Falter – Salt in the Soil: Adam Sharr’s Revelatory Journey into Blackened Folk Metal!
Falter Review:
Adam Sharr strikes again with his latest impressive solo project, Falter. The vocalist of melodic death outfit Grenadier (see review of their album ‘Trumpets Blare in Blazing Glory’ here) and responsible for all duties on his black metal band Nocturnal Prayer (see review of Nocturnal Prayer’s ‘Mutilation On the Bed of Winter’ album here). Sharr being multifaceted in all realms of different styles of music, delves into folk/black metal in much the same style as groups such as Drudkh and Agalloch with Falter.
‘Salt in the Soil’ is a hard hitting and impressive piece of creative music. In the realm of death/black/folk music, Falter delivers memorable compositions with this six-song release. Hailing from Mount Pearl Newfoundland, an unlikely domain for solid music in this genre. Grenadier, Nocturnal Prayer, and this release are examples of the best extreme music coming out the Canadian province of Newfoundland currently.
Sharr has also released a few neo folk songs as self titled material on Bandcamp: adamsharr.bandcamp.com/album/to-the-woods
The aforementioned neo folk songs as well as the track ‘The Old Sunday Dinner’ which is a cover of an old Newfoundland song by The Martin Family (check out the song here on YouTube) is a fine example of Sharr’s vocal range and capabilities. I also remember Severed Cinema Executive Editor, Chris Severed, sending me a video of Grenadier doing a cover of Manilla Road’s Crystal Logic live at a local show in which Sharr gave an impressive clean vocal delivery. All very impressive displays of different styles of vocals.
The intro ‘The Trickle of Rain’ on ‘Salt in the Soil’ is a somber/moody guitar piece with the subtle accompaniment of falling rain in the background. A great opener to the beautiful aural damage which lies in wait.
‘Strife’ is a mid-paced song that chugs along with fiery screams and some very nice riffs to accompany. Nothing blistering fast but it gets the juices flowing and a nice beginner.
‘Mattock’ gets down in a hard way with more speed, drum fills, and serious riffage. The song title (a mattock is similar to a gardening/farming tool I refer to as a pickaxe) really gives off the whole folk/farm vibe Falter goes for with this release. The cover art features a horse pulling a cart or possibly plowing a field with its owner/farmer by its side. The cover art has a very Vincent van Gogh feel to it.
‘Devout’ follows that same family/folk/farm theme. The beginning of the song has a punk feeling which is common with different waves of thrash or black metal, and I enjoy the feeling it brings to the table here. It has great riffs, punchy drums, and blastbeats. The guitars really hit a sweet melodic note around the 5:30 mark. It’s the cherry on top of the black metal sundae if you will.
My favorite track on this one is ‘Burdens Passed Down to Daughter and Son’ which has great melodic guitar hooks, intense drumming, mixes of different tempos, and the tormented growling vocals, not hitting high screeches or howls common with most black metal. This is more of a mid-range between growls and screams — a happy medium is reached. The memorable guitar work is excellent on the faster sections of the song but also shines wonderfully when its slowed down at the 3:26 mark. Of note are also some jaw-dropping solo works. Then at 4:26 it picks up again with serious riffage. Like I mentioned, this is easily my favorite song here by far. It all culminates and brings through those folk themes, family struggles and stories of living off the land and survival in simpler times.
The closer ‘The Old Sunday Dinner’ with Sharr’s clean majestic/gothic clean vocals ring through. As mentioned prior, it’s an impressive cover of this old homebrew tune by The Martin Family. ‘The Old Sunday Dinner’ fits like a glove with the themes featured on ‘Salt in the Soil.‘
All the songs are lengthy compositions. They share brutality, beauty, and themes of struggle. Sharr is looking for a label to release ‘Salt in the Soil’ and has it available for purchase currently on Bandcamp here: falter709.bandcamp.com/album/salt-in-the-soil
If any labels are interested in releasing this glorious piece of blackened folk metal get in touch!
Album Info:
Band: Falter
Album: Salt in the Soil
Members: Adam Sharr
Year: 2023
Country: Canada
Runtime: 35min 42sec
Label: Independant
Track Listing:
01. The Trickling of Rain
02. Strife
03. Mattock
04. Devout
05. My Burdens Passed Down to Daughter and Son
06. The Old Sunday Dinner (The Martin Family Cover)
