Falconer @ ProgPower, Part 1: Introduction

Everybody has That One Band.

Unfortunately for a lot of us, our One Band is a band that never goes on tour. Especially sad for those of us who live in the United States, and have favorite bands residing in Europe, meaning that even when they do go on tour, they don't come anywhere near us. I actually have a few of these bands, but one of them stands out - because their singer is a god at whose voice I fall down in worship. This is the story of what was truly a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see my vocal god and the kick-ass band he sings in.

Seven years ago, I fell in love with a voice. That voice was Mathias Blad’s on Falconer’s 2008 album, Among Beggars and Thieves. Falconer was a band I had never heard of until that year, when their new album began receiving ‘airplay’ on a power metal station on internet radio. His voice was what drew me to the band, and he quickly became my favorite vocalist. His voice spoke to me in ways I couldn’t describe. It took a little while for the songs to grow on me, but once they did, I became a huge Falconer fan (a.k.a. Falconite), and not just a Mathias Blad fan. Falconer has since become one of my favorite bands, for both its vocalist and its songwriting and musicianship. Mathias has also been my all-time favorite singer for a number of years now, a throne I don't think can ever be stolen from him.

Six years ago, during the unfortunate time I spent in Billings, Montana, I created a ‘demand’ on Eventful for Falconer to perform there. Eventful, as I’m sure you can guess from the name, is a website for concerts and other events. One of its claims to fame (if you can call it that) was being the place where people could ‘demand’ that the movie Paranormal Activity be shown in their city, back when the movie had first come out and was being hyped as an independent B-movie that would only be shown in a few cities. I thought Paranormal Activity looked like it might be a good movie (I was wrong) so I joined the demand, which resulted in being automatically assigned an account with Eventful. I’ve barely used it since then, but I did join demands for a few bands I wanted to see live. Falconer was the only demand I ever created. When prompted to write a description of my demand, I wrote, “I need to see Mathias Blad live if it’s the last thing I do.”

Unfortunately, I knew this demand would do no good because (a) metal bands from Sweden rarely perform in Billings, MT. In fact, metal bands in general rarely perform in Billings, MT. And (b) Falconer had only done a handful of live shows in their entire history as a band. None of those shows had been in the United States, to my knowledge at the time (as it turns out, one of them had, but it had been a long time ago during the days of Kristoffer Göbel on vocals).

I honestly thought that I would never see them live, at least not without winning the lottery and traveling to Sweden, or possibly to Wacken Open Air or somewhere like that. (WOA is, of course, on my bucket list.) I actually thought that it would be more likely for me to somehow wind up seeing Mathias Blad sing in a musical on a stage in Sweden than for Falconer to ever come to the United States. Seriously, I thought the odds of that happening were actually a lot higher. Never in a million years did I dream that the entire band would end up playing in the United States. They were the one band that I thought I would never see.

Then, one year ago, I won the lottery.

No, not literally. I’m still broke. Especially after this show. But one year ago, I received the news that Falconer would be a studio-only band after September 11, 2015. Which didn't change much of anything considering how infrequently they played live anyway. But there was one thing about that news that would change things for me: they would be playing their final live show at 2015’s ProgPower USA festival in Atlanta, Georgia. In the United States.

I. Flipped. Out. My reaction was literally that of someone who'd just won a million dollars, complete with the jumping up and down and screaming. I remember the exact moment I received this news. At the time, I lived in a house in Tempe, Arizona with two male roommates I had found on Craigslist. I lived there for a grand total of two months after moving back to the Phoenix area. I had just moved across the country, and hadn’t gotten back on my feet yet. I had been unemployed for two weeks so far and had no job prospects in sight just yet. I had very little money, if any money at all after such a big move. I was in the kitchen cooking some ramen noodles, and casually scrolling through Facebook on my phone when I saw a post from my friend Joan, who goes to ProgPower every year and is also a huge Falconite. The post was made to guitarist Jimmy Hedlund’s timeline, though I didn’t even notice that at first. All I saw was a reference to Joan’s “raptor shriek,” which she claimed could probably be heard all the way in Sweden, upon seeing the announcement video for the following year. Seeing the words “raptor shriek,” “Sweden,” and “next year’s ProgPower,” I immediately put two and two together... and stopped breathing.

Despite my financial situation, thoughts like “I can’t afford to go to Atlanta” or “How am I going to pay for this?” never entered my mind. I went straight to “I’M GOING TO SEE FALCONER” territory, and never looked back. Yes, it was three time zones away on the opposite end of the country, but it was still in MY country. Hell, even if it had been in Mexico or Canada… Falconer was going to be on the same continent as me, and I was going to be there. It was hard for me catch my breath for a moment. I couldn’t form cohesive sentences for several minutes, other than “OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD. I’M GOING TO SEE FALCONER.”

And see them, I did. I even lived to tell the tale.

Now that my dream has come true, I have decided to do a song-by-song review of their entire setlist, which I will post in Part 2 of this review series, as my introduction has taken up enough space already. I had been looking forward to this for too long to do a one-page review of the entire show, so I’m splitting it into 3 parts: the introduction, the song-by-song, and then a general review of the overall performance and atmosphere, as well as a few extra songs I would have liked added to the setlist. There will also be a fourth (maybe even a fifth) entry, which will NOT be all about Falconer, but about my overall experience at ProgPower, the friends I met there, and the other bands I saw perform.

Stay tuned...

Top Ten Favorite + Most Underrated Falconer Songs

My internet was temporarily down yesterday, so I was unable to get my Friday blog post up on time. I also tend to miss my Tuesday posts lately, as it's been a busy couple of weeks leading up to my trip. We'll see if I can get back on track after I get home. If not, posts may be limited to once a week from now on, which is still an improvement over the neglect this blog has seen in the past.

Anyway, it is now the month of September. Yesterday marked one week until I get to see Falconer play their final live show at ProgPower USA. It is now only six days, thanks to my internet going AWOL last night. Five days until my flight. Four days until a lot of people get to begin celebrating ProgPower with Midweek Mayhem, though I personally will not be there until Friday's show.

I am now preparing for my trip in ways that make it seem very real. Official packing is happening as we speak (except for while I'm typing this). I colored my hair with indigo yesterday so it will look good with my outfit for Corset Night. Today I made it to a third-party DMV location to replace my expired out-of-state ID with one the TSA will be less likely to reject when I get on my flight. I just have one last shopping trip, a few more errands to do, and to finish packing, and I will be good to go!

With only one week left to go, this will be the final installment of my once-a-week, pre-concert Falconer posts. It was hard to narrow down which Falconer songs to post to celebrate the milestone. So I've decided not to post any. Instead, I am sharing a list of my Top Ten Favorite Falconer Songs. I encourage you to listen to all of these songs, if you aren't familiar with them already. For those of you who are already Falconites, I thought you might find it interesting which songs I enjoy most. Feel free to share your own Top Tens, as well.

These are not necessarily in perfect order, and are subject to change at any time.

1. Herr Peder och Hans Syster
One of Falconer's heavier songs, and the hard-hitting riffs made it an instant favorite.

2. Dreams and Pyres
This was actually the first song I heard by Falconer. This song made me a fan, and made me fall in love with Mathias Blad's voice. Incredibly well-composed and great performances by all involved.

3. En Kungens Man
In my opinion, one of the most beautiful songs ever recorded. Tragic lyrics + beautiful acoustic guitar + Mathias' voice = amazing.

4. Child of the Wild, 2006 remake
A fantastic song from the moment it was originally released, but with the addition of Blad's vocals, it became twice the song it used to be. The instrumental bridge and the beautiful vocalizations near the end are some of my favorite moments in music.

5. Himmel Så Trind
I love the melancholy sound of the guitar. It reminds me of the cold depression of winter, but I can listen to it from the comfortable warmth of Arizona. I feel like this one is a bit underrated as far as Falconer songs go.

6. Vårvindar Friska
Another one of the most beautiful songs ever done by a metal band. No metal instruments in this one at all, but the piano and vocals make it. Since hearing this version, I've also listened to several other versions by other artists, and have yet to find one that came remotely close to being as beautiful.

7. Substitutional World
This is a totally badass metal track, but also includes a very musical-theatre moment with "The higher your lucky star rises..." I consider this the best of both worlds!

8. Carnival of Disgust
A great song all-around. And obviously the band knows it, since they made quite the epic music video for this track.

9. Upon the Grave of Guilt
I'm pretty sure everybody loves this song, and for good reason. It was the first track on their first album, and set the tone for their career. The music, lyrics and vocals were all a great look into the awesomeness that was to come.

10. The Clarion Call
Duh.

And now for my list of five most underrated Falconer songs. I rarely, or never, hear these songs getting credit for being the awesome songs they actually are.

1. Viddernas Man
I believe Stefan Weinerhall himself has said this song isn't very good, but I think it's lovely! Particularly the piano during the first verse, and the low notes in the chorus.

2. The Past Still Lives On
I think the lyrics to this song are really cool.

3. Stand in Veneration
The a capella intro is amazing! It used to be my ringtone. The lyrics are pretty well-written too.

4. Ridom, Ridom
Maybe it's just because it was on a bonus disc, but I never hear anyone talk about it. This song is AWESOME. If my top 10 were a top 15 instead, this one would have been on it.

5. Dark Ages
Again, it's probably only because it was a bonus track, only appearing on the Japanese edition of the album. Still, it gets less recognition than I would expect for a song of its quality.