ALBUM REVIEW: FALCUN - KINGDOM COME
Despite what the likes of Gene Simmons tell you, the world of rock and metal is far from dead. In fact, Spirit Level would argue that we are in a period of renaissance with a fantastic roster of new and exciting bands emerging all of the time and the old guard writing some of their best material in years (look no further than the latest ‘Judas Priest’ record). In our experience, we have found that most of the time when people complain about the state of music nowadays, they generally mean that styles have changed and they miss the sounds of their older bands. If you fit into that category then worry not, there has also been a recent resurgence in new bands channelling the sounds of yesteryear. In the past month we have seen live shows from ‘The Second Sons’ channelling ‘The Rolling Stones’ and ‘Greta Van Fleet’ who sound like a carbon copy of ‘Led Zeppelin’. If you are looking for something heavier then the debut record from Indian band ‘Falcun’ may just be what you are looking for.
Celebrating themselves as a band that “embodies the spirits of the elder gods of the NWOBHM and the 80s power metal scenes.” ‘Falcun’ are NWOBHM reincarnate. It is nigh on impossible to talk about their debut ‘Kingdom Come’ without mentioning the titanic ‘Iron Maiden’ as the Indian quintet sound almost identical. Vocalist Abhishek Dasgupta channels Bruce Dickinson throughout to the point that we are constantly waiting for Bruce’s signature “Scream For Me…” whilst the dual guitar riffing from Anirban Dasroy and Samrat Daas have an almost identical tone to ‘Iron Maiden’s earlier records. In fact, the only member who is not instantly comparable to the Brits is drummer Debarshi Chakraborty who kicks up the pace and adds an extra element of energy to the album. When it comes to NWOBHM, there are far worse bands to be compared to and ‘Falcun’ pay a strong tribute to their idols, especially on songs like ‘Vixen’ and ‘Knightfall’. The only issue is that we have heard it all before. The second half of the album picks up the pace and adds a fresh burst of energy and originality with ‘Eye Of The Storm’ and ‘Child Of Prophecy’ before the obligatory ballad of ‘Martyr’; but Dasgupta’s vocals are so eerily similar to Dickinson’s that you find yourself yearning to listen to the classic ‘Iron Maiden’ albums instead.
‘Kingdom Come’ is a long way away from the likes of ‘Number Of The Beast’, but it is a bold and heartfelt tribute and a fantastic first attempt. We just wish that there was a little more experimentation and originality. However, if you are still yearning for the sound of metals golden age, then you could do a lot worse than ‘Falcun’
6/10
Personal Highlight: After a cinematic instrumental interim in ‘Hymn Of The Damned’, the album gets a fresh burst of energy with ‘Eye Of The Storm’ which is easily the heaviest and most exciting track on the record. Bringing elements of thrash into the instrumental sections, ‘Falcun’ successfully merge the two genres together into something far more original.
