Received the newly released "Ultra Beatdown" from Dragonforce yesterday, and have listened to it almost twice today. As it turns out, Dragonforce is excellent music for writing conference abstracts.
Ultra beatdown represents no departure from the melodic extreme power metal of their earlier efforts, so if you didn't like the previous three albums, odds are you should shy away from this one as well. Most of the time, it feels like Dragonforce just re-released it's first album for the third time, which suits me fine, as I thoroughly enjoyed "Valley Of The Damned". As a matter of fact, I'd be a happy camper if Yngwie had kept spewing out minor variations of "Fire & Ice", if Running Wild had recorded "Death Or Glory II", and if Magnus Karlsson had reassembled Last Tribe for a return to their "The Ritual" sound. So that don't matter to me as long as I enjoy the product. Truth be told, "Ultra Beatdown" does offer some variation, with more tempo and time signature changes, and at least one song dropping to a (for Dragonforce) leisurely pace of 120 bpm for almost a full minute. Moreover, there are some traces of influence from bands like Rhapsody Of Fire and Blind Guardian, plus the song "Heartbreak Armageddon" offers an ascending chromatic bridge immediately before the chorus. I likes it. I even likes it more than I did the previous albums, despite the lack of the obvious "Through The Fire And The Flames" type of single.
I sprung for the "special edition", which comes with two bonus tracks (one of which is titled ""Strike Of The Ninja"...) and a DVD which features "The recording of..." material and a feature on the making of Herman's Ibanez EGEN signature guitar. The studio material is quite entertaining, with Sam complaining about being sick and tired of "playing the same fucking solo on the same fucking song", plus other studio stuff that wannabe musicians like me find interesting. Interestingly, they record the bass and guitar directly into the board. Interesting, because I'm short one Pro Tools license from having their guitar recording facilities. The feature on the Ibanez EGEN development is kinda' interesting, but I suspect you'd have to be a guitar geek like me to find it even remotely interesting. The EGEN is basically a tricked-out version of their new Ibanez SV, which features 24 frets and a deeper cutaway. Apart from that, the EGEN has a new floating bridge, an EGEN Wizard neck (a Wizard I with scalloping on the upper 4 frets like the Jem), some custom-made pickups from DiMarzio (of course), an even deeper cutaway for easy access to the upper frets, and a grip formed after Herman's right hand on the upper horn - for more facile fancy stage moves. I totally love the Ibanez S series, but I think I'd rather have a custom model based on the new SV. The improved floating bridge is awesome and stuff, but I don't use what David Lee Roth refers to as the "dick stick" all that much, and since I'm about half a meter taller than Herman Li, I'm not sure how this grip feature would work for someone of my proportions.
Ultra beatdown represents no departure from the melodic extreme power metal of their earlier efforts, so if you didn't like the previous three albums, odds are you should shy away from this one as well. Most of the time, it feels like Dragonforce just re-released it's first album for the third time, which suits me fine, as I thoroughly enjoyed "Valley Of The Damned". As a matter of fact, I'd be a happy camper if Yngwie had kept spewing out minor variations of "Fire & Ice", if Running Wild had recorded "Death Or Glory II", and if Magnus Karlsson had reassembled Last Tribe for a return to their "The Ritual" sound. So that don't matter to me as long as I enjoy the product. Truth be told, "Ultra Beatdown" does offer some variation, with more tempo and time signature changes, and at least one song dropping to a (for Dragonforce) leisurely pace of 120 bpm for almost a full minute. Moreover, there are some traces of influence from bands like Rhapsody Of Fire and Blind Guardian, plus the song "Heartbreak Armageddon" offers an ascending chromatic bridge immediately before the chorus. I likes it. I even likes it more than I did the previous albums, despite the lack of the obvious "Through The Fire And The Flames" type of single.
I sprung for the "special edition", which comes with two bonus tracks (one of which is titled ""Strike Of The Ninja"...) and a DVD which features "The recording of..." material and a feature on the making of Herman's Ibanez EGEN signature guitar. The studio material is quite entertaining, with Sam complaining about being sick and tired of "playing the same fucking solo on the same fucking song", plus other studio stuff that wannabe musicians like me find interesting. Interestingly, they record the bass and guitar directly into the board. Interesting, because I'm short one Pro Tools license from having their guitar recording facilities. The feature on the Ibanez EGEN development is kinda' interesting, but I suspect you'd have to be a guitar geek like me to find it even remotely interesting. The EGEN is basically a tricked-out version of their new Ibanez SV, which features 24 frets and a deeper cutaway. Apart from that, the EGEN has a new floating bridge, an EGEN Wizard neck (a Wizard I with scalloping on the upper 4 frets like the Jem), some custom-made pickups from DiMarzio (of course), an even deeper cutaway for easy access to the upper frets, and a grip formed after Herman's right hand on the upper horn - for more facile fancy stage moves. I totally love the Ibanez S series, but I think I'd rather have a custom model based on the new SV. The improved floating bridge is awesome and stuff, but I don't use what David Lee Roth refers to as the "dick stick" all that much, and since I'm about half a meter taller than Herman Li, I'm not sure how this grip feature would work for someone of my proportions.
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2 comments:
...if Yngwie had kept spewing out minor variations of "Fire & Ice"...
hey, hey, HEY!!! What's up this Yngwie dissing here! If you have an issue with Yngwie, you have to go through ME!
Interesting, because I'm short one Pro Tools license from having their guitar recording facilities.
Well, makes sense, since your recording has become better and better. It seems you have a pretty decent home recording rig, and you have learned to use it pretty good as well.
I totally love the Ibanez S series, but I think I'd rather have a custom model based on the new SV.
Yeah, 'cause you're really lacking in the electric guitar department, especially in the Ibanez range... ;-)
...since I'm about half a meter taller than Herman Li, I'm not sure how this grip feature would work for someone of my proportions.
Too bad, because I'm sure that apart from height difference, you and Herman have the same buildt. A spitting image of each other...
Well, makes sense, since your recording has become better and better. It seems you have a pretty decent home recording rig, and you have learned to use it pretty good as well.
..trial and error......lots of errors....
Yeah, 'cause you're really lacking in the electric guitar department, especially in the Ibanez range... ;-)
..like there's such a thing as having too many guitars
Too bad, because I'm sure that apart from height difference, you and Herman have the same buildt. A spitting image of each other...
Oh yeah; we're like Twins........
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