''Inhuman Rampage'' is the third studio album by English

power metal Power metal is a subgenre of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional heavy metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. Generally, power metal is characterized by a faster, lighter, and more uplifting sound, in contra ...

band

DragonForce DragonForce are a British power metal band from London, England. The band was formed in 1999 by guitarists Herman Li and Sam Totman, and are known for their long and fast guitar solos, fantasy-themed lyrics and retro video game-influenced ...

, released first on 28 December 2005 in Japan, and 9 January 2006 elsewhere, through

Victor Entertainment , also known as in Japan, is a subsidiary of JVCKenwood that produces and distributes music, movies and other entertainment products such as anime and television shows in Japan. It is known as JVC Entertainment in countries where Sony Music Ent ...

and

Roadrunner Records Roadrunner Records is an American record label focused on heavy metal and hard rock bands. Founded in the Netherlands in 1980, it is now a division of Warner Music Group and is based in New York City. History The label was launched in 1980 in t ...

, respectively. Its first single, "

Through the Fire and Flames "Through the Fire and Flames", often abbreviated as TTFAF, is a song by English power metal band DragonForce. The song is acclaimed as the most successful song by the band. The song was the lead single and opening track from DragonForce's third ...

", has received rock radio and

Fuse TV Fuse is an American pay television channel launched in 1994 which was originally dedicated to music. After merging with the Hispanic and Latino Americans, Latino-oriented NuvoTV in 2015, Fuse shifted its focus to general entertainment and lifestyl ...

airplay, and has appeared as a playable track on the video games '' Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock'' and '' Rocksmith 2014 Edition – Remastered''. It is the band's first album to feature

harsh vocals A death growl, or simply growl, is an extended vocal technique usually employed in extreme styles of music, particularly in death metal and other extreme subgenres of heavy metal music. Death growl vocals are sometimes criticized for their ...

, which were recorded by

Demoniac Demoniac were a heavy metal band from New Zealand formed in Wellington in 1993 by singer and bass player Lindsay Dawson, guitarist Sam Totman and Drummer Steve Francis. They later moved to London, UK. Three of the members went on to form ...

vocalist Lindsay Dawson; the album is also the last to feature bassist

Adrian Lambert Adrian Lambert (born 26 April 1972 in Brighton) is an England, English bassist and songwriter who currently plays for thrash metal band Biomechanical (band), Biomechanical and progressive rock band Son of Science. Lambert also played bass in p ...

, who left the band in 2005 and was replaced by

Frédéric Leclercq Frédéric Alexandre "Fred" Leclercq (born 23 June 1978) is a French musician and producer, best known as the former longtime bassist for British power metal band DragonForce. He is currently the guitarist and main songwriter in the death metal ...

before the album's release. In the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, ''Inhuman Rampage'' reached No. 1 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Heatseekers chart The Heatseekers charts are "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The Heatseekers Albums and the Heatseekers Songs charts were introduced by ''Billboard'' in 1991 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by ...

and No. 103 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart. The album was certified

Silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

by the

British Phonographic Industry British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company with th ...

for selling over 60,000 copies in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and has been certified Gold in the United States. ''

Metal Hammer ''Metal Hammer'' is a heavy metal music magazine and website founded in 1983, published in the United Kingdom by Future, with other language editions available in numerous other countries. ''Metal Hammer'' features news, reviews and long-form ...

'' included the album in their 2016 list of ten essential power metal albums and ''

Loudwire ''Loudwire'' is an American online media magazine that covers news of hard rock and heavy metal artists. It is owned by media and entertainment business Townsquare Media. Since its launch in August of 2011, ''Loudwire'' has secured exclusive ...

'' ranked it as the 24th best power metal album of all time.

Production

Recording for the album took place at Thin Ice Studios in

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

and LamerLuser Studios in London between February and September 2005. During the recording of "Through the Fire and Flames", guitarist

Herman Li Herman Li (; born 3 October 1976) is a Hong Kong-born British musician who is one of two lead guitarists for the power metal band DragonForce. Li has played with the band based in England since it was formed in 1999 by Li along with Sam Totman, ...

snapped one of his guitar strings. Despite this, the band decided to keep this recording and left it on the final album version. It was then mixed at Thin Ice Studios by

Karl Groom Karl Groom is a British guitarist and record producer. He is best known as a founding and the only constant member of the progressive metal band Threshold. His production and mixing credits are mainly with progressive and power metal bands. M ...

Sam Totman Ian Samuel Totman is an English-born New Zealand musician best known as guitarist and main songwriter for the power metal band DragonForce. Early life Totman was born in England and grew up mainly in New Zealand. He moved back to England arou ...

, Li and Vadim Pruzhanov and engineered by Karl Groom and Li. The mastering was performed by Eberhard Köhler at Powerplay Mastering in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, Germany. A music transcription book was released for the album on 15 September 2008 by Hal Leonard Publishing Corporation ().

Track listing

"The Flame of Youth" contains a sample of Ryu's theme from ''

Street Fighter , commonly abbreviated as ''SF'' or スト (''Suto''), is a Japanese media franchise centered on a series of fighting video and arcade games developed and published by Capcom. The first game in the series was released in 1987, followed by six ...

''. The special edition physical copy of the album contained a bonus DVD with the music videos for "Through the Fire and Flames" and "Operation Ground and Pound", a compilation of tour footage entitled "DragonForce Backstage Rockumentary", and on 2007 re-release, a video of the band's performance of the song "My Spirit Will Go On", from their previous album ''

Sonic Firestorm ''Sonic Firestorm'' is the second studio album by British power metal band DragonForce, released through Noise Records on 11 May 2004. It is the first album to feature bassist Adrian Lambert and drummer Dave Mackintosh. The reissue of this alb ...

'', at the

Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards The following is a list of the ''Metal Hammer'' Golden Gods Awards winners. Introduction The awards were conceived by Chris Ingham, John O'Sullivan & Dave Bianchi, and first held at the Kentish Town Forum in London 2003. The show was owned by Fut ...

in 2006.

Personnel

DragonForce * ZP Theart – lead vocals *

– guitars, backing vocals *

– guitars, backing vocals *Vadim Pruzhanov – keyboards, piano, backing vocals *

Dave Mackintosh Dave Mackintosh is a Scottish drummer, best known as the former drummer for the power metal band DragonForce. Mackintosh also appeared on ''The Power Cosmic'' and ''Atlantis Ascendant'' albums, by the symphonic black metal band, Bal-Sagoth. On ...

– drums, backing vocals Guest musicians *

– bass *

Clive Nolan Clive Nolan (born 30 June 1961) is a British musician, composer and producer who has played a prominent role in the development of progressive rock. He has been the regular keyboard player in Pendragon (1986–present), Shadowland (1992–prese ...

– backing vocals * Lindsay Dawson –

unclean vocals A death growl, or simply growl, is an extended vocal technique usually employed in extreme styles of music, particularly in death metal and other extreme subgenres of heavy metal music. Death growl vocals are sometimes criticized for their ...

Production *

– mixing, engineering *Eberhard Köhler – mastering *Chie Kimoto, Daniel Bérard – artwork *Marisa Jacobi – graphic design *Axel Jusseit – studio photography *Julie Brown, Johan Eriksson – live photography

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

External links

''Inhuman Rampage''
on the official DragonForce website. {{Authority control DragonForce albums 2005 albums 2006 albums Roadrunner Records albums Noise Records albums