Label: earMusic 2018
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom
Fast! faster!! Dragonfa.. force!!! Extreme Power Metal: the short version - It's the insane shredding, sweeping and tapping skill of Yngwie J Malmsteen. The German Metal arrangements of Helloween, Blind Guardian, Scanner. The eighties sing-a-long harmonies and melodic keyboards of Robby Valentine (he's big in Japan, you know). Last but not least. The over the top influences of Japan and especially the themes of retro video games. Known as the fastest band in the world, it's obviously all done at neck breaking speed. More importantly, it's melodic and great, no, it's better than great, it's Dragongreat!
Bombastic, fantastic, and ever so phenomenal. It's one of those album that get better with each spin and there's always something new to discover and cheer about. Herman Li and Sam Totman, a pair of monsters on the six strings (or seven, eight?) and they are constantly pushing the bounderies on what's humanly possible to play without losing a finger or three. I feel sorry for Gee Anzalone (drums) since there's no place to hide and definitely no time to rest. It's wicked though and the trigger happy drummer goes bezerk behind the drums. The hard work of the rhythm section (including Frederic Leclercq on bass) - the heart and soul of the album. Marc Hudson's singing is dead on and out of this world and that goes for all the harmonies and choirs on the record.
"Feel the engines fire. Feel the thunder rise. Now touch the path of glory. Power to the turbo drive". It's full on turbo throughout the record and the opening of "Highway To Oblivion" really is extreme (and very melodic) power metal at its sonic best. Kudos to the excellent production and they're off at "500 miles an hour - All gravity defied". Next up, "Cosmic Power Of The Infinite Shred Machine", the face-melting Indiana Jones moment where the Nazis' gets the full blast of the Ark. Shocking to say the least. "The Last Dragonborn" will have the Skyrim fans crying of joy as they set off for new adventures. Tracks such as "Heart Demolition" and "Strangers" really are the energizer bunny version of Robby Valentine. Superb melodic metal.
Final verdict: Epic and extreme. Catchy and fast. Triumphant and uplifting. It's Dragonforce at their very best! Highly recommended. facebook.com/pg/dragonforce/
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