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Dragonforce bring about their forth studio album to the metal masses entitled “Ultra Beatdown”. The album represents everything that is Dragonforce, from uplifting and inspirational vocals, rapid fire drums and the quintessential sounds of Herman Li and Sam Totman’s guitars which have the reminiscent stylizing of a Nintendo entertainment system due to the overwhelming and quirky noises which seem to echo throughout the entire album from their amazing guitar work.

I was quite impressed with their last release “Inhuman Rampage”, and it seems Dragonforce have improved and outdone themselves evermore on this new release with packing in groovier melodies, powerful vocals which uplift the spirit, and of course more insanely and over the top guitar solos from Herman Li and Sam Totman. I got the sense that the album is to uplift the spirit, as almost every song has lyrics which motivate and inspire the soul. It may sound pretty cheesy, but Dragonforce don’t really take themselves to seriously when it comes to the genre in which they have established themselves in.

Most bands in the power metal genre either take themselves to seriously and don’t really leave much to the imagination or just sound so cheesy you want to vomit violently, but I’ve always found Dragonforce to be a breath of fresh air in a genre in which I’ve had a fondness for many years now.

The album may seem to some as nothing more then just a rapid fire assault on the brain with the over the top guitar wank fest, but it still offers some slow melodic numbers which mix things up quite well. “The Last Journey Home” is a great slow number and infuses some great keyboard and guitar solos, but does however pick up in some places as Dragonforce can never seem to take a steady pace.

I was abit confused with the selection of artwork however, it doesn’t really seem like something you’d find on a typical power metal album. Its more like something you’d find in a 1980’s science fiction book. You know the ones? Where they try and show pictures of what the 23rd century would look like, from a 1980’s point of view. Still, the album artwork of Ultra Beatdown is by no means going to change the quality of the music, as it seems to improve with every release these lads put out.

If your one of many who likes your music insanely fast and just all out crazy, this new release from Dragonforce is surely for you. You may however want to step away if your looking for something with a bit of complexity as this is a typical Dragonforce album, and doesn’t really offer much to someone wanting an in depth and multilayer album.

I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that “Ultra Beatdown” is actually a major improvement on “Inhuman Rampage” Everything on the new album is just faster, more dynamic and solid. What an amazing album. 8/10

Band: Dragonforce
Album: Ultra Beatdown
Year: 2008
Genre: Power Metal
Label: Roadrunner Records
Origin: Great Britian
Myspace: www.myspace/dragonforce

Track listing:
1. Heroes of Our Time
2. The Fire Still Burns
3. Reasons To Live
4. Heartbreak Armageddon
5. The Last Journey Home
6. A Flame Of Freedom
7. Inside the Winter Storm
8. The Warrior’s Side

Reviewed by black_tooth_grin