Falkenbach
...En Their Medh Riki Fara...

THE REVIEW

Among the best groups in the black/folk scene, Falkenbach deserves a place of honor: this one-man band by the Icelander Vratyas Vakyas has become a cult band for the entire movement over time, thanks both to their sublime musical proposal and to the fact of being absolutely unknown to most metal consumers.

The album in question, released in 1996, is the group's first work and represents, in the opinion of the writer, the highest point of their career. The peculiarity of the album lies in the fact that it cannot be classified as completely black, nor folk, nor viking, but in every song, there is a smooth and never predictable transition from one construction to another. "Galdralag" opens with the sound of a galloping horse, followed by a typically black violent riff and Vratyas' wild scream vocals, but, as already mentioned, the structure of the song is not fixed, thanks to slowdowns made epic by the keyboards and viking progressions. The masterpiece "Heathenpride" follows, divided into 3 parts: the first with prominent guitars and flute, narrating the arrival of Christians on a northern island and their raids, the second, 100% black, represents the moment of the pagans' attack and the massacre of Christians, the last is instrumental with a more than 3-minute flute solo. "Laeknishendr" has almost Ulver-like influences, but in this track too, the flute and particularly the "Spanish" guitars make the atmosphere magical and evocative. In "Ultima Thule," the continuous alternation of screams and clean voices and the simultaneous presence of acoustic arpeggios and black can be noted. In the instrumental "Asum Ok Alfum Naer," the Pan flute dominates, and even the aggressive guitar is imposed to adapt. "Winternight" is an old-school melodic black track where the scream reaches the maximum level of iciness; it closes with "...Into the Ardent Awaited Land..." the calmest (so to speak) and folk track with a strong pagan content.

This masterpiece will be followed a year later by "Magni Blandinn Ok Megintiri," after which Vratyas' career will stop for 8 years before returning to the scene 3 years ago.