Ahh....incredible guitar harmonies, 3 minute long solos per song, corny ass lyrics...Dragonforce is one of the many bands that truly define power metal. Their lyrics are all fantasy-esqe all about knights in shining armor and stuff like that. Sometimes you can’t help but laugh your ass off listening to Dragonforce, it can be hard to take them seriously. But damn, the shredfests featured in every track sure make up for it all.
Dragonforce is a 6-membered band formed in England, and though it’s true that they really aren’t original at all, they do what they do well. Guitarists Herman Li and Sam Totman play fast as hell, and really don’t stop. Yet, it’s all extremely catchy. With their second release, Dragonforce definitely showcases their best effort. I personally find Valley of The Damned and Inhuman Rampage a bit boring, but here, I can actually stay focused. Each track here succeeds the five minute mark, so for an 8 song album, it’s about the same length as a 14 song album from any average band. Though the songs are pretty lengthy, the band’s incredible musicianship keeps it interesting. Vocalists ZP Theart has very unique voice, that really sounds perfect for this type of music. If you ask me his voice sounds a lot like the lead singer of Rush’s voice (can’t believe I forgot his name) Dave Mackintosh is a hell f a drummer, and really beats the hell out of the double bass. Keyboard Vadim Pruzhanov adds a very atmospheric and fantasy sounding feel to the music, plus he manages to play just as fast as Li and Totman. Bassist Frederic Leclercq, though not always audible basically plays just as much as the guitars do. Thus when audible, you can here him delivering some blistering parts to the rhythm section.
DRagonforce’s sound is a very unique one. Like the lyrics suggest, each song sounds royal and triumphant, like fighting a dragon or something. It’s all got a very positive vibe to it, it;s so happy in fact that I sometimes have to listen to something more evil sounding, like Children of Bodom to rid of it. Pruzhanov adds some very video game-esque sounds to the music, adding even more corniness. However, this surprisingly works and helps define Dragonforce’s sound. Though it’s extremely corny and a bit too happy, Sonic Firestorm is definitely the band’s best release.
Track Analysis:
My Spirit Will Go On: The album opener starts with a cool clean guitar part. Some keyboards join in soon after. Then, the crushing guitar riff enters, with a bit of a darker sound than most of the album. A dramatic build up follows with some stings, most likely played on the keyboard. Finally, the speed comes, and Li and Totman deliver with one of my favorite lead guitar riffs ever. The melody to this song is so damn catchy, yet very happy of course. The verse features a bit of a darker sound, just a bit. Theart starts with his fantasy like vocals here as the rhythm section tears it up. The pre chorus lightens up a bit for a more triumphant sound and then finally, the amazingly catchy chorus comes in. Theart sings in an almost falsetto voice in parts of the chorus, which is definitely among the album’s best. The guitars retain their breakneck Speed throughout. After, a short and catchy guitar interlude comes in, leading back to the verse. The whole process repeats, and then what really defines Dragonforce comes in: the solos. Li and Totman really shred at breakneck speed’s through the solo. It’s all full of speed and melody and lasts around 2-3 minutes. At 6:15, the solo ends, yet the guitar remains some incredible melody, and Theart just “Woahs” in a typical fashion. The pre chorus and chorus then play. THe intro riff then reappears to close out the song. The best song on the album bar none. Really breath taking. 10/10
Fury of the Storm: Starts a little slower than the previous track, but quickly speeds up with more incredible harmonies. The vocals come in around 1:00 and sound much more triumphant and happy than the last track. The chorus here is possibly even more catchy than the last track, though it showcases possibly the corniest lyrics ever: “Into the fires of forever, we will fly through the heavens. With the power of the universe we stand strong together.” The lyrics can’t help but make one think about Power Rangers there for some reason. Once again, the cheese really doesn’t bring down the song all that much. Once again, the process repeats, then followed by another solo. The solo here actually lasts practically more than half of the song. It’s basically more frenzied madness. he chorus comes back to end the song. Another one of the cd’s best songs. 10/10
Fields of Despair: This song is much darker than the other two. It starts right away with speed and blast beats and goes straight to the verse, with is a bit ominous sounding. All changes though when the chorus comes in, which is overall pretty cheery and full of melody again. The solo here is a little shorter than the other tracks, but is no worse. The song ends like the others with the chorus,only at the end, the chorus’ riff remains, only the band “Ooohs” the melody to the chorus. It’s a great way to end a great song. 9.5/10
Dawn Over a New World : The ballad of the album, and a pretty well done one if I do say so. It starts with a beautiful piano part played by Pruzhanov. Some acoustic guitars and Theart then come in. This song is the only song that really isn’t fast at all, it’s relatively mid-tempo throughout. The first verse ends, and then the amped up guitars come in for another verse. The guitars are actually really catchy and maybe the highlight of the song. The melodies are beautiful all in all. The chorus is another one of my favorites. Very triumphant and fantasy sounding: “Across the highest mountains and through the endless seas.” The solo here is much shorter, slower, and melodic than the others. In fact, it’
s quite beautiful. The chorus comes back in, which starts with a synthed up version of Theart’s voice before the normal verse comes in. Theart actually sings the chorus an octave higher than before for the last time. The song ends after the chorus. All in all, a very nice ballad, though one of the cd’s weaker tracks. 9/10
Above the Winter Moonlight This starts with a very high pitched melody played by the guitar, a slower more triumphant melody that actually sounds a bit like the song “Shenandoah.” After, the heaviness and the speed come in. This song has a very organic atmosphere to it. The verses are sung a bit lower than the other songs at first. The song then slows down considerably for the pre-chorus. Then, the chorus comes in incredibly royal sounding, with more shredding. After the chorus, and incredibly fast piano melody bridges to the verse. Like suspected, the process repeats to the solo. A nice folk interlude comes in at 3:29, which goes to some lone bass drum and another very catchy piano part. The guitars come in bridging to the solo. Like the others, it’s all about the incredible speed and melodies. The last minute or so of the song is basically synth and a catchy guitar melody. A great song. 9.25/10
Soldiers of the Wasteland: This is the longest song on the album, clocking in at 9:47. It starts with some lone vocals from the whole band. Then, the instruments come in, with the guitars playing a western sounding melody. After, some heavy synth comes in, followed by an incredibly fast drum fill which leads to the guitars playing faster than ever, and a very cool keyboard line. The into lasts pretty long before Theart’s vocals come in. Theart’s vocals actually might be the best on this song as there is more of a variety used here. The chorus is catchy as hell, which consists of fast drumming and some power chords. After this repeats, a strange sound that almost sounds like water falling in a cave comes in, followed by a long guitar interlude that last for a minute or two. SOme more vocals then come in. Then, the masterful solo comes in, extremely fast, probably faster than the rest of the album. Listen to it begin at 6:35, it’s probably my favorite part of the song. This line repeats for a bit as Mackintosh delivers some furious blast beats. The solo lasts for a few minutes and goes to the chorus, which eventually ends the song. One of the best.10/10
Prepare For War: The intro to this song is very similar to the one of
Fury of the Storm The verses are a bit similar to the ones of [b]Fields of Despair[/b’}, it’s a bit darker sounding. Actually, most of the song is a little darker sounding than the rest of the album. The chorus features more shredding as usual, and I personally don’t enjoy it quite as much as the other songs. After the second chorus, a very nice interlude comes in. Some clean guitars play throughout it. This solo actually isn’t quite so fast at first, it’s much slower, much like the one off
Dawn Over a New World. However, after some vocals, the speed comes in. The chorus then plays till the end. This is a very good song. However, I never really liked it as much as the other songs for some reason. 9/10
Once in a Lifetime: I love the intro to the song. It’s the mos regal sounding riff ever ever. After it, Li and Totman immediately come in with maybe the fastest riff on the album. This lasts for a while before the vocals come in. This is one of the happiest songs on the album, yet one of the best. The chorus is maybe the best. It’s incredibly cathy and features great vocals from ZP. A short interlude leads us back to the speedy verse. As you’d expect, the solo is no different from most of them, it’s all shredding and melody. The verse comes back for a return after, then leads back to the regal chorus. The song ends with the sound of water rushing it seems. A perfect album ender. 9.75/10
This is one of the best power metal releases I own. Dragonforce really has a unique sound to them I look forward to more of their releases. Hopefully, they’ll be able to pump out an album just as good as this one.
The intro to that song is killer though, I saw an amv of the song on youtube.
