The Power Within / DragonForce (2012)

1. Holding On

2. Fallen World

3. Cry Thunder

4. Give Me the Night

5. Wings of Liberty

6. Seasons

7. Heart of the Storm

8. Die by the Sword

9. Last Man Stands

10. Seasons (Acoustic Version)

The departure of ZP was shocking for all of DragonForce Fans. His unique voice and performance was definitely one of important character of the band. However, they returned with new voice. I saw Marc Hudson of the video that the band uploaded on YouTube. He was singing the intro of track 1. I immediately could tell that he had great range of voice. Then, the lead single, track 3, was released. It was a surprise for me and many DragonForce fans. It was not a fast tune. It was a mid-tempo song. The last album had more variety in songs than the past albums. Nevertheless, this song was in different color. I think it was a statement from the band. They returned as a new band with a new singer. I could tell that Marc Hudson definitely was talented. He has powerful voice with big range of voice.

The only concern was whether their music direction has changed or not. However, my concern was meaningless. When I heard track 1, I could tell that the band still kept their faith in their music. They still play songs that have blast beat, catchy melody, and dramatic progression. Track 2 is the fastest song they have ever played. The lead single, track 3, is very different in kind, yet it has catchy chorus and twin lead guitars. I can tell that this song will be one of their important repertory for the band. Track 4 is one of my favorite DragonForce's songs. However, the highlight of this album is track 6. Track 3 was very different in rhythm, but this one is different in melody line. Their typical song has catchy chorus with high tone scream. However, this song features low to mid-range vocal. This is another new challenge they did.

Overall, they challenged themselves throughout the album. They have returned stronger than ever. For many fans, the sigh of disappointment became scream of joy. At this point of their career, they have made the best album.

☆☆☆☆☆

Ultra Beatdown / DragonForce (2008)

1. Heroes of Out Time

2. The Fire Still Burns

3. Reasons to Live

4. Heartbreak Armageddon

5. The Last Journey Home

6. A Flame for Freedom

7. Inside the Winter Storm

8. The Warrior Inside

9. Strike of the Ninja

10. Scars of Yesterday

The last album became a huge success for the band, and they toured all over the world. Their music style was very refined, and I was wondering what kind of move they were going to make next. When I heard the lead single, track 1, it seemed like they kept their musical style. It was not surprise. I thought the album would be kind of redundant of their past records. However, I must admit that I was far wrong. The album had variety of songs.

Track 1 is a typical DragonForce song. It has all of the band's essence. It has speed, blast beat, twin guitars, fast solos, catchy chorus, and dramatic song progression. Track 2 is another cool song. The first surprise for me was track 3. First, I thought it was another typical DragonForce song. Nevertheless, the middle part of the song was very different from the past. They always had long instrumental parts, but this one was way different. It has a lot of rhythm change and complicated progression. It is almost sounded like progressive metal. The second surprised was track 5. It is an up-tempo tune, yet this song was very slow for the band lol Of course, this song has fast parts. Their song always has been long, but this one is almost progressive. It is very dramatic, and I think this song is the highlight of the album. The last one is track 9. This song also became one of my favorites. It has catchy twin lead guitars and chorus. This song is very fast for other bands yet pretty slow for this band lol However, this is another great song.

The variety in rhythm and tempo created good undulation in the album, and the band found new ability in their music. They are still enthusiastic to challenge themselves musically.  This album does not have as big impact as the last album but has better total quality.

☆☆☆☆☆

Inhuman Rampage / DragonForce (2006)

1. Through The Fire And Flames

2. Revolution Deathsquad

3. Storming The Burning Fields

4. Operation Ground And Pound

5. Body Breakdown

6. Cry For Eternity

7. The Flame Of Youth

8. Trail Of Broken Hearts

The last album was a big step up for this band. However, this album had even a bigger impact than the last time. When I listened to track 1 on YouTube, I got big goose bumps. This song was not comparable to any songs in the last album. They have not changed their music direction, yet the band was on a completely different degree. I felt that their musical talents fully came to bloom. The band became much tighter, and song arrangement and progression was way more dramatic.

From track 1, the band kept their faith in their music style. Except track 8, they never slow down. However, this album was really easy to listen to entirely. It is largely due to their arrangement skill. Each song has good progression and does not make you feel the length of it. I can say this band was truly refined in this album.

I think this album was a statement from the band. They finally won fame in the U.S. and many other places around the world with this album. I think their musical journey came to one of the climax with this album.

☆☆☆☆

Sonic Firestorm / DragonForce (2004)

1. My Spirit Will Go On

2. Fury of the Storm

3. Fields of Despair

4. Dawn Over a New World

5. Above the Winter Moonlight

6. Soldiers of the Wastelands

7. Prepare for War

8. Once In A Lifetime

9. Cry of the Brave

The debut album was very sensational yet also rough and unrefined ore. With this album, they basically continued the same music direction. As they did with the last album, they still stuck with speed except the ballad track 4. However, there was a lot of improvement in this album. First, the sound production was much improved from the last album. Second, the song arrangements and melody lines were better deliberated. Some of the songs in the last album sounded redundant, but the songs in this album is well arranged.

I listened to this album at CD store. From the beginning of track 1, the dramatic metal journey had begun. DragonForce world goes quick with speed. My personal highlights are tracks 1 and 6. They still shows strong obsession to speed, yet they also brought more variety in rhythm and riffs. Because of that new attempt with arrangement, it makes the fast parts stand out even more. Melody lines have better hook, and each song became more distinguishable from other songs. This album was a big step-up for the band and made me looking forward to the next one.

☆☆☆☆

Valley of the Damned / DragonForce (2003)

1. Invocation of the Apocalyptic Evil

2. Valley of the Damned

3. Black Fire

4. Black Winter Night

5. Starfire

6. Disciples of Babylon

7. Revelations

8. Evening Star

9. Heart of a Dragon

10. When Dragon Rule

I still clearly remember the first time I listened to this band. I heard track 2 from the radio. I do not say this band was the best new comer of 2003 but surely had the biggest impact to me that year. Their music style is a mix of blast beat like death metal with high tone vocal. They really stuck with speed. I thought some one would have done this kind of music, but actually no one had. They were definitely one of the most unique metal bands from debut. Except the ballad, track 5, they showed their excessive determination to speed. It is not only drum beat but also, guitar solo and keyboard solo as well.

To be honest, I thought their music was unrefined at that time. The vocal is not strong enough. Some drum parts are not steady. The guitarists are surely skillful, but the sound production is not great. Another factor that makes this band unique is long instrumental parts. Out of 10 songs, 5 of them go beyond 6 minutes. Some of the song progression and arrangements are not very refined, yet they showed good songwriting abilities. They have a lot of cool riffs and twin lead. I could tell that those two guitarists were good teammates. This debut album was something made me expect of something greater with the next album.

☆☆☆