DragonForce "Ultra Beatdown" Album Review

Friday, August 22, 2008

Written by: Dee4leeds

DragonForce. Say their name and people conjure up images of either Herman Li's hand's moving at a blistering pace on his guitar or Guitar Hero III, in which a nobody's hand's are moving at a blistering pace on a piece of plastic. Off the back of their mainstream success DragonForce release new album Ultra Beatdown. The Three Rs reviews.



Their are many constants in our world, the Sun rising and setting, the air we breath and the sound of DragonForce. Opener Heroes of Our Time does very little in revealing a new DragonForce, instead presenting the old DragonForce. Somehow with a strong sense of nostalgia as if the band has been away for 20+ years, when in fact the gap has only been 2 years. Apparent in the song is the drums, giving the guitars a run for their money in the epic scale. Written for band oriented music rhythm games? Possible.

"Finally all the World Will See." Both the opening of this paragraph and on next track The Fire Still Burns. The sound of The Fire Still Burns is much harsher in sounding than most DragonForce counterparts, before in the later stages return to the bouncy feel of most of their songs.

Most experimental song on the album is Reasons to Live. Beginning with a drumbeat taken from any Metalcore album, which is juxtaposed with a following Mario theme tune sounding keyboard, the song holds strong taking DragonForce into unseen territory. The lyrics do leave a lot to the imagination, as you would expect, but with a guitar solo half way unlike any other in a DragonForce album, quickly realisation happens... This the song to silence the critics.

The blistering pace is stalled somewhat in Heartbreak Armageddon, which sounds like the score to any Hollywood dream scene. Long cords, held until it can't be possible any longer. Adding a Mexican influenced guitar riff later on adds another element to the story these guitars are speaking to the listener, without saying a single word. Don't worry though, the pace is restored to normal before the end!

Any chances of a new sound are dashed with The Last Journey Home which could have been taken from a previous album without anyone knowing. The song embodies the critics problem with these frantic musicians. However they do just redeem themselves with A Flame For Freedom which, though preachy in lyrics, mixes the guitars and drums up enough to sound new.

Inside the Winter Storm leaves me with a warm, fuzzy feeling inside. Reminding me of early Avenged Sevenfold, before they're decline to "Pop Metal," but still sounding like a DragonForce. No doubt because of ZP Theart and his epic, over the top voice. They could most likely steal "Stairway to Heaven" stick the line "So Far Away" in somewhere and most people would be thrown, both the curse and blessing of their sound.

And finally the last song of the album, The Warrior Inside. The ending of the album is similar to the beginning. Both sounding typically DragonForce without pushing the speed barrier, instead casually leaning against it and both sounding as if they were written for music rhythm games.



What is evident throughout all the songs on Ultra Beatdown is DragonForce's refusal to divert from their core sound, which in many circles has cause cries of "All Their Songs Sound the Same!" I would say this album provides enough glimmers of a renaissance, but could do with more experimentation before embarking into a new sound.

DragonForce - Ultra Beatdown: 3.5/5 - Solid Album, Strong Enough to Carry on the DragonForce Noise.

Album Picks
-Reasons to Live
-Heartbreak Armageddon
-Inside the Winter Storm

What did you think of Ultra Beatdown? Tell Us at Res3.net!

Enjoyed this Post? Come back in October for a review and videos of DragonForce LIVE.

Labels: Album Review, DragonForce, music review, Review, Ultra Beatdown

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Article Posted: Friday, August 22, 2008 at 11:18.
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