DragonForce

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"DragonHeart" redirects here. For the film, see Dragonheart.

For the Saturn/PS2 strategy game, see Dragon Force.

DragonForce is an English speed-power metal band who formed in London, United Kingdom in 1999.

Biography

The band originally formed in 1999 from the remnants of death metal band Demoniac (and various other extreme metal groups) under the name of Dragonheart, but soon changed their name to Dragonforce before releasing any commercial albums due to possible trademark issues with a Brazilian band of the same title. 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. 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 most recent tour (as of 2005) 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. Less than a month later, on November 23rd 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 9th, 2006. After problems with the release of Inhuman Rampage in North America, Dragonforce has released the album under Roadrunner on June 20, 2006. The band will also be touring North America as part of their Inhuman Rampage World Tour. Herman Li, one of the two guitarists of the band, says they will be playing new songs, old songs, songs never heard in concert before, and a few surprises. On May 19, official news stated that Dragonforce will be playing the main stage at Ozzfest and Download Festival 2006.

Musical style

DragonForce's musical style includes:

• Emphasis on speed, twin-guitar harmonies
• Lyrics of a fantastic or epic nature
• Use of background choral singing throughout

DragonForce claims that their music is not produced to be wholly serious (due to criticism) and the lyrics, which pertain usually to fantasy subjects such as battles, swords, quests and heroes, serve to back up this claim. DragonForce have stated that they base their music on fantasy-related materials such as video games including "Wonder Boy in Monster World" (a game for the Sega Megadrive console), and carries lyrical themes which are sometimes similar to those of, for example, The Lord of the Rings, as they relate to fantasy subjects and battles.

• On their first album, Valley of the Damned, the band placed particular emphasis on guitar sounds and melodies defining an 'epic' sound, with a technical mix of bass and drum compositions. This created a 'thundering' sound which has continued throughout the band's discography to date. The arrangements were more focused on voice and melody producing a fantastic, epic sound true to the power metal genre.
• Their second release, Sonic Firestorm saw the arrival of ex-Bal-Sagoth drummer Dave Mackintosh. The blast beat style of drumming, normally confined to the death metal genre, was adopted into DragonForce’s playing, giving support to their newly born extreme power metal genre.
• Their third release, Inhuman Rampage continues their technical guitar based melodies. The inclusion of many new guitar sound effects alter their sound. The use of keyboard and extended keyboard solos are noted in this release showing Vadim's increasing influence in the band. Growling backing vocals similar to those found in black metal can also be heard (such as in "Revolution Deathsquad") as well as special effects on vocals. The Parental Advisory sticker is only displayed on versions that include the addition "rockumentary".

DragonForce have described themselves as belonging to the "extreme power metal" genre (DragonForce.com, Dec 2005). This genre, seemingly "created" by DragonForce, has yet to see any other bands emerge from within it, with the possible exception of Cellador, a Nebraskan band signed to Metal Blade. There are some who consider "extreme power metal" to already have existed before DragonForce embraced the term - bands that blend power metal with extreme metal influences such as Children of Bodom, Wintersun and Kalmah have been referred to as such (harsh vocals are featured in these bands, and are one of the main requirements of the 'extreme' tag ). Also, due to the fantasy themes which characterize the band, DragonForce have frequently been associated with epic metal, which also features Rhapsody , Hammerfall, and Blind Guardian.

Criticism

DragonForce has encountered criticism from many music analysts. They are often accused of playing unemotionally for the sake of speed. Many also agree that the band's name resembles a type of title that would be given to a children's toy action hero lineup. The band's lyrics and trademark "video-game" sounds also strike many as being over-commercialized. In a recent interview in the British magazine "Total Guitar", Dragonforce guitarist Herman Li accused metalcore band Trivium of playing "like a bunch of fifteen-year-olds", inciting much criticism against DragonForce.

Discography

Image:DFVotDDemo.jpg|Valley of the Damned (Demo) (2000) (playing as DragonHeart) Image:DFVotD.jpg|Valley of the Damned (2003) Image:DFSF.jpg|Sonic Firestorm (2004) Image:DFIR.jpg|Inhuman Rampage (2006)

Currently

As of April 2006, DragonForce is set to embark on their first North American tour. Initially, DragonForce was supposed to play their first show on US soil back in November of 2005 but Visa problems prevented that from happening. Also, in a recent interview with guitarist Herman Li, it was said that the band is interested in becoming part of a summer concert festival such as Gigantour or Sounds of the Underground. Although the band was listed on the Sounds of the Underground website as playing select dates, they were removed from the site soon thereafter and are no longer part of the tour. Dave Mustaine (Gigantour organizer, frontman of Megadeth) has been spotted at one of their shows at the Whiskey A Go Go in California.

On May 18th, DragonForce was added to the Main Stage line up for the Ozzfest 2006 tour.

DragonForce tour the UK in November 2006 as their Second Strike tour in support of Inhuman Rampage.

Wed Nov. 29 - UK, Folkestone, Leas Cliff Hall
Thu Nov. 30 - UK, Southampton, Guildhall
Fri Dec. 01 - UK, Leeds, University
Sat Dec. 02 - UK, Nottingham, Rock City
Mon Dec. 04 - UK, Cardiff University, Students Union
Tue Dec. 05 - UK, Birmingham, Academy
Thu Dec. 07 - UK, Sheffield, Octagan
Fri Dec. 08 - UK, Manchester, Academy
Sat Dec. 09 - UK, Glasgow, Barrowloands
Mon Dec. 11 - UK, Norwich, UEA
Tue Dec. 12 - UK, Bristol, Academy
Wed Dec. 13 - UK, London, Astoria

Members

• ZP Theart - Lead vocals
• Herman Li - Lead/Rhythm guitars & Backing vocals
• Sam Totman - Lead/Rhythm guitars & Backing vocals
• Vadim Pruzhanov - Keyboards & Backing vocals
• Dave Mackintosh - Drums & Backing vocals
• Frédéric Leclercq - Bass guitar & Backing vocals

Former members

• Adrian Lambert - Bass & Backing vocals (A.K.A Chazza)
• Didier Almouzni - Drums
• Diccon Harper - Bass
• Steve Scott - Bass
• Steve Williams - Keyboards

External links

• [Official DragonForce website]
• [DragonForce lyrics]
• [Artist profile page at Roadrunner Records]
• [Photos] at Return to the Pit

 

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