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Dragonforce - Inhuman Rage

 

	RELEASED: June 6 2006 PRODUCER:Sam Totman, Herman Li, Vadim Pruzhanov LABEL:Roadrunner Records BAND:ZP Theart Sam Totman Herman Li Dave Mackintosh Vadim Pruzhanov Fred Leclercq
+ Virtuosic guitar, speed, all members are incredibly talented - Repetitive songwriting, cheese-o-rific lyrics	TRACKS: 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

 

OVERVIEW

Remember back in the day when you took your favorite cassette, popped it in the old tape deck, hit fast forward, and stuck your finger on the tape so it sounded like whatever you were listening to was being performed by a bunch of helium-sucking midgets on speed?
            Ok, bad analogy, but that should give you some idea of how fast Dragonforce plays their self-christened “extreme power metal”, which is actually a fairly accurate moniker.  These guys clearly take inspiration from the power metal greats – Helloween, Blind Guardian, and Hammerfall come to mind – but play it impossibly fast, not unlike the incredible and occasionally tasteless Swedish shred virtuoso Yngwie Malmsteen.  From beginning to end, this CD smokes with some of the fastest, most technical power metal I’ve ever heard, with shredding that might make guitarists want to just hang up their axes on the spot.  But don’t miss the rest of this band – drummer Dave Mackintosh never misses a beat despite the breakneck tempos, keyboardist Vadim Pruzhanov is just as blindingly fast as either guitarist, and bassist Fred Leclercq (yep, that’s how you spell it) even gets a chance to throw out some sweet Victor-Wooten esque tapping and slap.  Of course, aside from the blazing fretwork, it’s the operatic pipes of frontman ZP Theart that immediately command your attention – this guy could easily give Dream Theater’s lauded James Labrie a run for his money in the vocal range department.
            So far, so good, but the chink in Dragonforce’s armor, so to speak, is in their songwriting.  You can’t deny the incredible skill behind this band, but after a few songs, the formula becomes sort of obvious – crank the metronome to 220 bpm, tremolo picking, tapping, and solos galore, and let it fly for 7 or 8 minutes a pop.  Of course, guitar junkies and power metal fans probably won’t care, but most people will struggle to tell where one song ends and the next begins the first few times through the record (with the exception of the closing ballad) and even after a few serious listens, the latter half of the record still sort of runs together.

SONGS

Inhuman Rampage opens up with the blitzkrieg “Through the Fire and the Flames”, and it’s straight up power metal excellence – blazing solos, epic vocals, and overall it’s just a great headbanging song.  “Revolution Deathsquad” is another one of my favorites, and although it’s really about 3 minutes too long, it still works out.  “Storming the Burning Fields” is also a fairly good one, complete with the 1988 snare-drum “whoa-oh” call-and-response break, and “Operation Ground and Pound” was a great choice for the album’s 2nd single, although I swear the beginning of the solo is practically the exact same as “Through the Fire and the Flames”, except they start in a different neck position.  Anyways, “Body Breakdown” is where these English speedmongers start to lose a bit of steam – the song is perfectly competent, but like I said, it’s at this point in the album where songs start to sound like they’re somewhat rehashed versions of other songs, although I must say the slap/tap bass breakdown in the middle is awesome.  “Cry For Eternity” is pushing it with an 8:12 running time, and like the previous one, it’s not bad, but isn’t anything new either.  “The Flame of Youth” mixes it up with a cool Egyptian-style interlude, and that brings us to the album’s only real surprise in the power metal ballad “Trail of Broken Hearts”, which might be the only ballad I’ve ever heard with a dual-guitar tapped solo.  Seriously.

CONCLUSION

I had a really hard time scoring this one, mostly because as musicians, these guys are practically, well, inhuman.  I can’t recall the last time I heard an up-and-coming band shred this fast, and the first four or so songs are flat out power metal wizardry, but after the album’s midpoint, the songs just don’t hold up as well.  And like I said before, these guys definitely have a signature modus operandi that becomes blatantly obvious after about 15 minutes.  In short, guitar players and power metal junkies will eat this stuff up, and it’s certainly a head-turner, but the songwriting falls just short enough to hold Inhuman Rampage from being scored significantly higher.

Review by Matt Rewinski

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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