Falkenbach's latest is a decent, if slightly unimpressive, slice of folk-tinged metal.
From the mellow string intro, mixed with the sound of crashing waves and throughout the eight tracks on offer, it's pretty obvious that the third album from Falkenbach is anything but your average metal release. But whilst things start of very promisingly with the excellent 'Heathen Foray', you can't help but feel your attention drift to other things as the album progresses. For all the folksy-choral-pseudo-black-metal on offer, it's never really hugely exciting. Which is a shame, as there are some very pleasant moments on this CD, and the band clearly don't lack either ideas or talent.
As the press release states, "the music featured on this latest work makes use of myriad elements presented by the band throughout the years". The band clearly play homage to their folk roots on tracks such as 'Havamal', a semi-acoustic number replete with Vratyas Vakyas' unique clean vocals. Their later black metal-esque sound is also much in evidence, particularly on songs such as the sinister 'Of Forests Unknown'. Here, the guitars switch between traditional black metal riffing and slower, doomy parts, whilst the harsh vocals provide a pleasant change from the (also enjoyable) clean style favoured elsewhere on the album.
Falkenbach's bizzare sound, almost medieval in it's choral-tinged folk style, is certainly unlike anything else around. And although uniqueness and quality are two different things (bands are often one-of-a-kind because, well, there are some things that should never be done. Free-form jazz mixed with grindcore, anyone?), 'Heralding: The Fireblade' posesses both qualities in reasonable abundance. But for some reason it just never quite manages to rise above being a fairly pleasant piece of folk metal weirdness, never quite manages to be anything rather than above average. It's hard to tell what this album is missing, but whatever it is is a fairly vital ingredient for excellence. The riffs are catchy, the vocals are well-executed, and there's lots of nice flute sections and choir parts. Yet, aside from the odd standout moment, it all feels a little soulless, and never really inspires any emotion beyond a vague feeling of well-being in the listener.
Even though it's a little bit underwhelming, 'Heralding: The Fireblade' is certainly far from an unpleasant listen. The intensly melodic folk metal sounds caress your eardums like the aural equivalent of a relaxing backrub, while the heavier sections are like being hit in the mouth by a lump of chocolate - brutal, but also pretty sweet. If you've got a spare £12 burning a hole in your pocket and already own all the top-notch albums of this year, then Falkenbach's latest offering is certainly a superior listen to the hundreds of sub-par dull-core albums weighing down the racks of your local music emporium. It's ambitious, unusual, but falls somewhat short of greatness.