DragonForce -Sonic Firestorm
Reviewed By: Marsworth
Score: 7.5
Power metal-ers from London, DragonForce, have been at this since 1999 and have gotten down to a science since then. Even with a rotating door of members for the past 24 years, their music stays true to what they began with: make-believe themes and killer, face-melting guitars. It all started with two guitarists who had a vision and a determination for greatness. Usually a band has all of their members in order before recording, but these guys throw that logic to the side and get their bassist, Adrian Lambert, right before the release of their debut album in 2003. As most bands do, they come up with a name to later learn that they need to change it, but luckily they found this obstacle before the release of their album in which they toured with huge names like W.A.S.P. and Iron Maiden. After filing through some more members, we move on to the record we’re focusing on today.
Sonic Firestorm, released May of 2004, does not fall victim to the sophomore curse as it charted higher, peaking at 34, than their debut with the single, “Fury of the Storm”. It’s pretty crazy to discover that only one of their singles, “Through the Fire and Flames” released in 2006, has ever charted. Obviously, their junior album does eons better, we’re not here to talk about that record. Without putting chart positions into play, the genuine musicianship is much better than their first record which makes sense as this album is under an actual record label, Noise. Everything has leveled up, no pun intended, to a new normal they’ll continue to supersede.
DragonForce is:
ZP Theart – vocals
Herman Li – guitars, acoustic guitar
Sam Totman – guitars, acoustic guitar
Vadim Pruzhanov – keyboards, piano,
Adrian Lambert – bass
Dave Mackintosh – drums
For starters, Theart’s voice is so full of flavor this time around. He steers clear of higher notes he once struggled with and embraces a belting/ chest-voice that’s more robust and rich. Li and Totman serve up scorching solos we know and love along with rhythms that fall hand in hand with one another. The precise yet forceful guitars still leave room for the aggressive drum fills from Macintosh’s sticks. The thing I love about these songs is that they’re never repetitive in the way that makes each album a carbon copy of one another. For example, “Prepare for War” has a bridge in which the band breaks up the song with a change in tempo so it’s not a constant blast of notes. It’s important to upkeep the title of ‘power’ or ‘speed’ metal even when we have a slower moment and they do just that. Another track that has something similar is their single, “Fury of the Storm” where we kick down doors for a minute or two, enter the tranquil eye of the fury storm, and continue the fit of rage. When the instruments die down and allow the listener to be fully immersed, it’s as if Theart is holding our hand and saying, “It’s okay to stop and feel this.” This album is a refined continuation of the first in which they hone in on their sound and become the recognizable metal beasts we know today.
Sonic Firestorm track list:
- My Spirit Will Go On
- Fury of the Storm
- Fields of Despair
- Dawn Over a New World
- Above the Winter Moonlight
- Soldiers of the Wasteland
- Prepare for War
- Once in a Lifetime