DragonForce
Valley of the Damned

THE REVIEW

Here we are. A bit late, to be honest, but frankly at 12:08 AM on a Saturday spent in the name of laziness and colitis, there's nothing else to do. And so I am preparing (what a big word) to describe the first album of the career of DragonForce. A group often criticized for their lack of originality (of which they are fully aware) and for their bad (or good, for the die-hard fans of high-level speed power) habit of exaggerating the speed of execution of almost all pieces.

Overall, it is an album that is not easily appreciated. Among the eight songs, there are two particularly contrasting ones: "Black Fire" and "Starfire". The first is a headache-inducing song from the first second of play, the second is a ballad (one of the few) characterized by the use of instruments (piano) and sound effects (rain) that make it all very relaxing, accompanied by the celestial voice of ZP, which pairs well with the course of the song. The lyrics are, like the others, epic, expressing a nostalgic feeling typical of ballads.

The other songs all have the same structure: an intro of about 40 seconds, two sung parts interspersed with a "by Li" solo, the chorus, a guitar solo of about two minutes, and the chorus repeated at the end.

An album overall listenable, but lacking in any kind of originality. As are the following albums, useless under all aspects.