FALCONER & DRAGONLAND
LONDON UNDERWORLD 17/07/09
Popping out from Camden tube into the blasting, near horizontal rain that is the true sign of the British summer, I was pleasantly surprised by the size of the queue that was already wrapped around the Underworld for a rare live appearance by Swedish Power/Folk Metallers, Falconer, supported on this one off show by fellow countrymen Dragonland. T-shirts emblazoned with dragons and wizards were the order of the day, and a fair few kilts and bandanas were being whipped in the wind as well, many of the good natured crowd practicing their Power metal screams into the gale. It was at this point that it really hit home that despite several decades following metal, and more gigs then I can remember, I’d never been to a Power gig or got into the scene, apart from occasional Judas Priest or Dio show. In order to the do the bands the justice they may deserve, I’d done a little research in the form of a crash course in the required elements of the style. Apparently obligatory, are an operatically inclined singer who has swallowed a thesaurus, technically skilled musicians, swirling keyboards, and lyrics peppered with references to swords, steel, dungeons and knights.
Openers, Dragonland, delivered all that is required by the shovelful. Opening tracks ‘Antimatter’ and ‘Supernova’ had vocalist Jonas Heidgert showing his symphonic chops, ably backed by a complex mid paced rhythm section that were more then matched by duelling guitars and keyboards which seemed to be manned by a young Jason Mewes clone. This was followed by a faster and heavier number, ‘Contact’, before the rest of the set returned to the more familiar form of electronic sounding guitar solos trading against the dominant keyboards. Throughout, themes of magic, fantasy and science fiction were the order of the day. Constantly working the crowd, leading chants and sing alongs where the audience did their best to match the impressive sustain of Heidgert, Dragonland had the audience on their side throughout their set. It was obvious that many of the crowd were familiar with their material, and every track announced was met with cheers, from ‘The Shores of Our Land’ with its heavy riffing and synthesiser breaks, through the mythical ballad ‘Casseopeia’, to the closer for the set, ‘Astronomy’. The band’s enthusiasm and good will generated even allowed them to come out for the encore of ‘The Neverending Story’, a metallic mangling of Limahl’s theme song to a children’s fantasy film of yester decade.
Next up were headliners Falconer. A brief glimpse at their biography shows that for years they have been far more of a studio act, with live appearances being rare, a factor which had undoubtedly lead to the enthusiastic turnout of fans for this outing. Even on their website, founder Stefan Wienerhall says of himself “I have never really considered myself to be a guitarist but more of a songwriter.” This didn’t stop himself and fellow guitarist Jimmy Hedlund bounding on stage with grins like two Cheshire cats to start high fiving the cheering crowd. This buoyant appearance was in stark contrast to vocalist Mattais Blad who almost snuck on stage apologetically, looking somewhat shell shocked by the crowd and fiddling with his earplugs for several minutes before the music started. When it finally did, there seemed to be a slight technical fault, with the vocals getting lost, before booming out cleanly and clearly for a medley of songs of myth and magic.
Lacking the keyboards that are such a feature of their recorded sound, the two guitars leant a heavier feel to the performance, at some points reminding me of twin Thin Lizzy’s guitar attack. Likewise, as the guitarists performed for the crowd, throwing shapes and constantly moving about the stage, the singer stayed glued to the mike stand, barely raising an eyebrow or tapping his foot, not communicating between songs. This had one wag shout out, “Try enjoying what you do”, to be echoed by the cry of “no, try harder to enjoy it!” This static performance, however, did little to dampen the enthusiasm of the fans for epic fantasy song like ‘Wings of Serenity’ and ‘Quest for the Crown’, where, singing in a language that was not his own, complex lyrics of magic and mythology were clearly projected, with many singing along, word for word. It was when singing in his native Swedish in tracks like ‘Vargaskall’, with its folk styling, that the vocalist came more alive, and despite not understanding a single word I found myself nodding along appreciatively to the Nordic chants, sounding far more enthusiastic and original as they did.
Thanks as ever to Andy Turner for arranging entry to the gig.
Spenny Bullen
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