I don't necessarily find folk metal to be my real genre that I follow, but in this case it is an exception. Falconer has been putting out quality material for years now so I figured that I'd dive into a semi-recent release. This album is nothing but quality in it's entirety. It's one of those albums that you can put on repeat and keep it there till you go mad. It really is quality guitar, drums, vocals, etc. The tone of the guitars and tempos range from really fast tremolo picking then you hear semi-slower riffs that are totally original.

The most important part of this review is of course to stay on track and talk about the music. The intro is very brief and nearly silence till the band kicks in and unloads some pretty fast tremolo picked guitar frenzies. It's followed by vocals that are clean tone that reflect that of mainly power metal but fit into the folk metal genre. There are no screaming bouts here, just clean vocals throughout and then some songs that are not in English. Those are the slower based ones since like I mentioned the tempos change.

They use a lot of variation in instruments that make the release more interesting to listen to. No hate inspired lyrics or vocals, just moderate intensity based music that really captivates the soul. Falconer's intensity in music is there, but the voice just makes it sound more laid back. The music and the drums are really fast on some songs, but others they're easier/slowly paced. They use all sorts of instruments here. A mild metal release here, but the music just is so captivating.

The band is totally original sounding when it comes to the songwriting. It's really mildly harsh based and some songs start out with vocals that are clean like they all are, but a few are accompanied by a female vocalist. However, when the music kicks in, then that's where the metal intensity comes in. The guitar blends totally with the vocals. Everything just seems to fit together here. No problem in the production sound everything is totally well mixed in together.

Most genres of metal I can tolerate except for suicidal black metal, metalcore, and industrial. But that's obligatory here. The focus is on the music and we'll stick to that. I would says that 'Among Beggars and Thieves' is a highly underrated album. It features so many different instruments (as previously mentioned) which makes it more likeable. Let's take an inventory here. What's on this album are mainly guitars that are really heavy, but mixed in with backup vocals, flutes, pianos, keyboards, etc. The riffs mix well with the vocals.

I'd say that this band keeps getting better and better in their songwriting. Some people would consider this genre to be "gay" metal. I don't believe that. You can't always listen to dark metal without hearing something that more mellow paced. Folk metal is a mild form of metal and Falconer proves it here. 'Among Beggars and Thieves' is so captivating it's amazing. Such talent exists in this band's songwriting. Even the members are totally cool. I did a guitar transcription that Stefan corrected and made it official.

If you're looking for fresh and invigorating metal, this album captures it totally. The music is as I said totally diverse that one can listen to and never get sick of. A highly underrated band. Totally musical from every aspect. Some of the clean vocals featured here sometimes get annoying, mainly the ones that are combined with the guest female vocalist. Everything fits together here without any discretion on my part. Purely an album that everyone should have in their collection!

Rating: 10 (out of 10) ratings explained

Reviewed by Death8699
10/07/2012 17:39