Every time a promo CD is falling in my hands and read that the band is playing ...melodic Death Metal..., to tell you the truth, I'm a little biased of what I'm going to listen. Same thing happened with FALCHION. And when I read that they have folk elements too, I was sure that this album is going to be one of the same. I wasn't that mistaken, but these guys have something...
The band doesn't have a big history, since FALCHION begun taking flesh and bones in 2002. Before that Juho Kauppinen and Joonas Simonen (keyboards) played covers to bands like AMORPHIS and STRATOVARIUS. During the years 2002-2003 the band had its first full lineup and was ready to record a demo CD. During the recordings three of the members left, including one of the two founding members, Joonas Simonen. With new blood in the band, they started the recordings in 2004 for their debut album. But FALCHION, or to be more exact Juho, changed the 3/4 of the band. So with a fresh lineup for one more time, they hit the studio for their second album, Chronicles Of The Dead.

So, what's going on with this album? Well, the CD is leaning towards the Gothenburg scene, since some of the melodies they have remind me of bands like old IN FLAMES. The production is clear, letting everything to breathe. Good thing is that they are not a copy of KORPIKLAANI - Juho and Matti are playing in both bands - and the folk elements are well filtered without having almost any folk instruments. Imagine the previously mentioned bands, drinking beers with their friends from Gothenburg scene and start jamming, without the accordion, violin etc, with vocals closer to Death Metal and mid-tempo compositions. From the two songs I listened from their previous album at MySpace, I believe that FALCHION made a big improvement. Probably those lineup changes were for the best. To tell you the truth, even though I've heard dozens of albums like this one, I don't know why, but there was something that attracted me to listen to it many times.

If you are into Death Metal with a taste of folk, but just with guitars, bass and drums, then this album is for you. Nine songs, two of them instrumental, and almost 50 minutes of music played from the heart. As for the artwork from Katja Piolka (also worked for bands like RAGE, MASSACRE and DESTRUCTION), it is binding nicely with the atmosphere of the album. I believe that this band deserves our attention and I'm waiting even better things from them in the future.
P.S.: The voice-overs are really irritating. I think that there has to be another way in order for the record companies to protect their property.