Dragonforce Opinion

It seems that many die hard metal fans don't like Dragonforce. I can't really understand it but I understand everyone likes different things and have learned to live with it. I can't help feel though that the mainstream attention they are getting turns people off.

Us metal heads sometimes tend to be pig headed when it comes to a metal band making wave in the mainstream. This is understandable because of past disapointments such as Metallica who changed their sound dramatically after gaining mainstream attention. However, I don't think Dragonforce intended to garner as much attention as they have. Just listening to their first two albums, the style hasn't changed with Inhuman Rampage.

I'm sure many who don't like them base it on the music but I can't help thinking that some other peoples' opinions might have been different had Dragonforce only made a splash in the metal community and not the mainstream.

Oh, well. For my part I am a big fan of their music.

Hate to do it but I'm gonna take the "They Suck" option.

This band makes me nuts. I love power metal, and I love the idea of a power metal band getting onto OzzFest and crossing over into the mainstream, but did it have to be THESE guys??
They're the epitome of everything I usually like about power metal (speed, tons of solos, etc.) so when they first came out I really WANTED to like them, felt like I really SHOULD like them, but after numerous spins of their SONIC FIRESTORM album (the only one I bought) I just couldn't dig it. Yes, they're amazing players, yes, they've got enough chops for three or four bands, but their music is just dry and clinical as hell to my ears. There's not an ounce of soul or emotion in anything I've heard from that band.

I love them!!

they are ok. i'm not a fan, but they are talented & do everything a power metal band are supposed to do. they've been successful with it. that's cool.

Don't particularly care for them.

I think they're good stuff, but they've never been able to top their debut Valley of the Damned. Since then, every song has sounded exactly the same - at least Valley had some variation. Still, it's fun music and they're a great band to see live.

I'd like them if every song I heard didn't sound exactly alike.

I like couple of their songs, but most of their songs sound too much alike.

They're ok. I don't know Inhuman Rampage, but Valley of the Damned and Sonic Firestorm are good. I'm not a big fan, but I give them sometimes a listen.

I guess my ears just are more in tuned to certain bands. As I said in a previous post, I never had to give a Dream Theater album a second listen to know if I like one it (most people say they have to listen multiple times to get into it). The same goes for Dragonforce. To me the melodies of each song are different (the speed is pretty much the same but not the melody). When I hear of a band's songs sounding alike I see it as not being able to tell the songs apart (like in metalcore) but I am able to tell Drangonforce's songs apart.

Again maybe I'm just wired differently. Perhaps most of you guys just can't get past the speed to hear the melody within and I can understand that completly. So many times there will be one aspect of a band's music that we dislike so much that we can't get past it and I guess that is why a band like this is so polarizing. The results of this poll will probably be 50/50 on each end of the spectrum (both for and against), in other words I suspect the first two choices and the last two choices to even out. Either way....

mc666 wrote:

they are ok. i'm not a fan, but they are talented &
do everything a power metal band are supposed to do. they've been
successful with it. that's cool.

What he said.

they're ok. i know power metal all sounds similar but their songs all sound too much alike

they're terrible live tho. watch that clip, its funny

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ubv4m5ylXBw

Yeah , I like them. Pretty good stuff and always enjoy listening to them.

Funny what you said Dallasblack.....I'm the same way. I find each of their songs standing alone easily. Also interesting that you mentioned DT cause that's one band I simply have no tolerance for. They do nothing for me. I don't have the patience for them. I'm low brow when it comes to music!

I like them, wish they would slow down ever now and then though.
A bit more changes in tempo would be great.
It is really sad that people start disliking bands because they are sucsessfull.

ultmetal wrote:

mc666 wrote:

they are ok. i'm not a fan, but they are talented &
do everything a power metal band are supposed to do. they've been
successful with it. that's cool.

What he said.

Yea, same here.

I chose They're OK, mainly because every song I've heard I liked, but I've never actually bought an album.

caniplaywithmadness? wrote:

they're ok. i know power metal all sounds similar but their songs all sound too much alike

they're terrible live tho. watch that clip, its funny

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ubv4m5ylXBw

They're not always like that. However, I'd be lying if I said Sam wasn't sloppy live. Drink and shred are a bad combo.

Rexorcist wrote:

I'd like them if every song I heard didn't sound exactly alike.

Agreed.

scottmitchell74 wrote:

I love them!!

Ditto what he said. I love this band. Have ever since I picked up "Valley of the Damned" years ago.

Hit the "They Suck!" button.Would gladly hit it again if i were able.Sounds almost like a parody of power metal to me.

ultmetal wrote:

mc666 wrote:

they are ok. i'm not a fan, but they are talented &
do everything a power metal band are supposed to do. they've been
successful with it. that's cool.

What he said.

On your NLTM section you said you were blown away and loved 'em.



I was/am a huge fan of the thrash/power metal era of the late 80's so I'll always have a soft spot for speedy power metal like these guys. Yes, alot of their songs sound alike and yes they might be a bit more memorable if they threw in some slower melodic parts to emphasize their speed but I love speed and they have it by the truckloads. Thier lyrics are predictable, generic and trite but I dont even pay attention to the lyrics.

Well you see, that's my problem with them. There used to be a sense of variation in their songs, or at least there was to an extent of Valley. Just look at tracks like Disciples of Babylon, arguably one of their best songs. It has such an amazing middle section where it takes a pause from the speed.

I only like one album, won't listen to the others because, they do sounds the same, so i'm gonna say they're ok

stepcousin wrote:

ultmetal wrote:

mc666 wrote:

they are ok. i'm not a fan, but they are talented &
do everything a power metal band are supposed to do. they've been
successful with it. that's cool.

What he said.

On your NLTM section you said you were blown away and loved 'em.

that's not what he said at all.

for the 1 album of theirs he reviewed, Inhuman Rampage, he wrote...

Quote :

Dragonforce were all the rage in the U.S. in '06
thanks in part to the band being added to the infamous Ozzfest.
Apparently the band is already quite popular in Europe. I've never been
one to care about bands based on popularity, so I was in no rush to
check them out. I was also less than impressed with the geeky sounding
bandname. Somehow I expected themes of dungeons, dragons. witches and
warlocks. However, I took the advice of those who emailed me about hte
band and decided to give 'em a spin. Surprisingly, Dragonforce are
quite interesting and much, much better than I expected. While they
would most certainly fall under the power metal category and their
lyrics are the typical, fanstasy, power metal fare, they have a unique
sound that moves them outside the pack. Their music is incredibly fast,
yet still amazingly coherent and melodic with clean, mid-range vocals.
The drums and guitars are so fast it almost sounds inhuman. I mean, my
jaw hit the floor at how fast and precise some of the guitar riffs and
solos were. Even the keys are used in such a way as to not take away
from the overall heaviness and speed of the band. Unfortunately the
band's fascination with speed makes the album sound somewhat samey
throughout. The one exception would be album closer "Tail of Broken
Hearts" which is a melodic ballad. However, a bit more variety in tempo
throughout might have made for a more memorable listen. Despite this
complaint, there is something fascinating about the Dragonforce sound
that holds my attention and I can totally understand why the band have
managed such a quick climb to success. I can honestly say that
Dragonforce have helped to set a new standard for power metal. The band
labels themselves Extreme Power Metal. Indeed!