![News Added Mar 31, 2014 UK Metal titans DRAGONFORCE are nearing completion of their sixth studio album entitled 'Maximum Overload'. Produced by Jens Bogren at Fascination Studios in Örebro and Varberg, Sweden, the new opus will be the band’s first ever album involving an outside producer, having historically opted to record themselves in association with […]](https://hasitleaked.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/10013838_10152045372572379_1598182240_n-320x320.jpg "Dragonforce : Maximum Overload")
UK Metal titans DRAGONFORCE are nearing completion of their sixth studio album entitled 'Maximum Overload'. Produced by Jens Bogren at Fascination Studios in Örebro and Varberg, Sweden, the new opus will be the band’s first ever album involving an outside producer, having historically opted to record themselves in association with Karl Groom.
Fans can stream a demo of a new track now on MetalHammer.co.uk! Listen to 'Defenders' now:
http://www.metalhammer.co.uk/news/exclusive-hear-a-brand-new-dragonforce-demo-featuring-triviums-matt-heafy/
'Maximum Overload' will be the band’s debut album for new label Ear Music, part of the German Edel music group, who will release the album in the UK on August 18th, and in USA on Metal Blade Records on August 19th.
"Working with Jens gave us a different perspective on the songs and a different sound dynamic. We always previously recorded in our own studios but recording in Sweden made us focus and maybe drove us harder, Jens certainly did, he doesn't believe in days off"! said guitar maestro Herman Li.
"The album title and album cover artwork is inspired by the constant bombardment of information we are subjected to during our daily lives" Li added. "We were in an airport departure lounge surrounded by TV screens, flight information screens and advertising screens. We then looked around and no one was saying a word, they were all looking at more screens on tablets, laptops and mobile phones, there's no escaping it, it's complete information overload"!
'Maximum Overload' features a couple of surprises, notably a guest appearance on some of the songs from Trivium’s Matt Heafy. "We've always gotten on really well with the Trivium guys and it was great when Matt had a couple of days to spare and agreed to weigh in on some of the songs"! added Frederic Leclercq.
The album also features an all time first for DragonForce.....a cover version! Sam Totman explained "Just before the last Australian tour our manager suggested it might be interesting to do a cover for the next album, something we've always refused even to consider. Because we had all had a couple beers every band member wrote down 3 songs each and we compared them all, just for a laugh. I wrote down 'Ring Of Fire' by Johnny Cash, an idea which the rest of the band loved, so we've DragonForce-ized it"!
'Maximum Overload' will be released on Standard CD, Standard Digital Version, Special Edition CD with 5 bonus tracks and a bonus DVD, Special Edition Digital Version (same bonus material as Special Edition CD), and Vinyl.
The band will embark on a massive 20 date UK & Ireland tour in September under the strapline ‘….this time it’s personal’ alluding to the fact that instead of playing a handful of larger venues the band are playing many shows geographically spread out across the country. Commenting on the nature of the tour Herman Li said “We did a tour like this in between the Sonic Firestorm and Inhuman Rampage albums and have wanted to repeat it ever since but couldn’t because of touring commitments elsewhere in the world. This time we were determined to make it happen so we’re going to some cities we haven’t visited for years and some we’ve never visited at all. One of the venues is a boat and one is a deconsecrated church! It will be great to see the fans up close and personal again, it’s going to be very hot, very sweaty and great fun!”
SEPTEMBER 2014
Wednesday 17th EDINBURGH Liquid Room
Thursday 18th ABERDEEN Lemon Tree
Friday 19th GLASGOW King Tuts
Saturday 20th BELFAST Limelight 2
Sunday 21st DUBLIN Whelan's
Tuesday 23rd CARLISLE Brickyard
Wednesday 24th MIDDLESBRO’ Empire
Thursday 25th MANCHESTER Deaf Institute
Friday 26th STOKE Sugarmill
Saturday 27th BIRMINGHAM Institute
Tuesday 30th BRIGHTON The Haunt
OCTOBER
Wednesday 1st SOUTHAMPTON Joiners
Thursday 2nd PLYMOUTH White Rabbit
Friday 3rd BRIDGEND Hobo's
Saturday 4th BRISTOL The Thekla
Tuesday 7th LEEDS Brundenell
Wednesday 8th NOTTINGHAM Rescue Rooms
Thursday 9th COLCHESTER Arts Centre
Friday 10th NORWICH Waterfront
Saturday 11th LONDON Bush Hall
The Japanese version is confirmed to have a bonus track entitled “Summer’s End” so someone should add that.
Album leak [Edit: Website link removed] F*cking awesome
After listening to this album three times now, I think I finally have my thoughts in order about this album already. Certainly not what I expected..And frankly I was very disappointed..That it wasn’t longer! Wow, incredible work, read the track by track review and overhead down below! Feel free to skip songs you already heard or just skip to the overhead. Be warned, its long xD
1. The Game (10/10) – This is certainly not the high thunder wrenching scream that was displayed on “The Power Within” with the track “Holding On”, but this is one hell of a song. The song is said to be their fastest song, surpassing their fastest track “Fallen World” on “The Power Within”, and is certainly a new and different Dragonforce. This shows more of a thrashier Dragonforce, and more death like with the help of Trivium vocalist Matt Heafy, while still maintaining that original DF element, mostly in the chorus. This is most likely the attempt to show that Dragonforce no longer want to be in the back of the line as that nerdy game sounding power metal band(not saying thats bad, love those guys), and this song certainly shows a major change from that.
2. Tomorrow’s Kings (9/10) – And just like that, you meet the original Dragonforce once again, with a song that reminds me of a “Valley of the Damned” meets new sounding “Power Within” kind of sound. The beginning starts off with some weird sounds (sounds like something in Vadim’s alley) and goes right to a different sounding and faster song similar to “Holding On” for me. Just another great classic style DF song that has one of those sing a long choruses they are famous for.
3. No More (8.5-9/10) – It could just be me, but this song just reminds me of Inhuman Rampage/Sonic Firestorm, but I could be wrong. Unfortunately, “The Game” was the only song you really get to hear Matt Heafy’s vocals, as for this and “Defenders”, his voice is used more for adding more depth to the vocals. This song has a bunch of twist and turns, jumping keys, tempos, with a great refrain in the middle, once again just adding more greatness to the album. However, my first listen, it did feel kind of fillerish, but it has since grown on me with more listens and I find it great.
4. Three Hammers (11/10) – Wow, holy crap Dragonforce, you seriously became men with this mid-tempo, better “Cry Thunder” like song. IMO, the best song “Maximum Overload” has to offer, and possibly could reach the top 20, 10, or even 5 (for some overtime) songs that Dragonforce has to offer. This song really brings in that “epic” feeling and Marc really drank quite a bit of water for this song, as he sings pretty darn high for a good portion of the song. This song is extremely guitar oriented, with many different sounds coming into your ears. This also has another chorus that will probably have the crowds singing. Makes a drastic tempo change, fires blistering solos, and then does it again, with the most epic sounds you will hear. Takes you away to the depths of the abyss with a haunting chorus in the background that seriously makes you want to fight dragons (or listen to Amon Amarth). This song is greatly arranged, and will most likely make you grow a beard after listening (regardless of sex).
5. Symphony of the Night (9.5/10) – This song is seriously just great. I would really like to know if they had “Castlevania: Symphony of the Night” in mind for writing this song. It has a classic harpsichord sound in the intro, with Marc sounding operatic and proper before blasting off into the night. What this song is best at doing is giving you suprises like crazy, the tempo changes a few times, and throwing different things in your direction, with crazy solos, high vocals, or even such a beautiful melody lost in the music. It’s all very great and is adding to Dragonforce’s maturity.
6. The Sun is Dead (10/10) – How very ironic that Fred’s own fully written song gets the 6th spot again (Seasons was 6th on Power Within). It does say that Fred has helped Sam on writing all the songs, but this is his own personal song, and since “Seasons” met to much critical acclaim by critics and fans alike, he has a lot to deliver to. Wow, deliver he did. This song certainly has that “Seasons” vibe to it, but maintains at being its own entity. You can certainly hear a mix of slightly thrashy and progressive elements in here (like Dream Theater) going through. While “Seasons” had the best lyrics out of these two, “The Sun is Dead” certainly has the better music(lyrics are good, “Seasons” had more personal lyrics however, while maintaining the song name”). The solos (guitar and bass gladly) are probably the best on “Maximum Overload”, containing so much melody, soul, and heart into it. It’s seriously such a gorgeous thing to listen to, and makes you really wonder why the heck Fred hasn’t written more songs in the past. Also, just like “Seasons”, ends with a hearty, wonderful solo that fades off, making you (and me) wish it was longer (only complaint about it).
7. Defenders (8.5/10) – Another DF song that is more like their original sound than the others on the album. Even though it has a heavier sound to it, it still has that over-glowing voice filled chorus that just seems so awesome (with their songs). Once again, this is another song that is bringing in lyrics that will most likely bring the fans in. This song is very much like “Heart of the Storm” from “The Power Within” for me, with the obvious differences, one being such an inspiring and uplifting midsection that really brings this song together and keeps it from being repetitive.
8. Extraction Zone (8-8.5/10) – A song that starts off with what you thought was Dragonforce going kind of into black metal that quickly turns into a Sonic the Hedgehog kind of theme. If you were a huge fan of “Ultra Beatdown”, this song is totally a shout out to you then, as the video game sound comes back to life, and has that high paced power metal feel that was very prominent on “Ultra Beatdown”(come on, they even said The Fire Still Burns, no coincidence there cx). The middle section is very weird for me, going into a poppy Pac-Man kind of thing (really don’t know how to describe it). I had a hard time trying to decide between these three things when listening to that part over and over again: They are creative and wanted to try something new (not afraid to try new things, Reasons to Live from UB showed that); Vadim really begged to have one of his weird ideas put in; they had no idea how to connect this together in a cool way (however, I would of course think it’s the first one, just trying to be funny).
9. City of Gold (8.5-9.5/10) – The reason for the wacky rating is I really believe this song adjusts your liking depending on how you feel while listening to it. When first listening to it, I enjoyed it, but already had so many previous thoughts in my head about the songs I just heard. After listening to the album two more times, and listening to some of Dragonforce’s previous songs, I loved it quite a lot. This to me, sounds like if “The Power Within”‘s “Last Man Stands” met the craziness tech like structure that was “Ultra Beatdown”. It doesn’t stay lighthearted, and gets metal somewhere in the song, which is good; it gives the song depth, and makes it much more enjoyable to listen to.
10. Ring of Fire (Johnny Cash Cover) (10/10) – How can you honestly rate this cover any lower than a perfect? I honestly expected like the same Ring of Fire tempo, just more Dragonforce sounding. However, they totally went past that, and “Dragonforced” it, like they said it would. They maintain the original notes, while adding much more music in the background to give it that power metal depth, and it’s just so much fun to listen to. It really makes you want to sing, and just headbang, for no good reason.
OVERHEAD: Overall, this (IMO) has got to be Dragonforce’s best album to date. Sure, their first two albums were fantastic, Inhuman Rampage was good, Ultra Beatdown was great, and The Power Within put them onto a whole other level. But I really feel this album shows their peak, with a greater sense of newer music, fantastic song writing, great instrumentation and vocals, while also maintaining that old Dragonforce feel. Like, it sounds fresh, great, and classic DF at the same time. In a weird sense, its like the album goes throughout their catalog. If you look past “The Game” and “The Sun is Dead”, its like the order of their catalog. “Tomorrows Kings” and “No More” have a “Valley of the Damned” feel, “Three Hammers” and “Symphony of the Night” have a slight “Sonic Firestorm” feel, “Defenders” has a slight “Inhuman Rampage” feel, and “Extraction Zone” and “City of Gold” sound like “Ultra Beatdown” and “The Power Within” (so does The Sun is Dead). Perhaps I went too in depth with this, but after hearing Marc and “The Power Within”, I was really excited for a follow up, and this album has songs for the fans, and non-fans, showing they have a bright future ahead. Be sure to buy, and wait for the six bonus tracks!
up on the scene releases site
The quality of the leak is really really poor. It sounds like it was upconverted from something like 64-96kbps