Dragonforce – Inhuman Rampage (2005) Lineup:
ZP Theart- Vocals Herman Li- Lead & rythm guitar, backing vocals Sam Totman- Lead & rythm guitar, backing vocals Vadim Pruzhanov- Keyboards, piano, backing vocals Dave Mackintosh- Drums, backing vocals Additional members on the Inhuman Rampage recording: Adrian Lambert- Bass Clive Nolan- Backing vocals Lindsay Dawson- Rough backing vocals
Inhuman Rampage is Dragonforce's third and newest album, and possibly the best to date. This album is, as one would expect from this band, a very fast album as a whole. The recording starts strong and steadily breaks down until the last song is about half the speed as the first track. Dragonforce, in case you don't already know, is the leading force behind what is often referred to as extreme power metal. The main differences between your typical Helloween power metal and Dragonforce power metal are quite evident. Just about everything is much, much faster. Also, the guitars are usually on the extremes of distortion. They sound high pitched and high tempo. When they're not heavily distorted (as evident at the beginning of Through Fire and Flames), which isn't very often, they still tend to be fast and high pitched. Not too much variation. The vocals are melodic, usually on the high pitch side. Think of Stratovarius, but with a more predictable melody. The vocals are in almost the exact same style in every song. The main difference is the chorus melody. On the upside, however, the vocals are very distinct from other bands and will get stuck in your head quite easily. Also, for the most part, bass is background noise. All you can hear is a low vibration that changes pitch every half note. The drums are just as fast as the guitar, and double bass drumming is quite common. On the songwriting side of things, there is melody everywhere. If they had a melodic thought in their mind, they put it in a song. The structure usually seems to have a chorus that repeats 2-3 times and verses leading up to them. Before, in between, and after these parts the guitar keeps you company. After and before each vocal part, a repeating lick is usually played. In between that, guitar solos. Dragonforce songs are also long, the shortest song on the album is 5:19 long.
Tracklist: 1. Through Fire and Flames – 7:24 2. Revolution Deathsquad – 7:52 3. Storming the Burning Fields – 5:19 4. Operation Ground and Pound – 7:44 5. Body Breakdown – 6:58 6. Cry for Eternity – 8:12 7. The Flame of Youth – 6:41 8. Trail of Broken Hearts – 5:56
1. Through Fire and Flames: Definately one of the better songs on the album. Also one of the fastest. This song is on the Dragonforce website.
2. Revolution Deathsquad: Wow. There's something like 3-4 minutes of endless guitar soloing here. Apart from that and some slightly annoying vocal effects, you have your typical Dragonforce song.
3. Storming the Burning Fields: The vocal melodies are especially recognizable in this song. It's typical during vocals, but there's some weird keyboard and guitar being layed down around the middle of the song. Enjoyable, to say the least. In the last 45 seconds of the song, there's some random lyric-less vocals and then the chorus repeats.
4. Operation Ground and Pound: When reviewers talk about video game sounding music, they're referring to songs like this one. The keyboards in particular give off this video game essence. The vocals are especially high pitched in this song, and you also have your run-of-the-mill madman soloing. It's difficult to explain the real atmosphere in this song.
5. Body Breakdown: Once again, video game intro. This song seems to begin the late-album breakdown, hence the title. The song is overall slower, and many parts of the verses have no guitar. Around the 2/3 part, you can hear some more undistorted guitar. Also, during the verses, you can hear what seems to be either undistorted guitar or bass. Also, during the 5:00 mark, possibly the only true keyboard solo on the album is showcased.
6. Cry for Eternity: Typical Inhuman Rampage song, apart from the soloing. The solos have less rythm guitar, and there's also some more undistorted guitars used in as solo or two.
7. The Flame of Youth: Once again, less guitars during parts of the verses than during the first half of the album. This song has a different, yet distinctly similar style to the first half of the album.
8. Trail of Broken Hearts: This is the final song of the album, and the only song that doesn't rage at 200 beats per minute. The band calls it "the ballad song" of the album. Some piano here, acoustic riffs there. Still plenty of soloing, but no over-the-top hardcore licks. If the other songs still scare you, start off with this song or something off of Valley of the Damned. Overall, this album is loaded with the best extreme power metal (and the only extreme power metal) around. In particular, I would reccomend it to power metal junkies who are starting to get bored of your typical power metal.
