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Ultra Beatdown (W/Dvd) (Spec) | 
 enlarge | Artist: Dragonforce
Label: Roadrunner Records
Category: Music
List Price: $21.98
Buy New: $11.70
You Save: $10.28 (47%)
New (41) Used (10) from $11.70
Rating:  15 reviews
Sales Rank: 3717
Format: Special Edition
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 2
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 5.5 x 5 x 0.5
MPN: 179378
UPC: 016861793784
EAN: 0016861793784
ASIN: B001BEX4S4
Release Date: August 26, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Tracks:
Disc 1
| • | Heroes of Our Time | | • | The Fire Still Burns | | • | Reasons to Live | | • | Heartbreak Armageddon | | • | The Last Journey Home | | • | A Flame for Freedom | | • | Inside the Winter Storm | | • | The Warrior Inside | | • | Strike Of The Ninja | | • | Scars Of Yesterday |
Disc 2
| • | Making of Ultra Beatdown | | • | Making of E-Gen - The Herman Lis signature Ibanez Guitar |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
On the way to selling over 300,000 albums and spawning a gold digital
single, DragonForce went from being one of metal s fastest bands to
a cultural phenomenon thanks to constant touring and a little game
called Guitar Hero. The song Through The Fire And Flames was
included in Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock and helped spread the
name and music of the band. Now, the band is back to deliver an
Special edition contains three bonus tracks as well as a making of the
album and a special behind the scenes making of Herman Li s guitar. Ultra Beatdown to the unsuspecting public. This album takes off where
Inhuman Rampage left off, with soaring, epic vocals and lightning fast
guitar solos. Led by the single and incredible video, Heroes Of Our
Time, the album will continue to spread the name DragonForce from
message boards to schoolyards and beyond.
Album Description
As Dragonforce, the multi-national Power Metallers based in London, prepare to release their fourth album, nobody who understands the world of Metal can have any doubt that 'Ultra Beatdown' will propel the band into becoming a Major Global phenomenon'. If 'Valley Of The Damned' established the sextet's fearless credentials in 2003, then 'Sonic Firestorm' ('04) and 'Inhuman Rampage' ('06) each took them further forward. In fact, the last named has now sold in excess of 300,000 copies in America alone (certified Silver in the UK), with the inclusion of the manic shred-fest of 'Through The Fire And Flames' in the 'Guitar Hero' game powering Dragonforce into being the most successful new British metal act in America for two decades! The process in creating the new album began an amazing 18 months ago with a brief break at the 2007 for the 'Black Crusade' European Tour."We didn't ever feel as if there was a time scale involved here. We just did whatever it took to make this the best album of our career to date," insists guitarist Herman Li. "Our songs develop, evolve and change as we go along. It makes the studio an interesting place, because we'll come up with new ideas all the time.Lyrically, we're taking a look at life and what goes on in the world, but doing this in the usual Dragonforce way!"
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| Customer Reviews:
 I LOVE DRAGON FORCE! November 13, 2008
Eric Hammer
Ultra Beatdown is Dragon Force's best album yet. Every song is great and they each draw you in. I wouldn't change a single thing. Dragon Force is the best band ever.
AMAZING November 11, 2008
HappyGamer (NY. USA)
This is one of the best Power Metal bands in decades, probably the most original since helloween and dream theater.
This album is a faster, better, tighter and sleeker version of the first three and sit great in the collection.
AMAZING November 9, 2008
K. D. Hathaway
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
DragonForce had humble beginnings with "Valley of the Damned." After that came Sonic Firestorm, a much speedier and longer album that set what DragonForce would basically do for every album thereafter (but still kick @$$ while doing it). So, then it was Inhuman Rampage, which was same old, same old, and then Guitar Hero brought DragonForce to the world's attention. This is their first album since that, and I have to say, it just might be my favorite since Sonic Firestorm.
The album starts off with "Heroes of Our Time," the single from the album. The first time through, you might think "Oh, great, they stuck with the Verse Chorus Verse Chorus 3-minute-solo Chorus formula," but then it surprises you at the point the solo would USUALLY kick in with a soft singing part and THEN the solo.
Next up is "The Fire Still Burns," which is... I guess, as much as I don't wanna say it "typical DragonForce." Not to say that that's bad, but... Eh. Maybe the weakest track.
Track 3 is "Reasons to Live," which starts off with a really cool techno-like sound, and a really random Pac-Man sound bite. Pretty catchy chorus, and possibly the slowest DragonForce solo you will ever hear. Well, til Herman Li ruins it with his cocaine-infused fingers. But still, a good track.
"Heartbreak Armageddon" has a catchy chorus too, but the lyrics mention TWO of the other songs on the album ("Long Journey Home" and "Fire Still Burns" [not in direct reference, but c'mon, how many times can you mention fire in one song, let alone an entire album?]). Halfway through, the song turns into a slow ballad-like tune, and then kicks back into a shred-fest. Also of note, the keyboards don't sound as much like the guitar as in previous albums. In fact, aside from this and a few other tracks, the keyboards are used more for mood-setting than noise.
"The Last Journey Home" is probably my favorite song off the album. It opens epically, and keeps up that epic tone by SLOWING IT DOWN. ZOMG IMPOSSIBLE. Yes, most of the way through, the song maintains a fairly normal speed compared to most other bands, so it's not quite slow enough to be a ballad. The whole song really is just pure epicness, at times, I feel like making some crappy Final Fantasy AMV to compliment it(oh, wait... I am). Really, I love this song.
"A Flame For Freedom"-- THIS is the ballad. Per usual, it's the shortest song on the album (well... aside from the bonus track "Strike of the Ninja," but I'll get to that), and something nags at me like I feel like I've heard this song before... It sounds just like "Dawn Over a New World" from Sonic Firestorm! Yeah, I know, most DragonForce songs sound the same, but dammit, these two sound like THE EXACT SONG!! Hell, they're even just 10 seconds short of each other!
"Inside the Winter Storm"-- I was really looking forward to this song. I thought it would be like some sequel to "Above the Winter Moonlight," one of my favorite DragonForce songs, and really, it's not too bad of a song. But, I dunno, it just kinda feels like it's missing the "winter mood," ya know? Yeah, there's a gust of wind sound effect half-way through, but it really doesn't add much. The bridge shortly thereafter would have been better in "The Long Journey Home." Said bridge is very reminiscent of "Soldiers of the Wasteland," though.
"The Warrior Inside" is the (regular edition) album closer. And I gotta say, WTF?! The beginning sounds like a circus! Seriously, what the crap is that about?! It's even used again a little later! Otherwise, pretty standard DragonForce here.
"Strike of the Ninja" is the first bonus track, and OH MY GOD. AWWWWWWWWWESOME!!! The first DragonForce song ever under 5 minutes, too!! Well, technically, it's a cover of the DragonForce side band The Shadow Warriors, but still, hot damn! That's seriously mind-shattering! The song itself is basically half a DragonForce song and sped up juuuust a little bit, and the guitar solo has some tapping that would make Eddie Van Halen crap his pants! Well, maybe that's a bit of an extreme way to put it, but still, really cool track. Worth paying the extra money for this alone.
"Scars of Yesterday"-- Oh, geez, what an emo-sounding song title... *FACEPALM* But don't let the title fool you, DragonForce holds no stops here-- So many random video game sound bites! Such speed and energy! And that's just in the intro! Now THIS is an album closer! I feel sorry for you suckers who cheaped out and got the UNspecial edition. Losers. Actually, after the intro, it's more pretty standard DragonForce stuff, but the second solo after the first slow one really lets loose! And this is another example of the keyboards sounding less like the guitars. But the final 30 seconds... Oh, my God, the use of MORE video game sound bites there are awesomely hilarious!
All in all, a very good album. It may not change any DragonForce haters (just listen to the crap you like, all right?), but for fans, it's a definite pick-up.
Great CD October 30, 2008
R. Lutton (Indiana, USA)
I know this album is catching some flak for its new sound, but I absolutely love it. When I put all of the Dragonforce albums on shuffle I can always pick out these songs from all the others. The songs aren't *that* different, really; the music is still unbeliveably fast and the lyrics don't make much sense, but there's a more wistful note to everything, and the harmonies and vocals blow the old albums away. I highly recommend this album and give it two thumbs up!
More than worthy to bear the Dragonforce name. October 29, 2008
Robert Thompson
This is by far the most professional album Dragonfore has come out with. what I mean by this is that the sound quality is superb, and everything is much more streamlined and focused. The do experiemnt a little here and there but it usually works out and never ruins the song like the Jazz improv session in the middle of Disciples of Babylon. The general sound and style of the album is the same, but with much more keyboard than before and a real focus on sounding as epic and powerful as possible. All of the main songs on this album are good, my top three are Reasons To Live, Heroes of Our Time, and Inside The Winter Storm. The bonus songs on the special edition are pretty much just novelties that are nice to have. They both pretty much just sound like background music from a video game. Strike of the Ninja is certainly the more passable of the two though, and actually comes from ZP's side project, Shadow Warriors. The bonus DVD is good for when you're bored and just about anything will entertain you. Its essentially the metal equivalent to watching the food network or the discovery channel. Its a great CD if you've enjoyed their previous efforts, and worth the extra three bucks for the two bonus songs and DVD.
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