DragonForce's Extreme Power Metal is a quite misleading album title. Without abandoning its trademark guitar duels and keyboard sounds, this album is one of the easiest to digest in their discography. It offers several mid-paced tunes and a few quirky ideas. While the songwriting doesn't offer anything new, it's diversified enough to entertain from start to finish through nine regular tunes and a few bonus tracks.

Fans of the band's early days will get songs like the vibrant opener ''Highway to Oblivion'' with its technically stunning guitar solos, saccharine vocals and pumping rhythm sections. The final result sounds like a mixture of Helloween, Manowar and a Christmas tune with increased speed. It's totally cheesy but in a sympathetically entertaining way. There aren't too many bands around who play this type of joyous European power metal anymore. It has become a rare treat and is good for what it is.

''The Last Dragonborn'' isn't the first song of the band to flirt with Asian folk sounds but they don't sound like a gimmick in a gigantic potpourri here but are actually the stylistic guideline throughout the tune and truly establish an enchanting atmosphere. The song is surprisingly slow by DragonForce's standards which makes it stand out even more. This isn't only an album but a career highlight.

Single ''Heart Demolition'' isn't the anticipated high-speed tune but rather an eighties' pop song with melodic metal guitar work. Especially the song's calmer and moodier parts and melodic vocals convince and offer rather unusual soundscapes by DragonForce's standards. Once again, the song has a lot of commercial appeal and could have also been on the soundtrack for Ready Player One but it's some sort of guilty pleasure on this output and simply put a fun tune that will be remembered.

''Troopers of the Stars'' kicks off with impressive bass guitar sounds that manage to impress more than the guitar play for once. This record is Frédéric Leclercq's swansong with DragonForce's as the talented bassist has recently been joining German thrash metal veterans Kreator. He is going to be replaced by Canadian YouTuber Steve Terreberry during upcoming live shows. Let's see how these curious combinations work out.

''Remembrance Day'' ends the regular album on a truly epic note with military march drum patterns and bagpipe sounds before a majestic and melodic mid-paced power metal song evolves over five highly entertaining minutes. This kind of song could have also come from HammerFall in its best years.

Not every song and experiment is a success on this release. The band has already delivered cringe-worthy cover songs in the past but the happy high-speed interpretation of Céline Dion's ''My Heart Will Go On'' really takes the cake. One has to admit that the band quite obviously enjoyed itself while playing this track  and it's funny to listen to it once but it easily becomes one of the most obnoxious over-the-top tunes in DragonForce's massive discography.

In the end, DragonForce's Extreme Power Metal is vibrant, entertaining and at times even creative within the band's specific stylistic boundaries. It's easily the group's best effort since singer Marc Hudson joined the band eight years ago. Those who had given up on the band should give this record a chance and will recognize a certain return to form. Those who have always despised the band obviously won't change their minds while listening to this cheesy but addictive release.

Final rating: 75%

Mesdames et Messieurs!

Ce soir j'ai assisté au match d'ouverture à domicile des Olympiques de Gatineau de la saison 2019-2020 de la LHJMQ. Mon équipe s'est très bien battue en troisième période pour égaler la marque 2 à 2 et se rendre en prolongation. En raison d'un arbitrage doutable, l'équipe a finalement perdu par la marque de 3 à 2 contre le Drakkar de Baie-Comeau. En ce qui concerne les Olympiques de Gatineau, je suis optimiste qu'ils vont connaître une bonne saison, mais ne seront pas en mesure de battre les meilleures équipes du circuit Courteau. Dimanche prochain, j'assisterai également au match d'ouverture locale des Ottawa 67's de la OHL du côté de l'Ontario qui pourrait aspirer aix grands honneurs cette saison - à suivre!

Swedish speed metal quartet Enforcer decided to shift its sound from speed metal to play a mixture of commercially appealing heavy metal, melodic hard rock and catchy glam rock. 

Simplistic sing-along opener ''Die for Metal'' recalls Scorpions in its most popular moments. The more atmospheric ''Zenith of the Black Sun'' recalls the early years of Dio musically minus the legend's unique vocals. Enforcer's record continues to pay homage to popular rock and metal music of the eighties with every single song on this output. The final result has a certain nostalgic charm but sounds at times tame, predictable and old-fashioned. The ballad ''Regrets'' is cheesier than anything done by Whitesnake for instance and would even make popular pop bands cringe while the record's final three songs have fade-outs that make you think that any of them could be the last song and it would have been a better option to only release one of them. 

It's acceptable when a band wants to change its style and try out something different but Enforcer's Zenith is so toothless and conservative that it's just one step above a cover album. Perhaps the band should have released such a record under a different banner. Let's hope that this album was only a stylistic misstep.

On the positive side, the record is entertaining and some songs have more punch in concert but on the negative side, this release is forgettable and uninspiring. In the end, Enforcer's Zenith will be a disappointment for most fans of the band and is for unconditional fans of eighties' rock music only.

Final rating: 50%

Mesdames et Messieurs!

Malgré une saison régulière difficile, l'Impact de Montréal a su convaincre dans le championnat canadien et vient de battre le Toronto FC en deux manches en finale. Ainsi, le nouvel entraîneur Wilmer Cabrera a déjà remporté plus de titres en un seul mois que son prédécesseur Rémi Garde en deux ans. Cela veut aussi dire que l'Impact de Montréal est qualifié pour la Ligue des Champions de la CONCACAF en 2020. Je me rappelle toujours du parcours incroyable de cette équipe lors de sa dernière participation en 2015 quand l'équipe s'est rendue jusqu'en finale contre le CF América. J'ai déjà hâte d'assister à quelques rencontres de ce tournoi dès le printemps prochain.

Faits saillants du match aller de la finale du championnat canadien:

Faits saillants du match retour de la finale du championnat canadien:

Ladies and gentlemen!

Two and a half years ago, Amorphis was scheduled to play in Ottawa along with Swallow the Sun but the concert had to be canceled due to a winter storm. It was quite a bummer since the band had just released the extraordinary record ''Under the Red Cloud'' and I had already purchased a ticket for the show. Thirty months later, the band has released an even better output with ''Queen of Time'' and has come back to play in Ottawa for good. The concert was excellent and the band played twelve highly diversified, energetic and entertaining songs. This is the third time I have attended one of the band's concerts after their shows in Oberhausen in 2007 and in Bochum in 2011. Amorphis is my favourite band and I hope to see them in concert again very soon.

Set list:

1. The Bee

2. The Golden Elk

3. Sampo

4. The Four Wise Ones

5. Into Hiding

6. The Smoke

7. Wrong Direction

8. Daughter of Hate

9. My Kantele

10. Black Winter Day

11. Amongst Stars (with Anneke van Giersbergen)

12. House of Sleep