The people who haven’t heard of DragonForce before after their cooperation on Guitar Hero 3 have been living under a rock. The band was formed in 1999, but didn’t get that big break until they lent the song ‘Through The Fire And Flames’ to the popular video game. The album that contained the ultrafast, blasting track, Inhuman Rampage, was a huge success with half a million copies sold worldwide. When DragonForce left the studio to present their latest album, they said it would sound different from their usual speedy playing.

Don’t be alarmed, this much anticipated record has not befallen a same fate as Metallica’s later albums. The speed and twin harmonies are still there, only to be briefly interrupted by a few slower parts.

‘Reasons To Live’ immediately opens with a couple of full blast beats and swipes away the thought that DragonForce have gone soft. ‘Heartbreak Armageddon’ brings the catchiness to the album and has a really nice ‘movie-like’ melodic intro to it. Up ‘til this point, it doesn’t sound like much has changed in DragonForce’s sound. Could it just have been a stunt for media attention?

No, there is a slow song. ‘A Flame For Freedom’ is the metal ballad on Ultra Beatdown and it’s a welcome change to all the extreme speedy tracks. And with that, the speed returns.

DragonForce have evolved, even if slightly. The band chose to make the music more organic instead of just whacking away at it. I think it’s a change for the positive, because there is more to the band than just composing ridiculously speedy songs. They really cán play.