Ultra Beatdown - Dragonforce

Dragonforce -Ultra Beatdown, A Review By Addy

On the 26th of this month {August} the new Dragonforce album titled Ultra Beatdown will be available to us here in the U.K. Dragonforce are an extreme Power Metal band hailing from London, England and are mostly renowned for the incredible sporadic, fast, melodic lead guitar work. I have had the honour and privilege to see Dragonforce live in concert and the guitar work defies belief, their fingers and hands are almost a blur. These are often presented as twin-guitar harmonies in a speed metal style. Sadly this description can often lead to the assumption that it is just loud incoherent noise which is not the case. Dragonforce also incorporate into some of their songs computer game style background music. The way I would describe this is that some of the tracks have a background melody that to me is reminiscent of a carnival, I hope that makes sense. So it has been two long years since the release of the last album titled Inhuman Rampage since these guys are solidly touring, constantly! This is paying off big time with them getting recognised at least many folk are getting to know the name and they even have a track on one of the Guitar Heroes console games. With the release of Ultra Beatdown, Dragonforce now have four albums under their belt averaging two years between each album release.

Current Band Line-up

ZP Theart - lead and backing vocals
Herman Li - lead and rhythm guitars, backing vocals
Sam Totman - lead and rhythm guitars, backing vocals
Vadim Pruzhanov - keyboards, piano, backing vocals
Dave Mackintosh - drums, backing vocals
Frédéric Leclercq - bass, backing vocals

The Album

Dragonforce
Album Title: Ultra Beatdown
Released: 26th August 2008
Genre: Extreme Power Metal
Length: 58:11
Label: Roadrunner

It's not going to be majorly different. But hopefully the melodies will be nicer, the guitar solos will be better, the production will be better. You just try to improve in every area. (Sam Totman)

Track Listing and Length

1. "Heroes of Our Time" 7:14
2. "The Fire Still Burns" 7:50
3. "Reasons To Live" 6:26
4. "Heartbreak Armageddon" 7:41
5. "The Last Journey Home" 8:12
6. "A Flame for Freedom" 5:20
7. "Inside the Winter Storm" 8:12
8. "The Warrior Inside" 7:15

The Review

Heroes of Our Time starts things off and immediately it is all so familiar Dragonforce style. The album does not start off with a track gently easing you in but immediately engulfs you in the speed/power metal frenzy that is the bands forte. Once you get into the track however you do notice some subtle differences. Referring back to the Sam Totman quotation earlier in the review you begin to see the comments he made are being applied to the new album. What you have in essence is a somewhat tidier, refined Dragonforce. The Harmonies in this track as well as the others both vocally and musically are lush and very impressive. A theme prevalent in a fair number of Dragonforce tracks is the subject of freedom as is the case with Heroes of our Time. I'm not sure if it's because it is a subject close to their hearts but for me often the tracks with this theme are the better more catchy ones. The guitar solos are not as long as older tracks but equally as impressive. The track is like a motivational rally the troop's anthem as ZP chants

"Glorious
Forevermore in us
We are victorious"

The song is motivational and inspirational. I particularly love the last three lines and the way that it is sung, it is almost biblical and leaves no doubt as to the fact that they will prevail.
"Our kingdom come, we stand as one
And we will live for always
Evermore"

A truly Epic style shit hot start to the new album and leaves me wanting more.

*5 OUT OF 5*

Official Music Video available at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbfo7fpGY​vo

Reasons To Live starts off very heavy initially and is not really the style associated with Dragonforce until the console game style background music comes in and the music turns to more familiar tunes. 'Reasons to Live' isn't a wondrous track but is a good one and welcome on the album. Mid way the music takes a turn again to unfamiliar territory and is more like an Avantasia melody. Surprisingly the guitar solos are very tame in comparison to much of their other music. It does come across in this part as a Metal Opera by Mr Tobias Sammet of Edguy and Avantasia fame. I also like the wolf whistle with the lead guitar which made me chuckle a bit. I wonder if this is just Dragonforce being creative or are they experiment with styles with the idea of eventually moving in other directions....I bloody well hope not. This track is a very interesting addition to the album. The other thing that stood out for me was the lyrics which have come on in leaps and bounds and show a different maturity to the band.

*4 OUT OF 5*

The Last Journey Home is the first of two of my album favourites. Lasting for over eight minutes this track is a musical extravaganza blending beautifully a blend alternating between faster and slower music. There are significant amounts of melodic chanting and the lengthy guitar pieces are again developed since the last album and they are much sweeter and crisp. Though it is a modern speed metal track it makes you think of antiquity with warriors and the like. The musical creativeness of this track is flawless and everything comes together so well to create a fabulous track.

*5 OUT OF 5*

Listen to this track at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwD8FGS45​Fs

Or with lyrics accompanied
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qz_3z5IiI​Ds

_A Flame For Freedom_ is the moment I have been waiting for. This is my second favourite track on the new album and slightly has my preference overall. Picture the scene..... Dirty, dejected, warriors huddled round camp fires begging for the slightest bit of warmth. Hunger in their bellies, food supplies are low, morale lower still and hope of lasting victory fading evermore further away. Suddenly upon the hill appears a lonesome figure and he bursts into song. The type of song that makes you dig deep down for that last piece of hope, that valour that inspired you to battle in the first instance and seeks to heal just a little of that weariness and hunger that tears at your very fabric of being. This is that song! This is the musical version of "A horse, my kingdom for a horse" Or the scene where Conan prays and says "What counts is that two stood against many" or when the Spartans stood at Thermopylae knowing death was inevitable. I have to risk offence and put it in my terms this song is the proverbial dogs bollocks. Every time I hear this song I actually believe him and it inspires so much so that if I was in that scenario I would take up my arms and once more to the fray. But hey this song is at the very core of what is essential. Democracy, freedom... man, woman and child being united for a common agenda that is if you are religious everyone's god given right and if you are a heathen like me everyone's birth right. The music, the vocals the lyrics are bloody beautiful and gently remind you that there is still a minute trace of decency left in humanity. All this just from a song you may ask? Yes absolutely. Musically the harmonies are magical and on occasion there is one of those carnival style melodies that I mentioned. The passion is intense to say the least and the guitar work is soul touching. This is the album ballad and is a pure work of genius. I feel inclined to put a small piece of the lyrics for you to see, so here you go.

"Tears fall inside the dream, our last days gone by,
Still alive we feel the pain tonight,
Stars fall through blackened clouds, and dreams that miss rains,
A twilight star in the thousand lights for me.

Ohhhhhhhhh.

One dream in all of us still shining,
One star, the ever lasting light,
So alone, so lost inside, to the ending paradise,
Salvation of mankind returns.

And still we save a breath for the world,
Life brings up for us all,
United, victorious, the hearts of our nation tonight."

*5 OUT OF 5*

_The Warrior Inside_ as soon as it starts gives you an impression that it is a fun song. There is a lot of the game style carnival music played throughout the track and it has a good catchy tempo as well as melody. In the latter part it opens up to some nice keyboard work before breaking into the guitar frenzy that we know and love so much. The track feels very enjoyable and you get the feeling that the band were having fun doing it. It comes as little surprise to me lyrically that the essence of the song is once again freedom but unlike 'A Flame For Freedom' this is not a ballad. This is a classy end to the album and is saddening because you just want the album to go on.

*5 OUT OF5*

Listen to this song at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SryTOZAjE​dk

Conclusion

All in all the really isn't a bad song on the album and certainly none that I would give less than four out of five to. There are changes to be heard on this album and it offers a more polished version of Dragonforce. Therefore it is evident that Dragonforce listen to comments and take them on board and the consistency of album releases and touring are the right balance. With each album the band make progress and move forward. However, I do have one gripe with the album which is the cover art and the album title. Arguably anyone would be forgiven for thinking it was an album of techno, rave or hip-hop music. When I first saw it I was worried since this was prior to hearing the music and I thought they may have taken the same route has Linkin Park and blended their music with rap etc. Thankfully the style is the same but I dislike the album cover and the title. Aside from this trivial angst the album is solidly great.

Two versions are available the other being a Special Edition with DVD. This also includes two additional tracks called:

Strike of the Ninja
Scars of Yesterday

_Bands always say, 'Our new album is faster and heavier,' and then it's never true, so we're not gonna say that. But playing fast just works for us. People who say we play too fast are probably right, but guess what? There's a million other bands that play slow. People listen to DragonForce and go to the show because they know that we're doing something other bands aren't doing._ (Herman Li)

Thanks for all the reads/rates, Addy

© August 2008