The DragonForce Thread - Reaching Into Infinity out now!

[IDontNotDoThings]

  Pre-Marc material, that is, because admittedly they did definitely start evolving their songwriting and varied it up a bit starting with The Power Within.

 

Coincided with Frederic LeClerq joining the band. You can see his influence. His talents are being wasted as a bass player. He is such an amazing guitarist and musician.

I read a few interviews about the new album & I remember one of them said the Frederic wrote around 2/3 of the album. 

[IDontNotDoThings]

Another new song leaked: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGFNr7xE4Fk

[ZKX-2099]

How do I down vote posts here?

[IDontNotDoThings]

New song for real this time: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_l8HlRGWx4

[wolfking]

New video;

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

[Elite]

New video;

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

Nice power metal track I suppose. It's actually a lot better than the stuff of theirs I have heard before.

[FOXAN03]

Loved the new song I've got great hopes for this album. The website even says this:

‘Reaching Into Infinity‘ introduces Italian drummer Gee Anzalone, who joined the band for their first ever ‘best-of’ collection, ‘Killer Elite: The Hits, The Highs, The Vids’, released in 2016. It’s the third DragonForce album to feature frontman Marc Hudson, whose reign at the mic now enters its sixth year.

“Marc is becoming more and more involved with the writing process, especially in the lyrics,” acknowledges guitarist Herman Li. “Mostly, though, these songs came from Frédéric [Leclercq, bassist] and Sam [Totman, guitarist].“
Musically speaking, ‘Reaching Into Infinity‘ continues where DragonForce left off with ‘Maximum Overload‘, the band’s faster material becoming even faster still, while the melodic parts head even further in that particular direction. The band offer no apologies for the inclusion of a 1980s rock-style ballad entitled ‘Silence’ and, at the other end of the spectrum, there’s even an 11-minute multi-tempoed monster called ‘The Edge Of The World’.

“‘The Edge Of The World’ is DragonForce’s longest ever song,” says Li proudly. “In some ways, this album is more epic than anything we’ve done before.“

‘The Edge Of The World’ is extremely ambitious, channelling growled vocals from Hudson and fusing them with a stunning arrangement that twists and turns like the proverbial dragon’s tail. The ‘Force go prog-rock, anyone?

“Why not?” Li responds. “Marc’s favourite style of music is prog, and I’m a massive fan of Dream Theater, so there’s an element of that going on. With each album that we make, the band reveals more and more if its influences, constantly adding to what we can do.“

“We have proven that playing fast is something we were good at, so this time I wanted to bring even more diversity into our music,” Fred elaborates. “It’s great to challenge ourselves instead of staying in a comfort zone, and I really wanted to experiment with Marc’s vocals. I think people are going to be surprised at his brutality.“

The title corresponds with the album’s highly impressive sleeve art, which features a dragon bursting through a wormhole into a hi-tech, futuristic cityscape.
“The dragon represents us – DragonForce – and a form of music that’s been around for a very long time, emerging into an outside world that’s infinitely more crazy and chaotic than it was ten years ago,” Li explains, using considerable understatement. “Everyone is saying that there’s no future and there’s a lot of fear and uncertainty, especially for younger people, but our music is an escape from it all.“



So theres a 11 Minute DREAM THEATER influenced song!!!

https://www.dragonforce.com/biography/

[wolfking]

That 11 minute track could go either way.  Nevertheless, the last two albums have been very good so I'm eager to give this one a listen.

[Mister Gold]

New video;

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

Great stuff. And yeah, the Hudson era of DF has been outstanding so far. Both of his albums with the band rank at the top of the band's discography for me, then followed by Valley of the Damned and Sonic Firestorm.

[ZKX-2099]

WAR! 

[PROGdrummer]

So I've heard "The Edge of The World".

Not sure if I like it as a whole, but the second half REALLY shocked me.
All I can say is, Marc get's some big points for me as a great vocalist. I wasnt expecting growls that good considering his highs are also so strong. The song takes a Scar Symmetry vibe rather than Dream Theater-esque, I'd say

[Mister Gold]

So I've heard "The Edge of The World".

Not sure if I like it as a whole, but the second half REALLY shocked me.
All I can say is, Marc get's some big points for me as a great vocalist. I wasnt expecting growls that good considering his highs are also so strong. The song takes a Scar Symmetry vibe rather than Dream Theater-esque, I'd say

I'm listening to it right now, along with the rest of the album, and I've gotta say that Marc has come a LOOOOONG way since that first audition video he posted on YouTube back in the Spring of 2010. I still remember saying to myself, "This is the guy they'll get" when I saw his cover of The Last Journey Home. Marc was wearing a Helloween shirt, if memory serves me right. He even replied to my comments on his video a few times too, which was nice.

Dude was always a good singer, but he just keeping better and better with time. I never expected to hear those growls from him- or that the band would ever seriously implement any growls in their music- back when he auditioned seven years ago.

I'm gonna need to listen to the song a few more times to get a full opinion on it, but my first reaction is that it's a pretty bold move from the band and potentially one of their best songs. Parts of it remind me of Iron Maiden's Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, as well as Judas Priest's Cathedral Spires- but yeah, there's definitely some more 'tech death metal' moments in there too.

[wolfking]

The song takes a Scar Symmetry vibe rather than Dream Theater-esque, I'd say

Wow, nice!

[IDontNotDoThings]

The album's great, probably their best to be honest, which I wasn't really expecting. Judgement Day got me really hyped, then Curse of Darkness was a disappointment, & while Ashes of the Dawn was good, I didn't really care too much for it. The album tracks are almost all better than the singles, which is a great thing to see.

Also, my first thought of comparison for Edge of the World was actually To Tame A Land, but I'll have to check & see how accurate that is.

[FOXAN03]

I agree it could be their best, I'm stunned how much better this album is compared to Maximum Overload but i need a few more listens to say for definite that its better than inhuman rampage or sonic firestorm

[IDontNotDoThings]

It's definitely better than those two imo. The amateur production on Sonic Firestorm kills the mood for me & Inhuman Rampage gets really stale during the 2nd half, two problems which Reaching Into Infinity doesn't have.

My Ranking:
1. Reaching Into Infinity (great from beginning to end)
2. Maximum Overload (just a really fun & energetic album to listen to, also has a lot of catchy songs)
3. Ultra Beatdown (really nails the electronic vibe it was going for, has a lot of memorable songs but can get a little tiresome on first listens)
4. Sonic Firestorm (songs are fine but I can't get behind the production issues, I also never really have the urge to listen to this one)
5. Inhuman Rampage (first half is great, but the album as a whole really drags on (force) & everything starts to bleed together after Ground & Pound)
6. The Power Within (really hit or miss based on song, there's about 3 standouts, another 3 good songs I rarely come back to & around 4 that are completely unmemorable)
7. Valley Of The Damned (ehhhhhh...)

[Mister Gold]

Wow, very interesting to see the diverse set of opinions here. Personally I think the band grew tremendously as songwriters by cutting back on the song lengths for The Power Within, which allowed them to go back to lengthier pieces on the last two albums with more creative ideas than just pure wanking, which was how both Inhuman Rampage and Ultra Beatdown came off to me in general, barring some good songs here and there.

In contrast, Valley of the Damned and Sonic Firestorm both have flimsier production than the latter two ZP Theart albums, but I've always felt there was more energy and creativity in those albums that more than makes up for it. Obviously neither album is as refined as the Marc era material, but it's good stuff just the same imo.

I'm really not sure yet where I rank Reaching for Infinity, but aside from that album, I'd rank DF's discography as such:

1. Maximum Overload
2. The Power Within
3. Valley of the Damned
4. Sonic Firestorm
5. Inhuman Rampage
6. Ultra Beatdown

[FOXAN03]

Wow, very interesting to see the diverse set of opinions here. Personally I think the band grew tremendously as songwriters by cutting back on the song lengths for The Power Within, which allowed them to go back to lengthier pieces on the last two albums with more creative ideas than just pure wanking, which was how both Inhuman Rampage and Ultra Beatdown came off to me in general, barring some good songs here and there.

In contrast, Valley of the Damned and Sonic Firestorm both have flimsier production than the latter two ZP Theart albums, but I've always felt there was more energy and creativity in those albums that more than makes up for it. Obviously neither album is as refined as the Marc era material, but it's good stuff just the same imo.

I'm really not sure yet where I rank Reaching for Infinity, but aside from that album, I'd rank DF's discography as such:

1. Maximum Overload
2. The Power Within
3. Valley of the Damned
4. Sonic Firestorm
5. Inhuman Rampage
6. Ultra Beatdown

I completely agree I think the band has grown tremendously over the past few Albums, I still think Inhuman Rampage is higher on my list than Maximum Overload and Power Within. However after another listen of  Reaching for Infinity its a definite new Number 1 for me, I cannot find a weak track on this album and its a lot more varied than previous releases. I think Frédéric Leclercq has had a very positive impact on the writing I'm hoping this release will allow the band to grow to a wider audience it deserves it. So my new Ranking would be:

1. Reaching to Infinity
2. Inhuman Rampage
3. Maximum Overload
4. Sonic Firestorm
5. The Power Within
6. Valley of the Damned
7. Ultra Beatdown

[wolfking]

I might as well pick this up.  I liked the last two.

[wolfking]

Are the two bonus tracks worth the purchase of the deluxe?  I don't care for the DVD but will go for it if they are worthwhile.

[Mister Gold]

Are the two bonus tracks worth the purchase of the deluxe?  I don't care for the DVD but will go for it if they are worthwhile.

Well, the "Evil Dead" cover is pretty freaking outstanding. I dug the other two bonus tracks I've heard (though idk if they're all together on the same package or not), but the experience of hearing DF take on a Chuck Schuldiner number was the highlight of the bonus tracks for me.

I'm not sure if Reaching into Infinity tops Maximum Overload for me yet (gonna need more listens to really judge that), but I do think it's a pretty solid entry for the band and keeps in line with the Hudson era of quality.

[wolfking]

I picked up the deluxe edition.   Haven't listened to it yet.

[wolfking]

First listen and I'm only 4 minutes into The Edge of The World, but this song is fucking brilliant.

[TAC]

I haven't paid attention to Dragonforce since they changed singers.

Would you recommend I change that?

[wolfking]

I haven't paid attention to Dragonforce since they changed singers.

Would you recommend I change that?

The last three have been a lot better than everything before it IMO.  Nothing groundbreaking, but great power metal.

And yeah, after hearing The Edge of the World, they should utilise that side of Marc's voice a lot more, brilliant song, probably the best song they've ever done.  Definitely agree with PROGDrummer, lots of Scar Symmetry in that second half, don't hear DT at all.

[TAC]

OK. I thought they improved when Frederic LeClerq joined the band. I will get right on it!

[Mister Gold]

I haven't paid attention to Dragonforce since they changed singers.

Would you recommend I change that?

Well, seeing as how all three of their albums since changing singers has been a noticeable improvement from their previous albums with the old singer, I'd give a resounding "Hell yes" as my personal answer.

And since you bring up Frederic, part of the band's improvement comes from his presence on these newer albums imo. Starting with The Power Within (the first album with Marc on vocals), Frederic has played a much larger role in the songwriting department, which is definitely something that I think factors into the rise in quality.

[TAC]

That's good to hear. His work in Heavenly is fantastic. Their Dust To Dust made The TAC Top 50. Like I said, I'll jump in.

[TAC]

OK. Just bought the latest three albums from Amazon for $10 each.

[FOXAN03]

OK. Just bought the latest three albums from Amazon for $10 each.

[wolfking]

OK. Just bought the latest three albums from Amazon for $10 each.

Jesus!  I feel quite a bit of pressure now.  I'm sweating a little!

[IDontNotDoThings]

OK. Just bought the latest three albums from Amazon for $10 each.

At first I thought "how do you get albums for $10" & then I remembered it was in US$. 

[ErHaO]

I was just listening to the newest one and, to me, the modern Dragonforce material (so ever since their new vocalist) is much better than their old material. Despite it being similar and nothing new, their newer material just does about everything right for me personally, along with better vocals and vocal melodies.

[TAC]

OK. Just bought the latest three albums from Amazon for $10 each.

Jesus!  I feel quite a bit of pressure now.  I'm sweating a little!

No sweat bro.












Unless they suck!

[wolfking]

Did you sample anything first Tim??