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Mathias
Blad & Falconer is back at full strength! While
the last 2 albums from Falconer weren’t awful by any means, the
certain something was missing, and with the return of Mathias in the
ranks that special magic is back in the band.
Not
that Kristoffer Göbel (on 'The Sceptre of Deception' and 'Grime vs.
Grandeur') did a terrible job as a vocalist, but he is clearly no match
for Mathias Blad. Everything seems to move up at least a level with his
return - his charismatic voice is a match made in heaven for Falconer,
and Stefan Weinerhall has excelled on this album and has written some
the best Falconer songs ever.
This
album is almost as brilliant as their classic debut album, which many
consider one of the best power metal albums in this rather young
millennium. 'Northwind' manages to capture the magic of the past, and Falconer
has returned a bit back to basics with the selection of songs on this
album. The essential elements for a cool Falconer like plenty of
powerful guitars, Mathias' operatic vocal acrobatics and lots of
folklore influences are all still at hand. So everything is in place for
a good album...
Weinerhall
has written a very fine collection of songs; highlights include "Northwind"
(a very good and powerful opener), "Spirit of the Hawk" (just
take a listen to the super guitar harmonies in the chorus part), "Perjury
and Sanctity" (one of their most complete songs ever), "Himmel
så Trind" (a heavy folk song with Swedish lyrics) and "Home
of the Knave" (actually a very simple song with a strong chorus).
'Northwind'
ends up being a very good power metal album, which will surely please
fans of their previous albums and should be appeal to most fans of this
genre. I surely dig it a lot...
On a side note: Do get the special edition,
which contains 4 re-arranged Swedish folk tunes, complete with Swedish
lyrics. A nice addition for hardcore fans of Falconer!
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