Falkenbach
Magni Blandinn ok Megintiri
[Napalm]
This is the second album of German one-man viking metal (BATHORY worship) band
FALKENBACH.
The first album was more original whereas this starts to be almost as close to certain BATHORY stuff as you can get. The melodic vocals are everywhere and the black metal ones appear only in a couple of songs, the riffs and beats are simple and occasionally quite slow, just like Quorthon did them; the main focus in all songs (except the last which is instrumental) is in the vocal delivery of the heathenish lyrical material.
The first FALKENBACH album wasn’t extremely deep and philosophical but it seems that with this second one he’s getting really deep into some Hollywood style lightness with it. The usual emotions associated with Vikings are there, you can see the sun rise in the majestic keyboards and swords shining in battles in faraway northern valleys, but this album is tainted with some superficiality, not enough darkness and death – see ENSLAVED or HELHEIM for viking metal with a presence of evil lurking underneath.
I like the lyrics with their metaphorical depth, though, and I can hear he really is into Asatru and not simply cultivating some half-dead and half-Judeo-Christian image of ”glorious past”. Viking fans should give this a listen but I can’t totally appreciate the direction where FALKENBACH has gone since the first album.
© 2000 black hate
The first album was more original whereas this starts to be almost as close to certain BATHORY stuff as you can get. The melodic vocals are everywhere and the black metal ones appear only in a couple of songs, the riffs and beats are simple and occasionally quite slow, just like Quorthon did them; the main focus in all songs (except the last which is instrumental) is in the vocal delivery of the heathenish lyrical material.
The first FALKENBACH album wasn’t extremely deep and philosophical but it seems that with this second one he’s getting really deep into some Hollywood style lightness with it. The usual emotions associated with Vikings are there, you can see the sun rise in the majestic keyboards and swords shining in battles in faraway northern valleys, but this album is tainted with some superficiality, not enough darkness and death – see ENSLAVED or HELHEIM for viking metal with a presence of evil lurking underneath.
I like the lyrics with their metaphorical depth, though, and I can hear he really is into Asatru and not simply cultivating some half-dead and half-Judeo-Christian image of ”glorious past”. Viking fans should give this a listen but I can’t totally appreciate the direction where FALKENBACH has gone since the first album.
© 2000 black hate