Folkearth- Rulers of the Sea. The newest folkearth album.
1.the voices of the dead
much better production than anything from 'fatherland'. singer is good, audio levels are normalized, everything sounds good. the bass is present, the drums don't sound like trash cans, and the guitars don't just emit distortion. if folkearth keeps it up, this will reverse their recent trend of being less than mediocre. the ending is a warm, acoustic segue to the final chorus.
2.rulers of the sea
similar in many ways to the previous track, and in all ways better than 'fatheland'. i'm relieved. there's a guitar solo and it's not great, but it exists.
3.the doomed crusade
bass solo in the intro, bagpipes in the verse. the bagpipes repeat through most of the song, and, instead of being annoying, create a melancholic tone that suits the lyrics.
4.lord of the spear
more lead guitar work that was nowhere to be found in 'fatherland'. there is also some kind of folk stringed instrument but i can't make it out (maybe a mandolin). there is a nice layering of tracks that adds tangible dimension to the song.
5.the price of epirus
i think the drummer is using heel-toe, which is really surprising. the acoustic guitar has a warm, round sound.
6.cosmogenesis
the quality of drumming remains high. it's nice to have guitar leads, but they seem aimless, not only here but in other songs as well.
7.folkearth
the lyrics are folkearth's mission statement? there's a guitar solo in the beginning and in the middle.
8.i am fire
both rhythm and lead guitars are quite good for what's to be expected.
9.apollonian light
the chorus is a little catchy
10.when the gods doth return
a fast tune, and the flutes have a hard time keeping up.
11.byzantine princess
the sole ballad of the album. it ends quietly with a nice guitar outro.
folkearth has improved immeasurably from their previous release. this is their best work since 'by the sword of my father', but its still weaker than it. even so, 'rulers of the sea' is a turnaround i was not expecting. 6 albums in 5 years means you're going to get a lot of garbage. folkearth should have some better quality control over what gets put on an album, and take more time developing them.
