Words of wisdom, trickling into the music that's quite ferocious and vocals that are so typical of Falconer, in a clean tone manner. This is a reflection of a band and album that's really not died or has not evolved. Falconer's creativity in the musical sense within this genre of folk metal seems to capture the listener because of its' utmost originality in a manner done when you wish to hear something that's not so vocally brutal or screaming that's ear piercing. This band takes their music with writing licks on the guitar that are constantly evolving into nevermore. The melodies and leads were quite well constructed to say the least. Stefan mainly contributed solely on rhythm guitar.

Falconer's musical approach was quite like that of the past, only that they do seem to continue to progress in their writing style. Stefan on rhythm guitar put together melodies that flowed as metal should flow and Matthias' vocals went well alongside of the guitar's musical tones. They're heavy guitars, It's like 'Among Beggars and Thieves' (2008), just seemed to be a heavier album that that one. Their previous 'Armod' (2011) I have yet to hear and the older material the production quality wasn't as nearly as good as it is on here. I was a tad bit skeptical as to what I was going to hear on this one because a lot of metal bands have become playing metal just they did in the past without evolution.

These guys are still evolving and with what I've heard of the band over the years, I've liked. However, for 'Black Moon Rising', I think is their strongest output to date because of its' musical revolution in songwriting. They not only have it down in their music (riffs/leads), their lyrics are mostly on things that are easy to relate to and get you thinking. I wouldn't necessarily call them to be overly dark and dreary, but they do express their concepts in songs that are quite meaningful. All songs on the album are memorable. There isn't one on here that I can say isn't without worthy of being praised. The music illuminates the vocals leading into meaningful tracks.

With everything that I've heard from the band, they are without a doubt one of the most well respected folk metal bands for a reason - they write creative and interesting styles of melodies and songs that are so well written and I'd say somewhat abstract. They don't really tackle an overly dark side of humanity, they mostly cover topics that deal with humanity as a whole. I really enjoyed the music before I read the lyrics. The music is quite straightforward and it is chunky, melodic, innovative, and constant progression with the way that they constructed their musicianship in riff-writing. I speak mainly of that of a retired guitarist that I am, so not to confuse people.

The bar chords and some minor blast beating that's sort of atypical for the band, but yes the intensity is always there, but the vocals light up the darker guitar sounds which to me mesh in quite well for an exceptionally accomplished folk metal act. It may be that it does yes take the band around 3-4 years before they release new material, but I'd say that it's because they take the time to reflect on past releases and improve on them. The band keeps getting better ever since their first release they've started as a promising band and they've delivered monumental recordings and sounds made possible only by them taking time with their creative and straightforward approach.

From beginning to end, there really aren't that many clean guitars, mostly ones that blast you with their sounds of thick guitar distortion alongside a lead guitarist that whizzes through the fret-board and not dampening the compositions. With some bands, their rhythms are good and only that, with lead guitars that are sloppy and puts a song from being well-constructed to ruin. Falconer's 'Black Moon Rising' isn't like that, their leads augment the rhythms and leads were appropriately played with precision and guts. I think it was a wise move to keep Stefan to do what he does best: play rhythm guitar with utmost intensity and ingenuity. He really created some awesome songs.

So far, I'm convinced that this release is the best metal release of this year. But I haven't heard everything that's been put out this year, maybe a handful of releases. However, the production is solid, all of the mixing with the vocals, bass, drums and guitar are quite well implemented about with precision. Folk metal really isn't my cup of tea, but Falconer is an exception. If you're into metal in general, I think that you'd really respect what the band has to offer here musically, lyrically and originality. This band continues to dominate their genre because of their outstanding creativity and use of this style turning it into a form of sheer artwork. Own it, NOW!

Rating: 9½ (out of 10) ratings explained

Reviewed by Death8699
07/16/2014 23:10