DragonForce are a British power metal band formed in London, United Kingdom in 1999. They are known for their dual guitar harmonies, speed and epic vocals.

History

DragonForce originally formed in 1999 from the remnants of black 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 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 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^[1] (Lambert later revealed in an interview that he had left due to musical differences with Herman and Sam ^{citation needed]}). He was replaced in 2006 by Frédéric Leclercq, who was made an official member after a performance on tour. 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.

After problems with the release of Inhuman Rampage in North America and Australia, DragonForce released the album under Roadrunner on June 20, 2006. The band made its first appearance in the U.S. Sunday April 30, 2006 at the Worcester Palladium, during the annual New England Metal and Hardcore Festival. In late March, Herman Li was looking to join an American tour, such as Sounds of the Underground or Ozzfest. They were signed to Ozzfest in May as the opening act on the mainstage. DragonForce has been adding dates in the U.S. on Ozzfest off-days. The band returned to the United States in September, 2006, headlining a cross-country tour at mid-sized auditorium/ballroom venues such as The Warfield in San Francisco. They also returned to The Palladium where their first U.S. show was. After this they toured the UK as part of the Inhuman Rampage Second Strike tour, in December, 2006. They are currently on a US tour with Killswitch Engage, Chimaira and He is Legend

Musical style

DragonForce's musical style includes:

• Emphasis on fast, twin-guitar harmonies
• Lyrics of a fantastical or epic nature
• Use of background choral singing throughout songs
• Generally optimistic and uplifting chorus sections (musically and lyrically)
• Video game influenced melodies and guitar noises
• Heavy usage of keyboard

Although the band take their musicianship seriously, they do not embody the themes in their music. In an interview with Metal Hammer, Herman Li has stated "Oh no, it's completely serious, we just have fun doing it...".^[2] DragonForce's influences are drawn from all kinds of metal, melodic rock, and in particular video games such as "Wonder Boy in Monster World",^[3] with lyrics comparable to themes present in fantasy games.

The members of 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. There are some^{attribution needed]} 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 ). However, in the case of DragonForce, the "extreme" tag is generally assumed to refer to the speed that they play at and has nothing to do with the vocals.

Recent Events

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

As part of the Inhuman Rampage tour, DragonForce toured North America and Japan with All That Remains and HORSE the Band between September 7, 2006 and October 14, 2006.

On September 7, a day before the start of their tour, they performed live on G4's Attack of the Show which is actually broadcast from Los Angeles.

DragonForce continued their tour in Europe, except for the UK, through November 16, 2006 bringing along bands Manigance (in France shows only) and Firewind.

After touring the rest of Europe, DragonForce returned to their home country, the UK, to perform a fifteen show run, dubbed Second Strike, through December 14, 2006 with All That Remains and Firewind.

Dragonforce's first North American show was at The Palladium in Worcester, Massachusetts in April 2006. They later played another show there in September 2006. During this show they made a note to the audience of their first show back in April and how much they were having fun in America.

It has been announced that Dragonforce will be doing a tour with current label mates Killswitch Engage that will start in mid-February. Chimaira and He Is Legend will be joining them.

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
• Didier Almouzni - Drums
• Diccon Harper - Bass
• Steve Scott - Bass
• Steve Williams - Keyboards

Discography

• Valley of the Damned (Demo) (2000) (playing as DragonHeart)
• Valley of the Damned (2003)
• Sonic Firestorm (2004)
• Inhuman Rampage (2006)

Music Videos

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