Opening track Astro Warrior Anthem opens mysteriously while the song builds up and blasts the true DragonForce signature sound; fast guitar strums with a fast guitar melody on top, in combination with a harmonious chorus. This same track we find in the bonus tracks featuring Mattew K. Heafy from Trivium and guitarist Nita Strauss. Matt‘s raspy vocals give the song a whole other vibe. Power of the Triforce, a Zelda inspired track, makes me very happy. It sounds uplifting, and if you know the Zelda games, I’m sure you’ll hear all the references the song makes to the game. There is an instrumental version of this song hidden in the bonus tracks.

Kingdom of Steel builds up quite relaxing. I didn’t expect a ballad, but here it is. And it is welcome to stay. It’s calmer, but a nice breather between the fast shredding guitars. It feels quite peacefully, actually. Space Marine Corp has a very uplifting rhythm. It’s a fun song that takes a slower pace. It definitely brings a smile to my face. This goes straight into the more serious sounding Prelude to Darkness, which goes fluently into the very fast intro of The Killer Queen. When the shredding is done, we get a more melodic part. We get to hear lead singer Marc Hudson sing with only the drums behind it.

Doomsday Party is my personal favorite song on the album. It’s catchy, it’s fun, it rocks. It’s not very fast, it’s slow for a DragonForce track. But I like the difference in the paces they use. It keeps the album alive and prevents the album from sounding repetitive. In the bonus tracks, we find this one featuring Elize Ryd from Amaranthe. She adds another dimension to the song with her high, clean and powerful vocals.

Pixel Prison starts with a piano intro, then it goes into the electric guitar that follows the same melody. After that, the song goes into very fast strumming guitars. After a minute, the vocals join too. This song has a classic DragonForce melody. If you have listened to their older stuff a lot, that specific sound is engraved in your brain. This song retrieves that memory for you. It also has some game related lyrics and sounds incorporated in it.

This song had me laugh so hard. DragonForce covered Taylor Swift’s Wildest Dreams, and it is amazing. It is so different from the original. It keeps the melody of the original one, but added some speed and different instrumentals. You still recognize the song, even though it is totally changed. Simply amazing.

This album takes speed to a new level. The guitars shred very fast on most of the songs, yet they also put some slower songs in there that change the pace of the album. This keeps the album interesting, you’ll hear something different with every song you listen to and every time you play the album. It has some classical DragonForce elements that we know from their older stuff, but there are also some new elements in there. In this album, that would be the game sounds and references. Amazingly done! Definitely an album that’s fun and takes it to the next level.

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