The Power Within
| The Power Within | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by DragonForce | ||||
| Released | 25 January 2012 | |||
| Recorded | October - December 2011 | |||
| Genre | Power metal, speed metal | |||
| Length |
50:11 62:05 (digital and vinyl editions) 65:41 (Japanese edition) | |||
| Label |
Essential Music (UK); Roadrunner Records (US); 3Wise (Australia); JVC Victor (Japan) | |||
| DragonForce chronology | ||||
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| Singles from The Power Within | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Aggregate scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 74/100 |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| About.com |   [1] |
| AllMusic | [2] |
| The Guardian | [3] |
| The Metal Critic | 7.8/10[4] |
| Spin | 6/10[5] |
| Suite101.com | [6] |
The Power Within is the fifth full-length album by the English power metal band DragonForce, released in January 2012, worldwide in different dates.[7] It is the first DragonForce album to feature vocalist Marc Hudson.[2] "Cry Thunder" was released as downloadable content for Rock Band 3.
Overview
On 2 February 2012, the band revealed details about their forthcoming album on their Facebook page and later on the official website. They released the album cover, tracklisting and release date. It was also announced that four different editions of the album would be released: CD, digital download, LP and a limited edition box set, although as of September 2014 the album is unavailable for digital download with no explanation given by any member of the band.
Herman Li stated:
The last two years have been the most fun we ever had making an album. Through writing, jamming and touring together, we have built this incredible energy and it has been fully captured on the new album. This time around we've really brought our metal side to the surface and made some of the best music of our career. From the fastest song we've ever recorded to the slower songs, and some things you would never expect from us, this is by far the most diverse DragonForce album yet." Li added, "This is an exciting new era for DragonForce with Marc joining the band, so we figured this was an ideal time to take full control of our own destiny and establish our own record label for Europe. It's all hands on deck running it, but a great buzz!"
This album also marks a turning point on Dragonforce lyrics, making them less related to fantasy and exploring other subjects.[8]
On 18 February 2012, the track "Fallen World" was streamed free on Metal Hammer's website. The song later became a free downloadable track on 8 March 2012.[9][10] At 220 beats per minute (bpm),[11] it was the fastest song ever released by DragonForce[12] and it held this title until 18 August 2014, when the band's sixth album Maximum Overload was released with the track "The Game", which is even faster (235 bpm).[11]
On 30 March 2012, the track "Cry Thunder" was streamed free on RCRDLBL's website via SoundCloud by the band's North American label, Roadrunner Records.[13] However, the download function of SoundCloud was disabled.
On 29 March 2012, the music video for "Cry Thunder" was released on DragonForce's YouTube account. On 3 April 2012, a music video for the song was shown on www.noisecreep.com and made available to download via iTunes.[14]
Another music video was released on 14 September 2012 for the song "Seasons". It featured scenes from the album recording, live and backstage performances and behind the scenes footage of the "Cry Thunder" video shoot.
Reception
Upon release, The Power Within has received positive reviews.[15] At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 74, based on 5 reviews.[15] However, the album sold 5,800 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at No. 74 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, as opposed to their previous album, Ultra Beatdown, which opened at No. 18 with first week sales of 24,000 back in September 2008.[16]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Holding On" | Sam Totman, Herman Li | Totman | 4:56 | |
| 2. | "Fallen World" | Totman | Totman | 4:08 | |
| 3. | "Cry Thunder" | Totman, Li | Totman | 5:16 | |
| 4. | "Give Me the Night" | Totman, Li, Frédéric Leclercq | Totman, Leclercq | 4:28 | |
| 5. | "Wings of Liberty" | Totman, Li | Totman | 7:20 | |
| 6. | "Seasons" | Totman, Li, Leclercq | Leclercq | 5:03 | |
| 7. | "Heart of the Storm" | Totman, Li | Totman | 4:42 | |
| 8. | "Die by the Sword" | Totman, Li | Totman | 4:36 | |
| 9. | "Last Man Stands" | Totman, Li, Leclercq | Totman | 5:07 | |
| 10. | "Seasons" (acoustic version) | Totman, Li, Leclercq | Leclercq | 4:26 |
| Digital and vinyl bonus tracks | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length | ||||||||
| 11. | "Cry Thunder" (live rehearsal) | 5:13 | ||||||||
| 12. | "Heart of the Storm" (alternative chorus version) | 4:41 | ||||||||
| 13. | "Avant la Tempête" (instrumental) | 2:00 | ||||||||
| Japanese bonus track[17] | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length | ||||||||
| 14. | "Power of the Ninja Sword" (Shadow Warriors cover) | 3:36 | ||||||||
Personnel
- Marc Hudson – lead vocals, backing vocals
- Herman Li – guitars, backing vocals
- Sam Totman – guitars, backing vocals
- Vadim Pruzhanov – keyboards, piano, backing vocals
- Dave Mackintosh – drums, backing vocals
- Frédéric Leclercq – bass guitar, harsh vocals, backing vocals
Additional musicians
- Emily Ovenden – backing vocals
- Clive Nolan – backing vocals
References
- ↑ Bowar, Chad. "Dragonforce - The Power Within Review". About.com. Retrieved 2012-04-21.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Monger, James. "The Power Within - DragonForce". AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-04-26.
- ↑ Lawson, Dom (2012-04-12). "DragonForce: The Power Within – review". The Guardian. Retrieved 2012-04-14.
- ↑ Burcherdt, Lundt. "The Metal Critic: Dragonforce - The Power Within". The Metal Critic. Retrieved 2012-04-20.
- ↑ Grow, Kory (2012-04-18). "Dragonforce, ‘The Power Within’". Spin. Retrieved 2012-04-21.
- ↑ Herrero, Eric (2012-04-14). "Crítica del nuevo disco de Dragonforce, "The Power Within"". Suite101.com. Retrieved 2012-04-14.
- ↑ DragonForce reveals details of new album DragonForce official website. 2 February 2012. Retrieved on 25 February 2012
- ↑ "Interview with Herman Li". www.metaltraveller.com. 2012-04-03. Retrieved 2012-06-14.
- ↑ Dragonforce - The Power Within on Roadrunner's site. Retrieved on 15 March 2012
- ↑ NORTH AMERICA TOUR DATES + FREE DOWNLOAD + PRE-ORDER AVAILABLE NOW blog on DragonForce's site. Retrieved on 16 March 2012
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Fehl, Zach (24 July 2014). "Interview: DragonForce’s Herman Li and Sam Totman talk ‘Maximum Overload,’ touring plans, Babymetal". Metal Insider. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
- ↑ Kaufman, Spencer (20 February 2014). "DragonForce Stream New Song 'Fallen World'". Loudwire. Townsquare Media. Retrieved 9 August 2014.
- ↑ Cry Thunder Premiere at RCRDLBL's website. Retrieved on 30 March 2012
- ↑ "‘CRY THUNDER’ MUSIC VIDEO PREMIERE". www.dragonforce.com. 2012-04-03. Retrieved 2012-04-14.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 "The Power Within Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved November 2, 2012.
- ↑ http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/dragonforce-tilburg-footage-available/
- ↑ The Power Within at CDJapan.co.jp
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