The English Power Speed Metal band, DragonForce are back in 2014 with an absolute overload of sound. Maximum Overload is the sixth studio album from the famous Speed Metallers.  The band has been around for a solid 15 years, with at least a dozen of member changes.  DragonForce is still alive and well in 2014, topping charts as they always do, with new album Maximum Overload.  Guitarist Herman Li says that the album is inspired by the overwhelming amount of information and technology we try to absorb.  The album describes how we obsess over unnecessary stuff through phones and digital technology.  It is DragonForce at its best, everything turned up to 11 with faster guitars, drums, bass, and much higher vocals.  They went for a drastically more different and dynamic album in 2014, and I think Maximum Overload succeeds very well.  The message of the album is solidly carried out as well and a message all of humanity could use to take seriously.

I haven’t been the biggest fan of DragonForce,  but I decided to give this album a chance.  I find Maximum Overload to be a typical Speed Metal album.  I found it enjoyable and easier to listen to than past DragonForce albums.  The Game opens the album with technicality through every instrument and vocal tracks, keeping the bar high for the band.  The vocals are dynamic and interesting, having the same powerful sound I expect in Power Metal.  Tomorrow’s Kings is incredibly fast and beautifully melodic.  It has an epic anthemic sound proving DragonForce can still create a full sound after 15 years.  No More is a little different than the past two tracks, keeping the album flowingly interesting and pleasing to listen to.  This song throws back to an 80’s Metal sound with excellent modern qualities.  Three Hammers makes the two guitarists, Herman Li and Sam Totman, shine perfectly in a gem of a Power Metal song.  It is a melodic battle anthem with incredible male vocals that are unparalleled in 2014.  Marc Hudson has a huge range, and he certainly uses it on this “war cry”.

Symphony of the Night is a darker track, but still has blazing fast track that does Maximum Overload’s name justice.  It is an audible assault of group vocals, impossibly fast guitar scales, and building sound.  It is a perfect change up in the album.  The Sun is Dead is the most aggressive and heavy song on the album.  This song has more of a Thrash sound than any track on the album, until the chorus where it opens back up to the melodic anthemic sound.  Extraction Zone is another blazing fast song with rhythmic lyrics, almost performed too fast to understand clearly.  The name of the song is somewhat cheesy, however.  The way it’s said throughout the song makes it hard to be taken seriously.  This track sounds more like a demo than a final release and I find some of the “squeaky” guitar effects to be annoying.  Maximum Overload  still continues to surprise me with City of Gold, picking the album back up to a high quality sound.  This song is more radio friendly, similar to the anthemic sound of Three Hammers.  I also like that the bassist, Frederic Leclercq, is more audible on this track.  The album closes with a cover of Johnny Cash’s Ring Of Fire, completely redone in a way you’ve never heard.  It is a well executed cover that continues to make DragonForce famous for their signature Power/Speed metal song.

I am now a DragonForce fan because of how good this new album is and will be researching more albums.

Rating: 8/10