Maximum Overload
DragonForce
August 18th, 2014
British power metal band DragonForce is at it again with their sixth album, Maximum Overload. With all of the changes that they have gone through it was good to hear that they could continue the trend with their in your face metal we fans have always loved.
Coming in on new label Metal Blade Records, Marc Hudson has again impressed as vocalist on his second album with the band. Unfortunately, it was just announced that this will be the last album to feature drummer Dave Mackintosh.
Maximum Overload kicks off with the first single “The Game” featuring Matt Heafy from Trivium as guest vocalist. Heafy appears on two additional songs on the album as well, “No More” and “Defenders”. “The Game” is a brutal in your face track that is just a preview of what’s to come. The band doesn’t stray far from what fans have come to know and love for the past 15 years, which is lightning fast guitars and harmonized vocals.
Looking to tread new waters with Maximum Overload we have been given the cover of a classic Johnny Cash song in “Ring of Fire”. It is an unexpected and original take on such a classic tune with the tornadic like guitar skills of Herman Li and Sam Totmans. With Marc Hudson’s harmonizing vocals they have taken this song and made it their own.
“Three Hammers” gives us a slower version of DragonForce. Giving us more vocal sound with power still behind them. This gives us a more matured sound from the band and truly bringing them to new heights in the process.
Maximum Overload is definitely not the album you are expecting from a heavy metal great like DragonForce, but it is an album fans will love from start to finish. Maximum Overload gives in to no signs of stopping for DragonForce and they will continue to be around for years to come.
Contributed by Deana Cruikshank and Nathan Pickering
