DragonForce

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DragonForce is a British power metal band who formed in London, United Kingdom in 1999.

1 Biography
2 Musical style
3 Discography
4 Members
5 Former members
6 External links

Biography

The band originally formed in 1999 under the name of DragonHeart, but changed their name to DragonForce before releasing any commercial albums due to possible trademark issues with a Brazilian band of the same title. The band formed from remnants of the death metal band Demoniac and various other extreme metal groups. DragonForce's 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 members of the DragonHeart line-up, Steve Williams and Steve Scott, left the band to form melodic power metal band Power Quest. DragonForce has enjoyed increasing popularity over the years, publishing three albums and touring extensively, supporting Helloween, W.A.S.P. and Iron Maiden. Their most recent tour (as of 2005) in support of the Sonic Firestorm album included the band Angra in support, as well as Mendeed during their passage through the UK. On the 28th of October 2005, bassist Adrian Lambert announced his departure from the band to raise his young son. On November 23rd 2005, it was announced that DragonForce have signed to Roadrunner Records in the UK, France, Australia and New Zealand. Roadrunner released their newest album, Inhuman Rampage, on January 9th, 2006 in the aforementioned territories.

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Musical style

DragonForce's musical style includes:

A general emphasis on a high tempo
Complex melodies and musical arrangements
Lyrics relating (mostly) to tales of a fantastic or epic nature
Subtle use of background choral singing throughout

DragonForce claims that their music is not produced to be wholly serious 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 bombastic guitar sounds and melodies defining an epic sound, through an especially technical mix of bass and drum compositions. This created a somewhat thundering sound which has continued throughout the band's discography to date. The arrangments were more focused on voice and melody producing a fantastical, epic sound true to the power metal genre.
Their second release, "Sonic Firestorm" saw the integration of more advanced guitar techniques through the extended use of melody. With the arrival of ex-Bal-Sagoth drummer Dave Mackintosh, the style of drumming known as the blast beat, normally confined to the death metal genre, was brought into DragonForce’s vein giving support to their newly born extreme power metal genre.
Their third release, "Inhuman Rampage" seems to be continuing with even more technical advances in guitar work. The inclusion of many new guitar sound effects produce a theme of experimentation into speed and melody in this album. 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 on the album if you buy the CD with the bonus "rockumentary". If you buy the CD without the rockumentary, it will not have one.

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 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 refered to as such..

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