Review by UnhinderedbyTalent for DragonForce - Inhuman Rampage (2006)

When you establish a tried and tested formula to your sound it is hard to break from that and allow variation and experimentation in.  Some would argue that there's no need for Dragonforce to do that as they enjoy a healthy fanbase already who lap up their rampant power metal in the thousands.  The point is though that I kind of knew what this record was going to sound like before I heard it all the way through and the regurgitation of ideas is almost like a washing machine stuck on the same cycle. 

The fact is that DF are catchy as fuck!  If I take three things away from Inhuman Rampage as positives it is the energy of the artist transposes brilliantly on to the recorded format, this is truly hi-octane stuff.  Secondly, the capability levels of the musicians (yes, especially the guitarists) cannot be denied and they apply a very clear level of sophistication and flair to proceedings.  The third and final thing I take is the high memorability factor of the record.  It is accessible and engaging most certainly.

These three positives however are its biggest downfalls also as they do all of the above to death.  Yes, the pace dips on some songs but all I remember still are those rampant, galloping and charging riff patterns that inhabit the majority of the record.  It feels like a sprint but over an incredibly long distance and as I listener I just don't have the legs for it to keep up.  Notwithstanding the fact that the guitarists are maestros of their art, I still don't need this much earshot of them.  Surely a couple of solos are enough in a track to showcase the talents of the guitarists without my feeling like I am being force-fed lead work?  Similarly, the memorability factor is so high because the vast majority of the album sounds exactly the same.  The attempts to mix it up with different use of keys/synths just come across as amateurish and almost feel forced, as if the band knew that things were shaping up to be samey and made some vain attempts to compensate.

As a result, I find Inhuman Rampage to be really tiring; draining in fact.  That tried and tested formula I mentioned at the start of the review works for about three songs max and then it just becomes one-dimensional.  I get why this album has problem sold in bucket loads, I really do.  However, this is just not for me.