First off, folk metal as always had it’s moments for me even though I don’t listen to a lot of it. One of these moments is when I heard “Unsung Heroes” by Ensiferum. Great song no question. Unfortunately, most other folk metal songs cannot replicate that sound for me. Falconer has always been one of those bands that I listen to just for the sake of something to listen to. It’s one of those bands for me that you hear come on and you think about it before going “eh, fuck it I’ll let it play”. I had hopes that “Black Moon Rising” would be better than Falconer’s previous releases so that it sounds a lot better to me and I can look forward to hearing on my iPod. For better or for worse, the album didn’t fascinate me but it did do better than preview albums in my opinion.

“Black Moon Rising” retains the style of all other Falconer albums that I’ve come to find acceptable but nothing astounding whenever it reaches my ears. On the positive side, the style is unique in ways that other folk metal bands can’t duplicate, so it gives Falconer a feel of creativity or even giving it a uniquely shaped feel about it (interpret that as you wish). The vocals are the same in that they are constantly smooth and can infuse any sort of emotion without breaking the smooth tempo and pace he has always used. The guitars are able to perform riffs and notes that sound good when played both by themselves and alongside the drums that also do a great job in keeping the beat and adding good sound to the tracks.

To me, this album was better than the others before it, but I didn’t love it. Maybe Falconer will be able to put together another album that I will find more desirable. But if you are a fan of Falconer, “Black Moon Rising” is a good album with good tracks that you will enjoy as you have with their previous albums. As an album, “Black Moon Rising” was good and should do quite well upon it’s release from what I’ve seen of it’s fan base. The album releases June 10th in America, but you can listen to it for free at a link below and then you can buy it on iTunes if you so desire. That link is also below.

BUY “Black Moon Rising” on iTunes : https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/black-moon-rising/id858051164

LISTEN to “Black Moon Rising” : http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/falconer-entire-black-moon-rising-album-available-for-streaming/

LIKE Falconer on Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/falconermetal