FALKENBACH Asa

Vratyas Vakyas strikes again with his one-man folk/black metal project Falkenbach. Since the formation in 1989 Falkenbach have released five studio albums and a bunch of demos previous to this new one entitled ‘Asa’. While his previous effort, ‘Tiurida’, didn’t quite live up to my expectations ‘Asa’ sees Falkenbach back on track again and in my opinion it contains some of his best work to date. The mixture of beautiful atmospheric parts, folk music elements and black metal is still a winning formula and I love the way he incorporates acoustic guitars and traditional folk music instruments into the sound.  At times it reminds me quite a lot of older Vintersorg albums and that can only be a quality sign. When it comes to the lyrics Vakyas changes between German, English and old Icelandic language and it actually works out quite well. The production is far from clinical but it suits the music perfectly so it’s really no point in criticize Falkenbach on that point either. The song material is very strong and there’s not a single weak track on the album, but to get the most out of ‘Asa’ it should be enjoyed as one piece since it’s the magical atmosphere, and changes in atmosphere, that makes this album special. 

Discography:

'Asa' 2013

'Tiurida' 2011

'Heralding - The Fireblade' 2005

'Ok Nefna Tysvar Ty' 2003

'Magni Blandinn Ok Megintiri...' 1998

'En Their Medh Riki Fara...' 1996