DragonForce
 | Editing of this article by new or unregistered users is currently disabled. See the protection policy and protection log for more details. If you cannot edit this article and you wish to make a change, you can submit an edit request, discuss changes on the talk page, request unprotection, log in, or create an account. |
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (March 2008) |
DragonForce |
|---|
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 the 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 four studio 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] 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" was released on August 26, 2008. This will be followed by an extensive North American tour through October with Turisas and then followed by a tour of Australia and the UK.
July 4th saw the release of DragonForce's first single from the new album, "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 9.
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 fantastical or epic nature, with a hopeful and optimistic attitude, often with recurring themes and lyrical phrases in multiple songs
- Use of multi-tracked backing vocals
- Use of keyboards throughout songs
- Video game-influenced melodies and noises
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 labelled speed metal[7][8][9] due to the fast tempos present in their songs, but always as a supplement to other types of metal descriptors.
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
- North American Ultra Beatdown 2008
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
Studio albums
- 2003: Valley of the Damned
- 2004: Sonic Firestorm
- 2006: Inhuman Rampage
- 2008: Ultra Beatdown
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.pe.com/entertainment/stories/PE_Ent_Guide_D_soundtracks.204707.html
- ^ Entertainment - Juan Gabriel to play the Pond
- ^ Friday 07/07/06 Ozzfest 2006, Main Stage @ The Cricket Pavilion, Phoenix Arizona - GIGWISE
External links
