Power metal elicits passion like no other fanbase in metal. As a genre it’s stuck to its guns of pomp and bombast, technical wizardry and anthemic hooks and carved a truly unique niche that continues to surprise to this day. And for 20 years over the course of nine albums Falconer have been staunch advocates for forward-thinking, aggressive and righteous metal that never catered to a fad. New album From A Dying Ember may be the closing chapter of the band, but as you’ll see from our interview with Stefan Weinerhall the future is always filled with possibilities.
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CANTO: Falconer, Let Us Prey, The Metal Stream of the Year, and More
“The Earth starts to rumble, world powers fall. A’warring for the heavens, a peaceful man stands tall.”
- The Metal Tour of the Year, featuring In Flames, Trivium, Lamb of God, and Megadeth was moved to next year, as we all know. That said, the same organizers have announced a streaming event on June 12th that will feature memorable headlining sets from all four bands.
- Falconer have dropped a new single, “Kings and Queens”, taken from their upcoming new album titled From A Dying Ember. That one drops on June 26th through Metal Blade Records.
- Let Us Prey have released a new lyric video for “The Saint of Killers”, which features a solo from the late All That Remains guitarist Oli Herbert. Virtues of the Vicious is out July 24th through M-Theory Audio.
- Check out this quarantine jam of Death‘s “Overactive Imagination”, featuring Jason Bittner (Overkill/Shadows Fall), Felipe Roa (Shadows Fall), Bobby Koeble (Death), and Steve Di Giorgio (Testament/Death).
“Ein Bier… bitte.”
– cmb
Nine Circles ov…Power Metal That Eased Me Into Liking Power Metal (Again)
I find it fascinating that power metal still doesn’t get the fair shake it deserves from the metal community. The same folks who mock and ridicule bands for dressing up like superheroes in their videos or writing about dragons or Lord of the Rings are the same folks who worship bands who revel in dressing up and running around in the forest in wizard hats or, come to think of it, also write about the Lord of the Rings (or at least derive their name from it). Yet, despite these similar touch points in silliness power metal still has a stigma attached to it, one I admit to having for a time as I became engrossed in the more extreme aspects of metal.
What’s the point, besides my linking to that awesomely ridiculous Immortal video? It’s that there’s plenty to love in power metal, and the claims of cheese and pomp are no more valid than they are in any other genre in the scene. For this edition of Nine Circles ov… I wanted to take a look at a few of the bands and albums that brought me back into the fold – many of them introduced to me by former 9C scribe and power metal champion Frank. So think of these as gateway bands: we’re not going full-on Gloryhammer yet (although Gloryhammer is awesome); the emphasis is on heaviness, aggression and, ultimately, power ¹. Continue reading
Quickies: June 6, 2014
10 hours in the office and too much caffeine. It’s Friday, people. Let’s not waste any time!
- Oh geez, new In Flames. May the nerves build. Haven’t listened to it yet… but I’m not liking the initial reactions. Although the level of surprise isn’t that high.
- Tech Death fans! Atheist is working on new stuff. No real opposition from this guy.
- So maybe all those Acid Bath happenings were a waste of time? Oh well, fun while it lasted. Kinda.
- EMPEROR BOX SET. Sorry about that. I mean… EMPEROR BOX SET. Too much excitement for a thing that doesn’t exist yet. Go figure.
- Falconer is streaming their new album. Ya know, if somebody feels like the need for more folk metal in their lives. Which should be everyone all the time forever. Sometimes.
- Cowboys From Hell! On violin and cello? Why the shit not:
Fun stuff, that. I guess. I don’t know. Screw it. It’s Friday. I’ll be on The Cape all weekend so I’ll you guys on Monday.
“Ein Bier… bitte.”
– Corey
Live. Love. Plow. Horns Up.