Legacy of Heathens

Ensiferum’s debut was great, everyone into Viking/power metal must know that. Falchion, as well, must have known that while recording this piece of flatness which is called Legacy of Heathens. No, this record isn’t complete shit: it’s only a poor, very poor copy of Ensiferum’s debut.

The music on this album consists in one guitar playing basic power chords, while the other tops it with some uninteresting melody which must be meant to figure some so-called traditional tune, or plays an occasional solo. Now, add a spoon of bland harsh vocals – the band doesn’t even use the classic opposition between harsh and clean vocals, which is an easy way to create diversity though. Complete it with average double-bass driven drumming and a bass which most of the time can’t be heard, now your description of this release is over. At least we avoided the usual crappy synths: there are none on this album. Weak consolation.

There is an instrumental track (Folk in the Golden Town), but you may hardly notice it as it’s exactly the same as the other songs, the only difference being the absence of vocal lines. There are some acoustic parts which, I assume, are meant to sound folk-ish, but which just sound unoriginal. There are punctual blastbeats – who doesn’t use blastbeats nowadays? There is nothing, really nothing fascinating here, to sum up. It may be the fifth time I spin this album, I still can’t remember anything once it’s finished. Ah, wait. There is ONE song.

When one listens to Journey In The Woods one can only doubt it’s still the same band which plays. Eventually an epic, powerful, VIKING track! The recipe is unchanged, but the band sounds more inspired, cleverly switches between different melodies and acoustic breaks, and simply seems to have put a lot more effort and HEART in it than in its other works. No wonder, it’s pure Ensiferum worship, and it would actually have fit as some average bonus track on the aforementioned band’s debut, but just place a glass marble over a pile of shit and it will look like the most precious diamond.

So you may think the second part of the album will be better? Nope, as soon as the following track – which on a sidenote shows the ultimate title Swordmaster of the Dragonland, that even Rhapsody hasn’t dared to use – the listener falls back into mediocrity again. Burning the Gates, the longest song, reminds of Journey Through The Woods and may exhibit the most powerful intro of the whole album but, alas, the rest of the track doesn’t follow and just drags on and on. Without forgetting the ending track Black Crown, some pitiful attempt at playing black metal I guess. Genuine black metal already sucks most of the time, but black-ish metal always does. At least this track sounds (well, only slightly) different? Right, it sounds worse.

That’s why this release reminds me of Einherjer’s Odin Owns Ye All: one great tune surrounded by pseudo-Viking dullness. But Odin Owns Ye All and its drunken vocalist had at least made me laugh, while this only made me sleep. And Einherjer can boast a masterpiece in its discography, while I highly doubt Falchion would ever record anything worthwhile.

Highlights: Journey In The Woods