DragonForce

This article is about the band. For the Saturn/PlayStation 2 strategy game, see Dragon Force.

DragonForce

DragonForce is a British power metal band formed in London in 1999. They are known for their lengthy, fast paced songs, twin guitar solos, and incorporation of "video game" sounds into their music.

History

DragonForce was formed in 1999 from the remnants of black metal band Demoniac (and various other extreme metal groups) under the name of DragonHeart, they got their name from their favorite game Dragon Warrior but soon changed their name to DragonForce before releasing any commercial albums due to possible commercial issues with Brazilian band Dragonheart. Their career began with the publishing of their early songs on the first incarnation of MP3.com claiming the top of the site's heavy metal charts. The hit song "Valley of the Damned" reached over 500,000 downloads in the first few months. Two of the original members, Steve Williams and Steve Scott quickly left the band to form power metal outfit Power Quest.

DragonForce has enjoyed increasing popularity over the years, publishing three albums and touring extensively while supporting Helloween, W.A.S.P. and Iron Maiden. Their 2005 tour in support of the Sonic Firestorm album included support from Angra and Mendeed during their passage through the UK. On the October 28, 2005 bassist Adrian Lambert announced his departure from the band in order to focus more time on raising his young son (Lambert later revealed in an interview that he had left due to musical differences with Herman and Sam ). Less than a month after Lambert's departure, on November 23, 2005, DragonForce was signed to Roadrunner Records in the United Kingdom, France, Australia and New Zealand, who released their most recent effort, Inhuman Rampage on January 9, 2006. Lambert was replaced in 2006 by Frédéric Leclercq, who was made an official member after a performance on tour.

DragonForce will embark on the "Black Crusade" tour across Europe with several other Heavy Metal artists including Arch Enemy and Trivium. Once they have finished, they have planned to make a remix of their debut album, Valley of the Damned including remastered and remixed versions of all the tracks, as well as a bonus DVD including live performances, interviews and backstage footage of the band. All the original songs from Valley of the Damned are to be remixed and remastered on the new CD.

A master track of the song "Through the Fire and Flames" is featured as a song in the video game Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock as the hardest song in the game. The game developers used this song to show competitors at E3. This song is publicized as the hardest song in the franchise's history.

Musical style

DragonForce's musical style includes:

• Emphasis on fast, twin-guitar harmonies in speed metal styles
• Generally optimistic and uplifting chorus sections
• Lyrics of a fantastic or epic nature, such as battles, epic landscapes, etc.
• Frequent use of multi-tracked backing vocals
• Use of keyboards throughout songs
• Video game-influenced melodies and guitar noises
• Unorthodox guitar-playing methods and on-stage tricks

Although the band takes their musicianship seriously, they do not embody the themes in their music. In an interview with Metal Hammer, guitarist Herman Li has stated "Oh no, it's completely serious, we just have fun doing it...". DragonForce's influences are drawn from all kinds of metal, melodic rock, and in particular video games such as "Wonder Boy in Monster World" and the Final Fantasy series, with lyrics comparable to themes present in fantasy games.

The band has frequently referred to their style not just as power metal, but extreme power metal. Despite this, their style differs from extreme power metal in that it doesn't use the death growl, except for in backing vocals such as in the song :Operation Ground and Pound". nor the aggressive feel that is portrayed by other extreme power metal bands such as Children of Bodom. Herman Li commented on descriptions of the band's style in an interview with Guitar World: "'Nintendo Metal,' 'Iron Maiden on Crack,' 'Bon Jovi on Speed,' 'Journey Meets Slayer,' ...people are always coming up with weird labels for us."

Current members

• ZP Theart - Lead vocals (1999-Present)
• Herman Li - Lead / Rhythm guitars & Backing vocals (1999-Present)
• Sam Totman - Lead / Rhythm guitars & Backing vocals (1999-present)
• Dave Mackintosh - Drums & Backing vocals (2004-Present)
• Frédéric Leclercq - Bass guitar & Backing vocals (2006-Present)
• Vadim Pruzhanov - Keyboards, piano & Backing vocals (2001-Present)

Former members

• Adrian Lambert - Bass & Backing vocals (2004-2005)
• Didier Almouzni - Drums & Backing vocals (1999-2003)
• Diccon Harper - Bass & Backing vocals (2001-2003)
• Steve Scott - Bass & Backing vocals (1999-2001)
• Steve Williams - Keyboard & Backing vocals (1999-2001)

Discography

• Valley of the Damned (demo) (2000) (as DragonHeart)
• Valley of the Damned (2003)
• Sonic Firestorm (2004)
• Inhuman Rampage (2006)
• Inhuman Rampage (2007) (Special Edition)
• Valley of the Damned - Remixed & Remastered (Delayed)

Music videos

• "Through the Fire and Flames", from Inhuman Rampage
• "Operation Ground and Pound", from Inhuman Rampage

External links

• DragonForce - official site
• Template:MySpace-music
• our 2007 (Black Crusade Tour in Italy - 6 December 2007)
• Artist profile page at Roadrunner Records