Album title: Reaching into Infinity
Artist: Dragonforce
Genre: Power Metal/Speed Metal
Nationality: English
Release date: May 19
Position in Discography: Seventh
Estimated Rating:
Have I heard of this artist? Yes
Have I heard anything by this artist? Yes
Average RYM Score: 3.29 (Seriously?)
I think there's only really one way to listen to Dragonfarce, is there not?
Ah, bless! They think they're Iron Maiden! Yeah. Sure. Well, as you would probably expect, it sounds just like any other Dragonfarce album you may have been unfortunate enough to have endured. I do like this quote from one of them, taken from Wiki:
According to Li, the portal in the middle of the cover is a wormhole. It symbolizes the timeless energy of DragonForce's music, since a considerable amount of energy would be required to open one wormhole, if it is ever possible.
Oh yeah, the idea of Dragonfarce being pulled into a wormhole
en masse certainly raises a few smiles! If only! All the songs sound pretty much the same here, and one even runs for eleven minutes! Really looking forward to that one!
Oh look, they slow it down for a few moments during “Curse of Darkness”, but they just can't restrain themselves and soon they're hammering away at top speed again. Putting the speed, if not the metal, in speed metal.
To be fair and equitable, I'll admit “Silence” is not a bad ballad. I mean, it's nothing particularly great, but at least it does show they can, very occasionally, slow down and take it the **** easy. Not for long, of course, as they're off at the gallop again for “Midnight Madness”, which seems to rehash the theme of – hell, I don't know: one of the earlier songs – where they were wittering on about being "the masters of the stars and all time". Right. Running out of lyrical ideas already, boys?
Well I'm about ready to bail, but I have to be honest: I have a kind of morbid interest to see what they do with an eleven-minute song. Might as well wait it out I guess. Oh dear! They mention that they're dabbling in “death metal” on this album (oh no!) but if “WAR!” is supposed to be their attempt at same, then it's not quite death, not even coma, more a light sleep. And as for “harsh vocals”, I've heard stronger from Bruce Dickinson.
Ah, and now we come to the eleven-minuter. Well, I'll give them this much: “The Edge of the World” doesn't sound like Dragonfarce. They said they were inspired to write this epic by Maiden's “Seventh Son of a Seventh Son”, which is fine, except they've copied them completely, even ripping off part of the midsection from “Rime of the Ancient Mariner”. I can see no reason why this song needs to be eleven minutes long (most of it is repeating the same parts anyway) and I don't understand the silly short acoustic ending. Speaking of endings, the album then ends as you might expect: badly. Chalk another one up to the Clown Princes of Power Metal.
Now, where did you say that wormhole was again?
Check out more from this artist? Never
Check out more from this genre or subgenre? Proper metal, yes
Actual Rating: