DRAGONFORCE play fast...really fast. Although they have been making waves overseas for a few years now, they are just starting to tour the States, with major exposure coming from this year’s Ozzfest. The songs here are all epic (8 tracks in 56 minutes), and are played with incredible speed and technical ability, two things that are not often seen together in power metal. The album is opened with their single, “Through the Fire and Flames”, which features dual solos and a soaring chorus. Basically, if you’ve heard this song or seen the video, and like it, you will love the album. They don’t tamper with the formula (until the very end), and stick to shredding as fast as they humanly can. The vocalist may turn off some who aren’t fans of the higher-pitched style, but there are plenty of big choruses and “Whoa oh” chants a la Iron Maiden throughout.
They throw in a strange and unnecessary curveball on the last song, a ballad called “Trail of Broken Hearts”. This comes as a surprise because the band seems to focus on being the most energetic, blindingly fast, technical machine for the first seven songs, and then adds this to the mix. The vocal performance on this song is cheesy, but it doesn’t change the devastation that was unleashed on the previous seven tracks. Dragonforce make power metal more accessible, and do so without letting off the pedal (well, rarely at least), and putting on what is said to be one of the most energetic live shows around.
