Falconer

If someone were to ask me if this is a good album to use to get into power metal, I'd be forced to punch them in the face and point them in the direction of some good ol' Blind Guardian or Stratovarius or any number of other power metal bands before they came anywhere near Falconer. Their s/t release is absolutely amazing, blowing every other power metal band, album, song, whatever you want to throw at me, out of the water.

The biggest point of hate most people have for power metal (other than lyrics) is the vocals; in most bands, as you most certainly already know, the vocalist sounds like he just got a swift kick to the nuts, but Blad is different. He keeps his vocals towards the higher part of middle range, but when he goes high it's not the sackless, empty, hollow high that most power metal vocalists get, it's full, rich, soaring, perfect.

The guitar work on this album is absolutely brilliant, for lack of any other phrase. Each song is completely original, with no repitition between songs, and yet there is something there that joins it all together, some sort of similarity in all the songs that brings the album together into a cohesive, unbreakable musical work. Not only is the guitar work original and constantly changing between songs, it's so much fun to listen to. Unlike some power albums (most notably those of Iced Earth, though they're not entirely power), Falconer's s/t does not lose its luster, its brilliance after repeated listens: it withstands that difficult test of time.

As mentioned before, the drumming doesn't stand out too much, as drums seem to do in other bands, though not necessarily limited to power metal (Origin immediately comes to mind), but it's still extremely good. It doesn't stand out for two reasons, again as mentioned before: because everything else is just that fantastic, and because they just fit in that seamlessly. It's a feat like this that shows the songwriting brilliance of Falconer.

The biggest thing that this album has going for it is its perfect balance. Nothing comes in too much, nothing comes in too little, everything is in perfect balance, perfect harmony. It's almost as if someone had gotten a classical composer to write the music and vocal parts for this album, it's so perfect. It is certainly the best power metal release I have heard to date, and very well may be the best power metal release ever.