| Written by Alex Stojanovic TRACK LISTING Astro Warrior Anthem Power Of The Triforce Kingdom Of Steel Burning Heart Space Marine Corp Doomsday Party Prelude To Darkness The Killer Queen Pixel Prison Wildest Dreams (Taylor Swift cover) Release Date: March 15, 2024 Label: Napalm Records Website: dragonforce.com facebook.com/dragonforce instagram.com/dragonforcehq |  |
DRAGONFORCE IS:
Marc Hudson - Vocals / Herman Li - Guitars & backing vocals / Sam Totman - Guitars & backing vocals
Alicia Vigil - Bass & backing vocals / Gee Anzalone - Drums
Marc Hudson - Vocals / Herman Li - Guitars & backing vocals / Sam Totman - Guitars & backing vocals
Alicia Vigil - Bass & backing vocals / Gee Anzalone - Drums
Who says that metalheads can't be nerds as well? That being said, every guitar shredding video game nerd's favourite band, better known as DragonForce, is finally back with album #9: Warp Speed Warriors, their first new album in 5 years, marking the longest gap between studio albums for the band. Since the last album Extreme Power Metal, the band have gone through a few changes. The first being that longtime bassist Frederic Leclercq departed the band shortly before the release of EPM, and in came Alicia Vigil, who was initially a fill-in for the touring commitments, but then that all got shut down abruptly due to Covid. However, that didn't manage to stop the band from keeping the fans entertained through the embracing of Twitch streaming and fun content creating on YouTube. I personally loved the cooking videos that drummer Gee Anzalone was making. When touring returned in 2022, the band headed back out on the road to finish what they started, and Vigil was named the official new bassist.
Fast forward to 2023, the other big change was that they are now signed to Napalm Records, and Warp Speed Warriors is their first release on the label. At this point, it's pointless to even think about DragonForce experimenting. Even if they do, it's very minimal. We get the mix of the old and the new. The new being a slightly more electronic sound, as showcased on "Doomsday Party", making it feel more like a party dance anthem. After the departure of Leclercq, who handled a majority of the songwriting along with Sam Totman, I thought that the writing would take a bit of a dip once it was all put back on Sam's shoulders. I honestly wish that Herman Li, Marc Hudson and Alicia would've stepped in and contributed ideas.
"Burning Heart" brings back the duelling solo element between Herman and Sam, which is such a classic DragonForce thing to do. The fact that they even gave Alicia a chance to shine with a bass solo on the song is a very classy and considerate move. Tempos vary from song to song. You got the slower and mid-tempo numbers like "Power Of The Triforce", "Kingdom Of Steel" and "Space Marine Corp", as well as the traditional DragonForce shred machines like "Astro Warrior Anthem", "The Killer Queen" and "Pixel Prison". Even if the fast songs contain slower sections, they're still considered blazers.
Of course, it wouldn't be a DragonForce album without a really odd choice of a cover. On Maximum Overload, they did Johnny Cash's "Ring Of Fire", while on Reaching Into Infinity, they did "Evil Dead" by Death, which people would consider an odd choice, because you probably would never see DragonForce and Death in the same room, even though the band are clearly fans, and on Extreme Power Metal, they did Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On". For this album, they decided to join the dark side by jumping on to the Swiftie bandwagon and put their own spin on Taylor Swift's "Wildest Dreams". Even though I never heard the original version of the song because I don't really care for Taylor Swift, I found myself enjoying it. It also makes you wonder what other ideas of insanity the band have for future covers.
Overall, I honestly didn't find as much memorability on this album as I did on previous albums. It kind of makes me wonder if the creative juices for DragonForce are drying up, and are just going through the motions. At this point, if they stopped making music altogether and just toured on the music they have now, I would have no problem with that. I'll always be a fan, and they've been a huge part of the soundtrack to my high school days, but for me, with the exception of a couple of good moments and Marc Hudson's vocals still being in top form, Warp Speed Warriors is a pretty forgettable album in the DF discography.
Fast forward to 2023, the other big change was that they are now signed to Napalm Records, and Warp Speed Warriors is their first release on the label. At this point, it's pointless to even think about DragonForce experimenting. Even if they do, it's very minimal. We get the mix of the old and the new. The new being a slightly more electronic sound, as showcased on "Doomsday Party", making it feel more like a party dance anthem. After the departure of Leclercq, who handled a majority of the songwriting along with Sam Totman, I thought that the writing would take a bit of a dip once it was all put back on Sam's shoulders. I honestly wish that Herman Li, Marc Hudson and Alicia would've stepped in and contributed ideas.
"Burning Heart" brings back the duelling solo element between Herman and Sam, which is such a classic DragonForce thing to do. The fact that they even gave Alicia a chance to shine with a bass solo on the song is a very classy and considerate move. Tempos vary from song to song. You got the slower and mid-tempo numbers like "Power Of The Triforce", "Kingdom Of Steel" and "Space Marine Corp", as well as the traditional DragonForce shred machines like "Astro Warrior Anthem", "The Killer Queen" and "Pixel Prison". Even if the fast songs contain slower sections, they're still considered blazers.
Of course, it wouldn't be a DragonForce album without a really odd choice of a cover. On Maximum Overload, they did Johnny Cash's "Ring Of Fire", while on Reaching Into Infinity, they did "Evil Dead" by Death, which people would consider an odd choice, because you probably would never see DragonForce and Death in the same room, even though the band are clearly fans, and on Extreme Power Metal, they did Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On". For this album, they decided to join the dark side by jumping on to the Swiftie bandwagon and put their own spin on Taylor Swift's "Wildest Dreams". Even though I never heard the original version of the song because I don't really care for Taylor Swift, I found myself enjoying it. It also makes you wonder what other ideas of insanity the band have for future covers.
Overall, I honestly didn't find as much memorability on this album as I did on previous albums. It kind of makes me wonder if the creative juices for DragonForce are drying up, and are just going through the motions. At this point, if they stopped making music altogether and just toured on the music they have now, I would have no problem with that. I'll always be a fan, and they've been a huge part of the soundtrack to my high school days, but for me, with the exception of a couple of good moments and Marc Hudson's vocals still being in top form, Warp Speed Warriors is a pretty forgettable album in the DF discography.
FINAL RATING
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