DRAGONFORCE
“EXTREME POWER METAL”
Album Review by Iron Mathew

10/10

DragonForce are a power metal band from the UK, forming in 1999. The band have made extreme speed metal their signature sound, with every album displaying super fast guitar work and galloping rhythms. ‘Valley Of The Damned’ is their 2003 debut album, quickly followed by ‘Sonic Firestorm’ the following year. Two more albums followed, ‘Inhuman Rampage’ (2006) and ‘Ultra Beatdown’ (2008), before the bands singer left in 2010, to be replaced by Marc Hudson in 2011, the band releasing ‘The Power Within’ in 2012 and ‘Maximum Overload’ in 2014. The bands seventh album ‘Reaching Into Infinity’ was released in 2017, with their eighth full length studio offering ‘Extreme Power Metal’, a 2019 release.

With a shift from their customary speed metal style, DragonForce now position themselves in the power metal genre with their new album ‘Extreme Power Metal’. Yes, there is still blistering fast paced guitar riffs to set new land speed records, but the overall ambience of the new album is power metal rooted. With ten songs across fifty minutes, DragonForce bring the eighties/nineties power metal style to the modern day, launching ‘Extreme Power Metal’ with an incendiary triple salvo, each of the three opening songs running in excess of six minutes apiece. ‘Highway To Oblivion’ is the opener, building an atmospheric crescendo, easing you in to the scorching pace that soon takes over. What an opening salvo, igniting the fire and flames fuse, exploding in an avalanche of fireworks. The elegant and exotically titled ‘Cosmic Power Of The Infinite Shred Machine’ glides in and then rockets off at high velocity, much heavier than the opener, yet retaining a massive melodic edge. And this sports fans, is the signature sound of DragonForce… Third song, and the third six minute plus offering in a row, ‘The Last Dragonborn’ is a more epic and majestic march than the previous two, Cinematic and climactic in its delivery, ‘The Last Dragonborn’ is melodic power metal of the most infectious kind.

‘Heart Demolition’ sees DragonForce lift the energy and tempo and steam ahead at full tilt, thundering on with a massive injection of the feel good factor. ‘Heart Demolition’ is so European styled it could easily appear on a Helloween, Iron Savior, Primal Fear or Gamma Ray album, but then that is the sound that DragonForce have gone after with this album, and boy are they nailing it, and nailing it hard. The speed metal side of the band rises high to the surface with devastating force, as ‘Troopers Of The Stars’ scorches the Earth as it rockets by. High tempo, high energy and one hundred percent addictive, ‘Troopers Of The Stars’ is a top notch head banger. And it’s songs like this that will reaffirm DragonForce’s stance at the forefront of the worldwide speed/power metal scene. With a title of ‘Razorblade Meltdown’, you’d expect a fast and furious gallop of head bang able heavy metal, and you won’t be disappointed. The fastest song on the album so far, ‘Razorblade Meltdown’ is a ferocious foray, a fierce fury and a galloping slab of speed metal. A sing a long able chorus just adds to the songs infectious nature, and what a breathless way to kick start the second half of the album.

‘Extreme Power Metal’ is going from strength to strength as it progresses, winning new fans with every song that goes by, existing fans wetting themselves with excitement. And the excitement and exhilaration is no where near over – ‘Strangers’ adopting a mid tempo yet energetic mid paced vibe, adding touches of the melodic rock and AOR genres… Yes, you heard me, A O fucking R . . . Simply amazing how DragonForce have taken the three genres of power, melodic rock and AOR and melded them into one glorious gallop. In my eyes, and ears, ‘Strangers’ is an absolute gem. And here comes the blistering DragonForce speed metal style again, ‘In A Skyforged Dream’ setting new land speed records as it hurtles by at break neck speed. One hundred percent melodic with a catchy sing a long style chorus, ‘In A Skyforged Dream’ is a glorious power/speed metal gallop. With a title that confirms exactly what the lyrical topic is, ‘Remembrance Day’ is a tribute to “fallen souls in fields afar” and is a regal sounding epic, a majestic mid tempo march. With its hymn like sound and choir like chorus, ‘Remembrance Day’ is “honour and glory, we salute you the fallen” and “raise a flag high for the heroes of their time”. Oh my fucking God what a song, what a tribute, what a feel free to insert any superlative here you like…as I have been left a little speechless by ‘Remembrance Day’. Okay, finding my voice again, DragonForce bring their eighth album to a close with the shortest song on offer at just a little over three minutes in length. ‘My Heart Will Go On’ is another glorious gallop of foot on the monitor style high speed heavy metal.

Overall, DragonForce have delivered an album of power and speed melded with melodic rock that will excite and exhilarate fans all around the world.

TRACKLIST

Highway To Oblivion
Cosmic Power Of The Infinite Shred Machine
The Last Dragonborn
Heart Demolition
Troopers Of The Stars
Razorblade Meltdown
Strangers
In A Skyforged Dream
Remembrance Day
My Heart Will Go On

http://www.dragonforce.com/
https://www.facebook.com/dragonforce/

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