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DragonForce are an English power metal band formed in London in 1999. The group is known for its fast paced songs, twin guitar solos, and incorporation of electronic sound effects into their music.

History

DragonForce was formed in 1999 from the remnants of the band Demoniac under the name of DragonHeart, but they changed their name to DragonForce before releasing any commercial albums due to possible 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, left the band to form the power metal outfit Power Quest. Sam Totman also started a side project called Shadow Warriors featuring himself and ZP Theart. Sam has confirmed many times that Herman Li was not involved with Shadow Warriors.

The band's first successful song was "Starfire" off of their debut album, Valley of the Damned. It was most noted because it starts off with a light piano intro, which is atypical among DragonForce songs. DragonForce have released three albums and toured 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 October 28, 2005 bassist Adrian Lambert announced his departure from the band in order to focus more time on raising his young son^[1] (Lambert later revealed in an interview that he had left due to musical differences with Herman Li and Sam Totman^{[citation needed]}). Less than a month after Lambert's departure, on November 23, 2005, DragonForce were signed to Roadrunner Records in the United States, 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.

The song "Through the Fire and Flames" is featured in the video game Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock and is generally considered to be the most challenging track in the Guitar Hero series^[2]. The developers used the song to demonstrate the game at E3. After Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock was released, the band's music sales reportedly increased dramatically. Their song being featured in the game has successfully placed the band into mainstream performances although at the same time, some controversy has begun over the speeding up of the album versions of DragonForce's music, mainly the guitar solos. This sprouted from the live performance at Graspop and elsewhere, when several members of DragonForce were under the influence of alcohol and the shows weren't near as produced as the recorded versions.^[3].

A new DragonForce album, titled "Ultra Beatdown" has been announced to be released for August 25, 2008. This will be followed by an extensive United Kingdom tour through October with Turisas and then followed by a tour of Australia.

July 4th saw the release of DragonForce's next single, "Heroes of Our Time" released only on their MySpace page and is available on iTunes. The video for it was released on the band's official YouTube channel on July the 9th.

Musical style

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 have fun doing it...".^[4] DragonForce's influences are drawn from various kinds of metal such as melodic styles of rock, and in particular video games such as "Wonder Boy in Monster World", and the Final Fantasy series,^[5] with lyrics comparable to themes present in fantasy games.

The band have frequently referred to their style not just as power metal, but as extreme power metal. Herman Li commented on descriptions of the band's style in an interview with Guitar World: "'Nintendo metal,' 'extreme power metal', 'Bon Jovi on Speed,' 'Journey Meets Slayer,' ...people are always coming up with weird labels for us." ^[6] The band has often been labeled speed metal^[7]^[8]^[9]^[10]^[11]^[12]^[13] due to the fast tempos present in their songs.

Tours

Valley Of The Damned Tour 2003
Valley Of The Damned/Sonic Firestorm Promotional Tour 2004
Sonic Firestorm Over Europe Tour
Sonic Firestorm Tour 2005
Meet The Sonic Firestorm Tour 2005
Sonic Firestorm In North America Tour 2005
Inhuman Rampage Tour - The First Strike
Inhuman Rampage World Tour 2006
Ozzfest 2006 Tour
Inhuman Rampage Over North America Tour
Inhuman Rampage Across Europe Tour
Inhuman Rampage Tour - The Second Strike
Inhuman Rampage World Tour 2007
No Fear Music Tour 2007
Inhuman Rampage World Tour 2007
The Black Crusade European Tour
Rockstar Energy Mayhem Tour

Band members

Current members

Herman Li - Lead and rhythm guitars, backing vocals
Sam Totman - Lead and rhythm guitars, backing vocals
ZP Theart - Lead vocals
Vadim Pruzhanov - Keyboards, backing vocals (2001-present)
Dave Mackintosh - Drums, percussion, backing vocals (2004-present)
Frédéric Leclercq - Bass guitar, backing vocals (2006-present)

Former members

Adrian Lambert - Bass guitar, backing vocals (2004-2005)
Didier Almouzni - Drums, backing vocals (1999-2003)
Diccon Harper - Bass guitar, backing vocals (2001-2003)
Steve Williams - Keyboards, backing vocals (1999-2000)
Steve Scott - Bass guitar, backing vocals (1999-2000)

Discography

Template:Sound sample box align right

Soldiers of the Wasteland (sample)

A brief sample of the sixth track on the Sonic Firestorm CD.

Problems playing this file? See media help.

Template:Sample box end

Studio albums

References

^ Metal Hammer, November 2006, pg 40 "DragonForce interview"
^ Saltzman, Mitchell (2007-10-19). "The Hardest Guitar Hero Song Ever?". GWN.com. Retrieved 2007-10-19. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
^ Snider, Mike (2008-02-14). "Band's sales are feeling the 'Guitar Hero' effect". usatoday.com. Retrieved 2008-02-17. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
^ Metal Hammer, November 2006, pg 35 "DragonForce interview"
^ Metal-Temple.com Herman Li (Interview)
^ Guitar World, Holiday 2006, pg 72 "Hotter Then Hell"
^ http://www.usatoday.com/tech/gaming/2008-02-14-guitar-hero effect_N.htm
^ http://www.pe.com/entertainment/stories/PE_Ent_Guide_D_soundtracks.204707.html
^ http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=OC&p_theme=oc&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=112D1F2A8F30E698&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM
^ http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/entertainment/music/hottickets/article_1223269.php
^ http://www.gigwise.com/contents.asp?contentid=19752
^ http://www.thegauntlet.com/bio/1157/Dragonforce.html
^ http://heavymetal.about.com/od/dragonforce/p/dragonforce.htm

External links

[1] Metal Hammer, November 2006, pg 40 "DragonForce interview"

[2] Saltzman, Mitchell (2007-10-19). "The Hardest Guitar Hero Song Ever?". GWN.com. Retrieved 2007-10-19. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

[3] Snider, Mike (2008-02-14). "Band's sales are feeling the 'Guitar Hero' effect". usatoday.com. Retrieved 2008-02-17. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

[4] Metal Hammer, November 2006, pg 35 "DragonForce interview"

[5] Metal-Temple.com Herman Li (Interview)

[6] Guitar World, Holiday 2006, pg 72 "Hotter Then Hell"

[7] ttp://www.usatoday.com/tech/gaming/2008-02-14-guitar-hero effect_N.htm

[8] ttp://www.pe.com/entertainment/stories/PE_Ent_Guide_D_soundtracks.204707.html

[9] ttp://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=OC&p_theme=oc&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=112D1F2A8F30E698&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM

[10] ttp://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/entertainment/music/hottickets/article_1223269.php

[11] ttp://www.gigwise.com/contents.asp?contentid=19752

[12] ttp://www.thegauntlet.com/bio/1157/Dragonforce.html

[13] ttp://heavymetal.about.com/od/dragonforce/p/dragonforce.htm

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Refimprove|date=March 2008}}
-NO
+{{otheruses4|the band|the Saturn/PlayStation 2 strategy game|Dragon Force}}
+{{Infobox musical artist | <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject Musicians -->
+| Name                = DragonForce
+| Img                 = Dragonforcelive.jpg
+| Img_capt            = DragonForce in 2007 performing in [[Melbourne]]
+| Img_size            = 250
+| Landscape           = yes
+| Background          = group_or_band
+| Alias               = DragonHeart
+| Origin              = [[London, England]]
+| Genre               = [[Power metal]] <!-- DO NOT ADD ANOTHER GENRE; SEE TALK PAGE -->
+| Years_active        = 1999 – present
+| Label               = [[Sanctuary Records|Sanctuary]], [[Noise Records|Noise]], [[Roadrunner Records|Roadrunner]]
+| Associated_acts     = [[Demoniac]], [[Power Quest]], [[Shadow Warriors (band)|Shadow Warriors]]
+| URL                 = [http://www.dragonforce.com/ dragonforce.com]
+| Current_members     = [[Herman Li|Herman Li]]<br />[[Sam Totman]]<br />[[ZP Theart]]<br />[[Vadim Pruzhanov]]<br />[[Dave Mackintosh]] <br />[[Frédéric Leclercq]]
+| Past_members        = [[Adrian Lambert]]<br />Didier Almouzni<br>Diccon Harper<br />Steve Scott<br />[[Steve Williams (musician)|Steve Williams]]
+}}
+'''DragonForce''' are an [[England|English]] [[power metal]] band formed in [[London]] in [[1999]]. The group is known for its fast paced songs, twin guitar solos, and incorporation of electronic sound effects into their music.
+==History==
+DragonForce was formed  in 1999 from the remnants of the band [[Demoniac]] under the name of DragonHeart, but they changed their name to DragonForce before releasing any commercial albums due to possible issues with Brazilian band [[Dragonheart (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 music|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, left the band to form the [[power metal]] outfit [[Power Quest]].  Sam Totman also started a side project called [[Shadow Warriors (band)|Shadow Warriors]]  featuring himself and ZP Theart. Sam has confirmed many times that Herman Li was not involved with Shadow Warriors.
+The band's first successful song was "Starfire" off of their debut album, Valley of the Damned. It was most noted because it starts off with a light piano intro, which is atypical among DragonForce songs. DragonForce have released three albums and toured extensively while supporting [[Helloween]], [[W.A.S.P. (band)|W.A.S.P.]] and [[Iron Maiden]]. Their 2005 tour in support of the ''[[Sonic Firestorm]]'' album included support from [[Angra (band)|Angra]] and [[Mendeed]] during their passage through the UK. On October 28, 2005 bassist [[Adrian Lambert]] announced his departure from the band in order to focus more time on raising his young son<ref>Metal Hammer, November 2006, pg 40 "DragonForce interview"</ref> (Lambert later revealed in an interview that he had left due to musical differences with Herman Li and Sam Totman{{Fact|date=February 2007}}). Less than a month after Lambert's departure, on November 23, 2005, DragonForce were signed to [[Roadrunner Records]] in the [[United States]], [[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.
+The song "[[Through the Fire and Flames]]" is featured in the [[video game]] ''[[Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock]]'' and is generally considered to be the most challenging track in the [[Guitar Hero (series)|''Guitar Hero'' series]]<ref>{{cite web | title = The Hardest Guitar Hero Song Ever? | date = [[2007-10-19]] | url = http://consoles.gwn.com/news/story.php/id/14379/The_Hardest_Guitar_Hero_Song_Ever.html | work = GWN.com | last = Saltzman | first = Mitchell | accessdate = 2007-10-19 }}</ref>. The developers used the song to demonstrate the game at [[E3]]. After ''Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock'' was released, the band's music sales reportedly increased dramatically. Their song  being featured in the game has successfully placed the band into mainstream performances although at the same time, some controversy has begun over the speeding up of the album versions of DragonForce's music, mainly the guitar solos. This sprouted from the live performance at Graspop and elsewhere, when several members of DragonForce were [[drunkenness|under the influence]] of [[alcohol]] and the shows weren't near as produced as the recorded versions.<ref>{{cite web | title = Band's sales are feeling the 'Guitar Hero' effect | date = [[2008-02-14]] | url = http://www.usatoday.com/tech/gaming/2008-02-14-guitar-hero-effect_N.htm | work = usatoday.com | last = Snider | first = Mike | accessdate = 2008-02-17 }}</ref>.
+A new DragonForce album, titled "[[Ultra Beatdown]]" has been announced to be released for [[August 25]], [[2008]]. This will be followed by an extensive [[United Kingdom]] tour through October with  [[Turisas]] and then followed by a tour of Australia.
+July 4th saw the release of DragonForce's next single, "[[Heroes of Our Time]]" released only on their [[MySpace]] page and is available on [[iTunes]]. The video for it was released on the band's official [[YouTube]] channel on July the 9th.
+==Musical style==
+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 have fun doing it...".<ref>Metal Hammer, November 2006, pg 35 "DragonForce interview"</ref> DragonForce's influences are drawn from various kinds of metal such as melodic styles of rock, and in particular [[video games]] such as "''[[Wonder Boy in Monster World]]''", and the [[Final Fantasy]] series,<ref>[http://www.metal-temple.com/interview.asp?id=128 Metal-Temple.com Herman Li (Interview)]</ref> with lyrics comparable to themes present in fantasy games.
+The band have frequently referred to their style not just as [[power metal]], but as extreme power metal. Herman Li commented on descriptions of the band's style in an interview with [[Guitar World]]: "'[[Nintendo]] metal,' 'extreme power metal', '[[Bon Jovi]] on [[Speed (drug)|Speed]],' '[[Journey (band)|Journey]] Meets [[Slayer]],' ...people are always coming up with weird labels for us." <ref> Guitar World, Holiday 2006, pg 72 "Hotter Then Hell"</ref> The band has often been labeled [[speed metal]]<ref>http://www.usatoday.com/tech/gaming/2008-02-14-guitar-hero effect_N.htm</ref><ref>http://www.pe.com/entertainment/stories/PE_Ent_Guide_D_soundtracks.204707.html</ref><ref>http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=OC&p_theme=oc&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=112D1F2A8F30E698&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM</ref><ref>http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/entertainment/music/hottickets/article_1223269.php</ref><ref>http://www.gigwise.com/contents.asp?contentid=19752</ref><ref>http://www.thegauntlet.com/bio/1157/Dragonforce.html</ref><ref>http://heavymetal.about.com/od/dragonforce/p/dragonforce.htm</ref> due to the fast tempos present in their songs.
+==Tours==
+* Valley Of The Damned Tour 2003
+* Valley Of The Damned/Sonic Firestorm Promotional Tour 2004
+* Sonic Firestorm Over Europe Tour
+* Sonic Firestorm Tour 2005
+* Meet The Sonic Firestorm Tour 2005
+* Sonic Firestorm In North America Tour 2005
+* Inhuman Rampage Tour - The First Strike
+* Inhuman Rampage World Tour 2006
+* Ozzfest 2006 Tour
+* Inhuman Rampage Over North America Tour
+* Inhuman Rampage Across Europe Tour
+* Inhuman Rampage Tour - The Second Strike
+* Inhuman Rampage World Tour 2007
+* No Fear Music Tour 2007
+* Inhuman Rampage World Tour 2007
+* The Black Crusade European Tour
+* Rockstar Energy Mayhem Tour
+==Band members==
+===Current members===
+*[[Herman Li]] - Lead and rhythm guitars, backing vocals
+*[[Sam Totman]] - Lead and rhythm guitars, backing vocals
+*[[ZP Theart]] - Lead vocals
+*[[Vadim Pruzhanov]] - Keyboards, backing vocals <small>(2001-present)</small>
+*[[Dave Mackintosh]] - Drums, percussion, backing vocals <small>(2004-present)</small>
+*[[Frédéric Leclercq]] - Bass guitar, backing vocals <small>(2006-present)</small>
+===Former members===
+*[[Adrian Lambert]] - Bass guitar, backing vocals <small>(2004-2005)</small>
+*Didier Almouzni - Drums, backing vocals <small>(1999-2003)</small>
+*Diccon Harper - Bass guitar, backing vocals <small>(2001-2003)</small>
+*[[Steve Williams (musician)|Steve Williams]] - Keyboards, backing vocals <small>(1999-2000)</small>
+*[[Steve Scott (musician)|Steve Scott]] - Bass guitar, backing vocals <small>(1999-2000)</small>
+==Discography==
+{{main|DragonForce discography}}
+{{Sound sample box align right}}{{Listen|filename=DragonForce Soldiers of the Wasteland.ogg|title=Soldiers of the Wasteland (sample)|description=A brief sample of the sixth track on the [[Sonic Firestorm]] CD.}}{{Sample box end}}
+===Studio albums===
+*2003: ''[[Valley of the Damned]]''
+*2004: ''[[Sonic Firestorm]]''
+*2006: ''[[Inhuman Rampage]]''
+*2008: ''[[Ultra Beatdown]]''
+==References==
+{{reflist}}
+==External links==
+{{commons|DragonForce}}
+* [http://www.dragonforce.com DragonForce] - official site
+*{{MySpace-music|dragonforce|DragonForce}}
+* [http://musicametal.blogosfere.it/2007/12/dragonforce-venti-foto-dal-black-crusade-a-milano.html our 2007 (Black Crusade Tour in Italy - 6 December 2007)]
+*[http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/artists/DragonForce/ Artist profile page at Roadrunner Records]
+* [http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1587142/20080508/dragonforce.jhtml MTV News interview about new album]
+{{DragonForce}}
+[[Category:DragonForce| ]]
+[[Category:British heavy metal musical groups]]
+[[Category:English musical groups]]
+[[Category:Music from London]]
+[[Category:Power metal musical groups]]
+[[Category:2000s music groups]]
+[[Category:Musical groups established in 1999]]
+[[Category:Roadrunner Records artists]]
+[[als:Dragonforce]]
+[[cs:DragonForce]]
+[[da:Dragonforce]]
+[[de:DragonForce]]
+[[es:DragonForce]]
+[[fr:DragonForce]]
+[[hr:DragonForce]]
+[[it:DragonForce]]
+[[he:דראגונפורס]]
+[[lt:DragonForce]]
+[[hu:DragonForce]]
+[[nl:DragonForce]]
+[[ja:ドラゴンフォース (バンド)]]
+[[no:DragonForce]]
+[[pl:DragonForce]]
+[[pt:DragonForce]]
+[[ru:DragonForce]]
+[[sco:DragonForce]]
+[[fi:DragonForce]]
+[[sv:DragonForce]]
+[[tr:DragonForce]]
+[[uk:Dragonforce]]
+[[zh:龍之動力]]

v t e DragonForce
Herman Li Sam Totman Marc Hudson Gee Anzalone Alicia Vigil ZP Theart Matej Setinc Steve Scott Steve Williams Didier Almouzni Diccon Harper Vadim Pruzhanov Adrian Lambert Dave Mackintosh Frédéric Leclercq
Studio albums	Valley of the Damned (2003) Sonic Firestorm (2004) Inhuman Rampage (2006) Ultra Beatdown (2008) The Power Within (2012) Maximum Overload (2014) Reaching into Infinity (2017) Extreme Power Metal (2019) Warp Speed Warriors (2024)
Compilation albums	Killer Elite: the Hits, the Highs, the Vids (2016)
Live albums	Twilight Dementia (2010) In the Line of Fire... Larger Than Live (2015)
Singles	"Fury of the Storm" "Through the Fire and Flames" "Operation Ground and Pound" "Revolution Deathsquad" "Heroes of Our Time" "Cry Thunder" "The Game" "Ashes of the Dawn" "Power of the Triforce"
Cover songs	"Ring of Fire" "My Heart Will Go On" "Wildest Dreams (Taylor's Version)"
Related	Discography