Sonic Firestorm seems an appropriate title! This is high octane, guitarpowered melodic Metal, where the melodies reminds me of bands like
Freedom Call,
Gamma Ray and
Stratovarius, just speeded up a whole lot. Harmony meets rage.
The guitarduo of
Sam Totman and
Herman Li play damn fast and are the biggest force in creating the
Dragonforce-sound. All members come across as very professional musicians.
This is show off guitarplaying for sure, but in the good sense, where a tongue-in-cheek attitude combined with a good amount of songwriting talent and sense for melodies, make the overall impression a charming and uplifting one.
The weakest link in the otherwise strong chain, seems singer
Z.P Theart, who's voice is pretty thin and a bit stretched at times. Not a terrible singer, but a stronger and more personal voice would suit the massive, untamed sound these guys possess.
The label uses the expression "Extreme Power Metal" when trying to explain the sound of
Dragonforce, and that seems pretty accurate: Power Metal speeded up to a breathtaking high level. Hyper melodic, but creating a wild, crazy and almost hysterical feeling, combined with the guitar-show-off that dominates all tracks. Good stuff!
My fave songs are the blasting
Fury Of The Storm, the super melodic
Fields Of Despair as well as the longest, almost epic
Soldiers Of The Wasteland, where the choir chorus provides a good counterweight to the rapid profile of the song!
The only thing providing change from the speedy, manical atmosphere, is the ballad,
Dawn Over A New World, and personally, I would have preferred to keep the raging feeling intact and have a more wild song instead. Why is it a complete must to include a ballad on every Power Metal album? On the first
Dragonforce album we got two, and this one is too similar to both of these!
The music is very alike during the whole album, and there are no real surprises left, once you've heard a few songs, but due to the speed and detail of especially guitars and keyboard, it stays entertaining to me!
Still, if the forthcoming releases keep sounding exactly the same, it will eventually get boring, so my wish is, that
Dragonforce will evolve a little more in the future.
The production is great, clear and help nailing down the impression of a huge, crushing wall of sound coming towards you!
The downside of the album is, that all the guitar soloing make all songs last just a little bit too long. A simple structure can be great for a short song, but songs lasting 6 or 7 minutes need some more elements to stay interesting, and repeating the same riff doesn't help.
Soldiers Of the Wasteland is the best song, because it has a construction varied enough to make you forget it's almost ten minutes long.
Being one of the most unvaried albums I've heard in my life doesn't draw up the rating.
All in all a display of good songwriting with a strong sense for melodies, played on a high professional level. Fast as hell, energetic and uplifting!
But more variation next time, please.
Written by
Nina Friday, June 25, 2004
Show all reviews by NinaRatingsNina: 6.5/10Members: No members have rated this album yet.
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