Dragonforce-Ultra Beatdown

Roadrunner
2008


I approached the new Dragonforce album trying hard to be objective and went into it with an open mind. Several plays later I emerged, a little worse for wear yet very much sure that I had not misjudged this band on their previous albums. This is speed for the sake of speed and if it was thrash or death metal then is might work out in the end a little better. However this is power metal and they slop out some soulless riffs that lack any real depth. Unfortunately that's not the end, no they bring out the theatrical vocals that are thick on the ham and although have a definite range the larynx ripping pace robs them of any real emotion or richness that might have been present. The keyboards just help to make the overall feel even fluffier than it already is, if that is actually possible. Don't get me wrong, I love power metal and that's exactly why I felt unsatisfied by this album. Power metal in general thrives on soaring riffs, multiple pace changes and oftentimes powerful vocals. Dragonforce thrive on the gimmick of being over the top yet they sadly just appear to be light weights at best and at the worst they seem to be a bad joke. I was trying very hard to dig deep and get into what they were doing here. Yet that wasn't possible because they are not that, deep everything they have is just on the surface and it all revolves around rather thin layers of flash. The eight tracks here are in keeping with the band's previous outputs although they may show just a little more control. Unfortunately, I think there are enough fans out there who will buy into this candy-coated, smirking style of hollow power metal and keep fueling Dragonforce's efforts for a few more years to come.