Albums

Album Review: DragonForce

[Album: Ultra Beatdown]
[Label: Roadrunner]

One thing I can’t quite understand with modern metal is the lack of genuine enthusiasm. Modern metal bands don’t play music, they perform it as an exercise in technical proficiency. There seems to be some sort of agenda that the more technical a band is, the more boring they become on stage. Perhaps its the fact that many bands starting these days approach music as a career (instead of a hobby) and while this in turn might result in a more professional work ethic (being punctual, creative and sober) it kind of kills off some of the fun that comes with the spontaneity of being totally, unprofessionally drunk. Luckily for us, power metal and grind bands exist to marry these two extremes in the best possible way, combining technical proficiency with a sense of humour. Metal that tries to take itself serious is as paradoxical as a boy band with actual “street cred”.

DragonForce, therefore, have everything that a proper metal band should have - very fast drumming, face-melting solos, a singer who can hit the high notes and above all the willingness to make fun of themselves. For the average metal critic/fan like myself, DragonForce are a breath of fresh air at a time when most contemporary metal bands spend a lot of time practicing their angry faces in the mirror in an effort to prevent them bursting out laughing when they are pretending to have a direct phone link with the Prince of Darkness (Satan, not Ozzy or Alice Cooper) at their shows or in the studio.

With their previous two records they managed to update the power/epic metal formula (as laid down in the 1980s) to the 2000s by taking into consideration the progression in metal as a broader genre. If you thought, as I once did, that the genre achieved perfection with ‘The Trooper’ and ‘The Final Countdown’, you will change your mind when you treat your ears to ‘Fields of Despair’. ‘Ultra Beatdown’ sticks to the same winning formula; DragonForce know not to fuck with it, by dropping acoustic tunes, remix records or prog-rock gimmicks on everyone. This is DragonForce sounding like DragonForce. Before you dub them a one-trick pony, as if it were a bad thing, consider the amount of awful records loads of the metal “godz”, (such as Metallica and Black Sabbath) have released in an effort to remain relevant and to revive their careers.

As perfect as this record sounds, for the casual listener who isn’t a Steve Vai or Joe Satriani wannabe aspiring guitarist, ‘Ultra Beatdown’ sounds absolutely no different to any of their previous two records. Sure, the production may have improved a bit, maybe some of the guitar work is more “metal” and some of the arrangements have become more complex, but chances are it will all fly over your head as you groove along to the familiar-sounding epic 5-minute solos. You might even find yourself singing along, trying to remember the lyrics to a song you’ve never heard before too. Unless you actually stare at your disc-player’s timer/track-list, you won’t even realise when most songs change and probably mistake the brief pause for a (very) dramatic one. On closer inspection though you will notice small differences and changes that marginally count as “musical progression” - the biggest one being that they now take the time to slow down a bit for the dramatic/pretty part in the song where you’re supposed to get your Zippo out, clap in unison with the rest of the long-hairs in attendance or (like I do) take a breather from all the air-drumming. These “slower” parts are not going to change the impression you might have had of this band.

So, yes, this sounds pretty much exactly how you would expect this to sound and, yes, they are not saying anything they haven’t said before and the only people to really really appreciate any attempt to move forward musically and technically are going to be obsessive guitarists; anyone saying otherwise is a blatant liar trying to appear more serious and knowledgeable than they actually are. Before you dismiss this though, consider whether we really needed further Maiden records after ‘Fear Of The Dark’. If your answer was “yes”, then you already know that you are going enjoy this. If your answer was “no”, you are wrong. I have no clue what this collection of songs is all about, they might as well have titled it ‘Swords, Mountains and Dragons’ and I would still lap this up and air-drum like an idiot.

For Fans Of: Europe, Helloween, Iron Maiden

Band Link:
Dragonforce

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