What was apparent since Falconer's self-titled debut album released in 2001, was their uniqueness. It's not as if their music presented something completely new, no. Falconer's metal is basically heavy metal boosted up with faster power metal and further animated with folk music, making them sound utterly Swedish.

The band's third effort, 'The Sceptre of Deception', is the first album with singer Karl Kristoffer Göbel. He replaced soft yet powerful voiced Mathias Blad (who reclaimed the vocalist position some years later). Mr. Göbel is a reasonably competent singer, handling both soft singing (on 'Hear Me Pray') as well as strong vocals. When he sings stronger, I can hear some hints of ex-Therion voice/drummer Piotr Wawrzeniuk and Manowar's Eric Adams. I like Mr. Göbel's voice quite a bit, as he definitely handles his task very well. Two thumbs up! Mathias Blad does the role of one character of the story, as well as some backing vocals, so this album is not the worst possible fate for those who raise him highest. There's also female and male backing vocals, which are tastily handled.

In the words of guitarist/composer Stefan Weinerhall, this is "a concept album about greed, falseness and megalomania in the 1300s in Sweden. It is based upon a true story." A lot of story is told in the booklet's pages only. Generally, the songs are quite straightforward heavy metal songwriting, meaning that there are verses, bridges and choruses in them, without a lot of dramatization that is typical for concept albums and rock operas. You won't hear any sound effects on this album, it simply isn't a radio play. Surely, sometimes the music follows the story's happenings with musical equivalents, it just is not constant. For example some female vocals can be heard on suitable occasions, even though on not on all female parts, because 'Ravenhair' would have been a female voices only song. The story is okay, but doesn't really entertain me a lot.

Some highlights of the album: 'The Coronation' is one hell of a catchy heavy metal / folk music piece, that makes me howl with its melodies! Same goes with 'Under the Sword', which is my favourite song of the album. The title is an awesome theatrical song. I also like the balls-to-the-wall rocker 'Hooves over Northland'. But the same elements are found in almost every song on the album. On the downside lies 'Hear Me Pray', a lame "ballad", which has some good singing and guitar work on verses, but the chorus is so sweet I can't listen to it. Generally the album is filled with strong songs, which might need some time to open, but are worth the labor.

Stefan Weinerhall's guitar work is filed with character. He mixes folk, rock and metal styles without any kind of a trouble. And one important thing: The guitar solos are memorable. At times, I find the bass as well as the drums to be atypical for metal music. This adds to the band's uniqueness. All around, good work from every member. The Andy La Rocque production is organic and pretty kicking, but a tad flat, much like his work on many King Diamond albums. Another weak spot is the story, which is printed in a very small size on the booklet. More pages would have been appropriate.

I only have this album, which I got for a very cheap price, and the band's debut album, but now I am very confident to get more Falconer! I raise this higher than the debut. A damn fine album filled with character. Skål!!!

Rating: 7½ (out of 10) ratings explained

Reviewed by Lane
06/02/2009 18:16