Song by song, I find it difficult to fault too much here. Sonic Firestorm appropriately sits on a step between the debut and Inhuman Rampage in terms of power metal classicism going up against modern elements and also varied listenability competing with technical overkill.
However, by nailing their sound just a little bit too absolutely, particularly in regards to the manic extended guitar shredding and ZP Theart's soaring vocals (since proven irreplaceable), the international troupe ensured that they would get attention but sort of kicked themselves in the nuts regarding writing good albums.
Seriously, how many of these sound like expected characteristics of a European power metal act from the early '00s: generally high pace, longish songs, big choruses, keyboards on most cuts, cheese overdone, a tendency to show off? I'd say all of them were typical, and that only certain niche groups of power metal would have found Dragonforce a strange fit if they had shared stages or split albums. I think, looking back, that Dragonforce were a much more normal power metal band than most people said they were, and them being singled out as something totally different says more about the conservatism within the genre than their special features.