Written: 12th March 2024
It has been five years since DragonForce released their last album, Extreme Power Metal, and listeners will either be delighted or dismayed that nothing has changed within their universe as the band prepare to release their ninth album, Warp Speed Warriors.Â
Beginning with a swath of lush keyboards, Astro Warrior Anthem (the longest song on the album) could be a track from almost any of the band’s previous albums. Bursting through the gates with typical speedy power metal gusto, it sets the tone for the entire album; the dual guitar attack of Herman Li and Sam Totman immediately hooking in the listener and reminding us why DragonForce has become synonymous with virtuosic shredding. Their interplay is not merely a display of technical prowess; it’s a melodic conversation, with each riff and solo telling a part of the track’s grandiose narrative.
Power of the Triforce (based on the videogame Zelda) keeps the pace relatively high, the harmonic singing layered and glossy and (subject matter notwithstanding) the lyrics based in pure fantasy. With the stones of power, at the mystic tree / With the green lands of Hyrule now freed / See our arrows fly, Ganons last defeat / And the stars awaken now forever free. As the song accelerates into its anthemic chorus, it is clear that DragonForce has lost none of its penchant for crafting hooks that are as massive as they are memorable. It is difficult to believe that Marc Hudson has now served as the band’s vocalist for thirteen years. Warp Speed Warriors is his fifth album with DragonForce and he is completely comfortable with the expectations of both fans and his fellow bandmembers. On Power of the Triforce, he rattles through the quest-based lyrics with ease as the quintet bombard the listener with their unashamedly over the top flurry of solos and rapid-fire riffs.
DragonForce have always had more than a hint of the 1980s excess of hair metal about them and on Kingdom of Steel, the slowest song on the album (strangely early in the track listing), they flirt wildly with power ballad territory as they aim, partially successfully, to add a sense of gravitas to the album. Exploring how and why we build psychological walls to protect ourselves from the world, it shows another side to the sometimes overblown lyrical whimsies of the band and provides a brief respite from the album’s intensity.
Even by their standards, fourth track Burning Heart is overly formulaic and Space Marine Corp (another song based on a game – Warhammer 40,000) is as ludicrously cheesy as its title suggests, the military marching call and reply central section seeing DragonForce deciding to throw everything into the mix and ignoring the naysayers. However, fans of the band will revel in the strong, uplifting chorus and it is almost impossible not to be hauled into enjoying the tracks, smiling and joining in. DragonForce have never pretended to be anything other than what they are: an extreme power metal band that write catchy songs that are written as pure entertainment and there is much to be admired in that approach and their belief in what they do.
Both The Killer Queen (preceded by the short prologue Prelude To Darkness) and Pixel Prison are in the vein of fast and furious tracks such as Storming The Burning Fields from Inhuman Rampage or Fury of the Storm from Sonic Firestorm and either of them could sit happily on those albums from fifteen (or more) years ago. Depending on whether you have followed DragonForce throughout their career or are more familiar with their albums with ZP Theart on vocals, these are the types of songs which will be most recognisable and there is a sense of comfort that they still produce material where the octane levels do not subside in the slightest. In complete contradiction, Doomsday Party is reminiscent of cheesy 1980s Pop Rock and has the lyrics to match. It's a doomsday party at the old town hall / A doomsday party and a disco ball / A doomsday party on the factory floor, we pray / Say hey, hey, hey, hey. Like the videogame inspired album cover, never has counting down to the apocalypse been more glamorous or glistening.
DragonForce have long been a divisive band, and nothing on Warp Speed Warriors will do anything to change anyone’s opinion of them, although it may draw in newer fans who enjoy the relentless and, at times, compelling drama of it all. DragonForce know exactly what type of band they are and everything they have released has been on their own terms. Long time fans will be more than satisfied as the band take them on another whirlwind adventure. For better or worse, they will never change and sometimes that is how it should be.
Warp Speed Warriors is released on 15th March 2024
Some versions of the album add several bonus tracks not least among which is a baffling but energetic delivery of Taylor Swift’s Wildest Dreams. There are different versions of some songs from the album featuring a range of guest stars including Astro Warrior Anthem (Matthew K. Heafy, Nita Strauss), Burning Heart (Alissa White-Gluz), Doomsday Party (Elize Ryd) and an instrumental version of Power of the Triforce.
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