DRAGONFORCE - Ultra Beatdown
December 5, 2008, 16 years ago
(Roadrunner)
Seatbelt? Check. Gas? Check. Heavy right foot on the accelerator? Check. Thrusters on full… lift-off! Such is listening to Dragonforce’s latest effort, Ultra Beatdown. It amazes me that these guys have generated such mass appeal given their take on power metal, delivered at breakneck speed. All extreme, all the time. Suppose it’s a reflection of the extreme sport, videogaming (Guitar Hero anyone?), ADD youth that they have successfully targeted. Ultra Beatdown represents nothing new, just musically accomplished dudes playing super fast, with an over the top vocalist spewing cliché tales of battle and ultimate victory. What I just can’t get my head around is deciphering whether they are serious or a metal parody. I get that some power metal bands take themselves too seriously and that in itself draws guffaws from punters. Maybe, DF are smarter than all of us, and play up their gimmickry and fretboard wankery knowing fully that this extreme approach is “just showbiz, baby.” The songwriting is basic at best. Throughout, you’ll be asking yourself the “Haven’t I heard this before?” question. Listen to the opening melody of ‘The Fire Still Burns’ and you can clearly yank out bits from Survivor’s ‘Eye Of The Tiger’. Look, it was fun for a couple albums - super musicians and a riot to see live, but this one’s a handful to sit through.
