consistent as the rest of the Mathias Blad sung material. As speedy as some of the songs are, the rest are a bit of a snooze fest. Regardless, let it be known that I adore this album and consider it to be incredibly underrated, but as a testament to the strength of Falconer’s discography it just doesn’t hold up to their best material. Hey at least it’s better than the two albums without Blad.
- Tales from a Vale Forlorn
This is a great album, but for some reason it doesn’t stick in my mind as well as the self titled album. The best songs are among the greatest in their whole discography such as Decadence of Dignity, Enter the Glade, Clarion Call, and For Life and Liberty. I suppose the only reason this falls so low on my list is that the rest of the album is good, just not great and not nearly as memorable as the remaining albums on this list. Also I think it ends with a bit of a whimper compared to the last tracks on From a Dying Ember; Busted to the Floor isn’t exactly on my personal “best of Falconer” list.
- From a Dying Ember
I’ll admit, at first I didn’t think I was going to like this album anywhere near as much as I do. I liked the first two singles right away, but initially the rest of the album seemed kind of slow and boring, especially when compared to Black Moon Rising. However with adequate time spent I have come to adore this album, the hooks are all classic Falconer and they’re addictive. Songs like Testify, Fools Crusade, Kings and Queens, and Desert Dreams are fun, but where this album really shines is on Redeem and Repent, In Regal Attire, Thrust the Dagger and especially, the pièces de résistance: Rapture. Redeem and Repent has the boat hooks, but Rapture has the best bridge and ends not just the album, but Falconer’s entire discography with one of the coolest songs they’ve ever written. Oh and the bonus track Cauldron is a neat little instrumental too.
- Falconer
Look I get that there’s a lot of nostalgia surrounding this album, people love this album to death and I’m sure I’ll take some flak for putting it this low, but take this ranking as coming from someone who was introduced to the band via Black Moon Rising and so I would argue that I have a fresher perspective on their discography. This is a great album, songs like Mindtraveller, Wings of Serenity (probably my favorite Falconer song), Upon the Graaaaaaaaaaaves of Guilt, all stone cold classics and I would never deny that. It’s a great album, I just slightly prefer Black Moon Rising, probably due to my own nostalgia, but it’s a very slim margin.
- Black Moon Rising
This is easily the Falconer album I listen to the most, even if it’s not my favorite. The title track is great, but actually my favorite song has to be Halls and Chambers, I mean that chorus is just incredible, I get goosebumps just thinking about it. Generally though this album is fast and furious, the riffs are thicc, powerful and perfectly audible, the production on this album is pristine. I might argue that the last three tracks or so loose a little steam, but as always with Falconer the hooks are still great.
- Northwind
This was actually the first Falconer album I ever heard, I remember back when I was first getting into metal at age 12 or so, Falconer didn’t really appeal to me that much and I kind of ignored them for a while. Fast forward to 2014 and I finally got into them and realized just how amazing this album is. I think this album might be a little overstuffed and probably has one or two filler songs, but the overall quality of the hooks and songwriting in general shines through. The title track is always the first song I look to and it’s probably the best song off the album for me, but there’s plenty of great material: Spirit of the Hawk, Catch the Shadows, Blinded and Perjury and Sanctity are all solid power metal tracks, but even the slower songs like Waltz With the Dead keep things interesting with excellent hooks and riffs.
- Among Beggars and Thieves
I don’t remember when I first heard this album, but I know it was love at first listen. Field of Sorrow is awesome and inspiring, and that chorus is just pure gold. Vargskall has some great riffs and Pale Light of Silver Moon has another golden chorus. The piece de resistance however is of course Dreams and Pyres which is the closest Falconer has come to writing a power metal epic. The build up and general pacing of this song are superb, it’s one thing to follow the formula of most long form power metal tracks, it’s another thing to actually execute in the studio. What really helps put this song over the top is the use of the wind ensemble and choir in the background, it’s very well balanced in the mix and it just lightly underscores the emotions of this song. The development section is interesting and more energetic than most. Most importantly though the bridge absolutely knocks it out of the park, the chorus is already somewhat unique and fun, but the bridge and outro really seal the deal. When deciding whether I like this album or Northwind more, Dreams and Pyres was the difference maker, easily the most ambitious song in their catalogue.
