"DragonForce is the World's Fastest Melodic Speed Power Metal
Newcomer!", proudly stated this band's official website once upon a time.
Whether actually true or not, that one statement sums up DragonForce
as well as any, as melodic speed power metal is the order of the
day here, with the trump card being that these guys simply play
really, really fast.
The band formed in 1999 in London, England (hardly a hot spot for
this kind of metal), with their debut album sporting a nice
mixture of members from the world over (France, Ukraine, South
Africa, Hong Kong, and England).
Once one gets past the dizzying tempo of most of the numbers,
there's not a lot to differentiate DragonForce from the horde of
Gamma Ray-styled bands, as Valley Of The Damned features plenty
of happy singalong choruses, rollicking guitar riffs, and
double-bass
drumming that fans of this genre have heard countless times before
and yet cannot get enough of.
High marks go to the guitar tandem of Herman Li and Sam Totman, as
there are some impressive leads on display here, again with the
sheer speed of it all being the most impressive part of all.
They've built nicely on that debut, with a string of successful albums
released over the last decade.
