The nearly chanted vocal choruses in the epic "The Last Dragonborn" are thunderous and hooky. Using unrelenting speed and near-steroidal physicality, the guitarists take one another on, yet manage to unite with the keyboards and kinetic drumming. "Cosmic Power of the Infinite Shred Machine" is as over the top as its title.
Regal, twinned lead guitars announce glorious storytelling and visceral power in "The Last Dragonborn," where power metal and thrash go head to head without sacrificing DF's innate lyricism. At just under seven minutes, it's a mini suite with bombastic crescendos and announces the flavor of the rest of the album. (The latter is as it should be: No other band has approached the guitar god athleticism of "Through the Fire and Flames," the most challenging song on Guitar Hero III or perhaps any other volume.) Opener "Highway to Oblivion" is ushered in by Janssen's gated synth, with a majestic intro vocal from Hudson before the guitars and drums gallop in. DF recorded parts of this live on Li's Twitch channel, while the majority was cut in a Los Angeles studio with producer Damien Rainaud.Īll the classic tenets are here: Singalong choruses that recall classic '80s rock are framed in anthemic, fist-pumping melodies complete with fantasy and sci-fi lyrics and the overdriven sounds of retro video games.
On his third album with the band, lead vocalist Marc Hudson is finally revealed as one of metal's truly great frontmen with startling dynamic and tonal ranges and a commanding presence that absorbs and focuses all the musical heat around him. From the wonderfully cheesy album art to Herman Li's and Sam Totman's guitar pyrotechnics, to their blazing cover of Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On" that closes the set, there is no mistaking who this is. Despite the personnel change, DragonForce have never sounded more like themselves than they do here. DragonForce haven't yet formally replaced him, but they did enlist the assistance of Epica's keyman Coen Janssen for Extreme Power Metal. Founding keyboardist Vadim Pruzhanov sat out its world tour for family reasons, and ultimately left the band in 2018. 2017's Reaching Into Infinity marked the end of an era for Great Britain's DragonForce.
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