When I started getting into power metal, there were a few bands that stood out for me initially. One was, of course, Rhapsody, but another was that group of chaps that has become loved by many, and reviled by many others, the one, the only, DragonForce!
There’s a co-incidence here. I was working at an Outside School Hours Care job when my interest in this sub-genre started to grow, and one young Canadian lady who came to work with us was not just a big power metal fan, but a huge one of DragonForce, and they are actually a reason why she came to Australia, although I can’t remember exactly what that reason was. I think her Australian boyfriend, whom she got to know online, has some connection to them, and she fell in love with him and moved here. Or something along those lines. Anyway, that certainly helped she and I have some kind of connection when we started to work together, and we even tried introducing the children to such music, until one of our bosses objected to me using Helloween’s “Perfect Gentleman” as a clean-up song (its catchy and repetitive refrain made it a very successful attention-getter), saying it was “inappropriate”, which meant it was metal, and you just don’t play that stuff for kids. Later on in the year, they were dancing to “Gangnam Style”, singing about a “sexy laaaddy”, and everything was fine again.
Anyway…
I am aware that being a fan of this band opens one up for much ridicule, and I have noticed that there seem to be two main things that work against them. 1) A lot of people think they do the same song over and over, and 2) They commit one of the gravest sins any heavy metal band can commit – they’re popular. Actually, I don't think I've heard anyone say that's a reason why they don't like them, but I bet it's a factor.
The first critism has a certain degree of merit, but is a bit unfair, while the second is obviously ludicrous. Yes, they’re popular, but so what? If the music is good, it’s good.
And it is good! After a very brief opening entitled “Invocation Of Apocalyptic Evil” (has there ever been a more bombastic title to something so little?), we get speed. Lots of speed. Fast speed. And I love speedy metal. It’s like an exciting car chase in an action film. Only on the eeehhh ballad “Starfire” to things really slow down. And with the speed come rousing tunes in the likes of “Valley Of The Damned”, “Black Winter Night”, “Revelations”, “Evening Star” and the rousing closer “Heart Of A Dragon”. There are numerous guitar (and keyboard) solos, something I’m not normally a fan of, and I see a lot of people bag them too. This must really expose me as a metal tryhard, since I like some of them.
But, as well as “Starfire”, there are moments that shift in style, like the acoustic passage during “Disciples Of Babylon”, and the quiet opening to “Evening Star”. Alright, these mightn’t be huge factors, but there are endless albums that vary little in variety, but get praised by many.
Alright, offhand I can’t think of one, but they must be out there.
Valley Of The Damned is not faultless by any means, but it contains so much of what I like in metal – consistently fast tempos, anthemic melodies and all those cliched lyrics about fighting and using swords and dragons and victory, oh sweet victory.
I don't work at that particular childcare job anymore, but I will always remember that the Canadian girl and I connected with our love of power metal, and the joy we get from DragonForce.
Oh, and I only ever met her boyfriend once. Briefly. I think he likes them too, but I couldn't really care less.
There’s a co-incidence here. I was working at an Outside School Hours Care job when my interest in this sub-genre started to grow, and one young Canadian lady who came to work with us was not just a big power metal fan, but a huge one of DragonForce, and they are actually a reason why she came to Australia, although I can’t remember exactly what that reason was. I think her Australian boyfriend, whom she got to know online, has some connection to them, and she fell in love with him and moved here. Or something along those lines. Anyway, that certainly helped she and I have some kind of connection when we started to work together, and we even tried introducing the children to such music, until one of our bosses objected to me using Helloween’s “Perfect Gentleman” as a clean-up song (its catchy and repetitive refrain made it a very successful attention-getter), saying it was “inappropriate”, which meant it was metal, and you just don’t play that stuff for kids. Later on in the year, they were dancing to “Gangnam Style”, singing about a “sexy laaaddy”, and everything was fine again.
Anyway…
I am aware that being a fan of this band opens one up for much ridicule, and I have noticed that there seem to be two main things that work against them. 1) A lot of people think they do the same song over and over, and 2) They commit one of the gravest sins any heavy metal band can commit – they’re popular. Actually, I don't think I've heard anyone say that's a reason why they don't like them, but I bet it's a factor.
The first critism has a certain degree of merit, but is a bit unfair, while the second is obviously ludicrous. Yes, they’re popular, but so what? If the music is good, it’s good.
And it is good! After a very brief opening entitled “Invocation Of Apocalyptic Evil” (has there ever been a more bombastic title to something so little?), we get speed. Lots of speed. Fast speed. And I love speedy metal. It’s like an exciting car chase in an action film. Only on the eeehhh ballad “Starfire” to things really slow down. And with the speed come rousing tunes in the likes of “Valley Of The Damned”, “Black Winter Night”, “Revelations”, “Evening Star” and the rousing closer “Heart Of A Dragon”. There are numerous guitar (and keyboard) solos, something I’m not normally a fan of, and I see a lot of people bag them too. This must really expose me as a metal tryhard, since I like some of them.
But, as well as “Starfire”, there are moments that shift in style, like the acoustic passage during “Disciples Of Babylon”, and the quiet opening to “Evening Star”. Alright, these mightn’t be huge factors, but there are endless albums that vary little in variety, but get praised by many.
Alright, offhand I can’t think of one, but they must be out there.
Valley Of The Damned is not faultless by any means, but it contains so much of what I like in metal – consistently fast tempos, anthemic melodies and all those cliched lyrics about fighting and using swords and dragons and victory, oh sweet victory.
I don't work at that particular childcare job anymore, but I will always remember that the Canadian girl and I connected with our love of power metal, and the joy we get from DragonForce.
Oh, and I only ever met her boyfriend once. Briefly. I think he likes them too, but I couldn't really care less.
****1/2
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