Album review: Falconer - Among Beggars And Thieves

Of all metal’s many sub-genres, the one I find the easiest to forgive is folk-metal. I wouldn’t call myself a fan, per se, but I do kind of admire musicians who care for an obscure and much-mocked style so much that they dedicate so much effort and skill to making it. Bands like Falconer, for example, whose Among Beggars And Thieves is so straight-faced and simultaneously silly that I can’t find it in my heart to knock them.

I think it’s because, unlike most mainstream metal, they’ve left behind the po-faced tough-guy posturing and replaced it with an earnest (if somewhat geeky) yearning for the mythical eras of medieval heroism. Falconer reflect the lyrical themes with their music, which is two parts high speed high-precision power metal to one part hey-nonny-nonny courtyard minstrelsy.

Frontman Matthias Blad’s quasi-classical vocals put you in mind of a bard telling tales of derring-do, while soaring virtuoso guitars play dragon-strength riffola over double-kick rhythms like tireless warhorses. But it’s the middle eights and breakouts on Among Beggars And Thieves that pile on the fantasy cheddar, complete with folky flute riffs and epic choral interludes.

It’s hard not to crack a smile. Hell, there’s a couple of genuine LOL moments, but you’re laughing with Falconer rather than at them. Lyrics about fierce battles, mighty warriors and quests for glittering gold are the order of the day on Among Beggars And Thieves, along with a strange nostalgia for the good old days of feudalism when men were men, horses were steeds, peasants tugged forelocks and criticising the Pope got you burned at the stake or knighted, depending on what mood your king was in.

Falconer love heroism of the old school - not the “brave fireman” type of thing, but the medieval nobility of duty and duty of nobility. The subject of “Man Of The Hour” was “[raised] to power / by his family name“, and is now “heading into the battle / against an inferior foe“, while “A Beggar Hero” celebrates the dutiful acceptance of poverty. In other words, Among Beggars And Thieves doesn’t spare any space for modern liberal values.

Maybe I’m reading it all wrong, and Falconer are stone-cold serious… but then I listen to the strident chugging of “Mountain Men” as it gets broken up with twiddle-de-dee melodies, and I just can’t take it straight. Among Beggars And Thieves is escapist fun, like a pulp fantasy novel; it’s not a manifesto. At least I hope not…

Serious or not, Among Beggars And Thieves sounds like something Tolkein’s elves might listen to when reminiscing about the glory days before Sauron got all uppity, which makes Falconer the ideal soundtrack for your next LARPing mission to the frozen wastes of the North. Take care to hide your iPod behind your chainmail, though.

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