History DragonForce

1 history

1.1 years , valley of damned (1999–2003)
1.2 sonic firestorm , inhuman rampage (2004–2007)
1.3 ultra beatdown , world tour (2007–2009)
1.4 departure of theart , twilight dementia (2010)
1.5 power within , maximum overload (2011–2015)
1.6 reaching infinity (2016–present)

history
early years , valley of damned (1999–2003)

dragonforce founded in 1999 guitarists herman li , sam totman, under name of dragonheart. totman , li had both experienced being in band previously, both having come heavy metal band demoniac. 2 later found vocalist zp theart through advertisement, , acquired former demoniac drummer matej setinc, bassist steve scott , keyboardist steve williams. setinc left band in december 1999 continue studies in slovenia, , replaced didier almouzni. band parted ways scott, left join shadowkeep, in 2000. williams took small break later rejoined band recorded first demo later year, left once again in december 2000, days ahead of band s tour halford , stratovarius promote demo, , formed own band, power quest. bassist diccon harper joined band in november year, keyboardist vadim pruzhanov joining in february 2001 complete line-up recording debut studio album.

although independent release, demo enough make them 1 of popular independent power metal bands in uk @ time. song valley of damned released debut single shortly after changed name permanently dragonforce in 2002 (after finding out power metal band had name dragonheart). promotional video featuring live footage tour around europe released along song. song huge success on mp3.com charted @ no. 1 2 weeks downloaded song. in 2002, band signed noise records , began recording debut album, valley of damned. harper performed bass tracks album, left band in 2002 because of tendon problem required surgery. title track, re-released in promotion of album, 1 of best-known dragonforce songs date , staple of live performances day. band s tour valley of damned lasted until 2004, tour ending in tokyo, japan.

sonic firestorm , inhuman rampage (2004–2007)

dragonforce s second studio album, sonic firestorm, proved more successful previous album, of album s lead single, fury of storm . sonic firestorm first dragonforce album feature new bassist adrian lambert , drummer dave mackintosh. when mackintosh entered band in 2004, began referring style of music extreme power metal due fast blast beats , double bass rhythms. tour longer band s previous tour valley of damned, , featured many more headlining shows. band toured many well-known metal bands such w.a.s.p. , iron maiden. on album, added video commentary focusing on making of sonic firestorm.

the band went mainstream third album, inhuman rampage, released on 9 january 2006 after signing roadrunner records. first song on album, through fire , flames , perhaps famous song date, , featured on video games guitar hero iii: legends of rock, guitar hero: smash hits , brütal legend, , downloadable content rock band franchise. former demoniac frontman lindsay dawson appeared backing vocalist album. in november 2005, prior release of album, lambert left band raise newborn son, , band enlisted frédéric leclercq remaining of sonic firestorm tour. leclercq later became official member of band in january 2006 following release of inhuman rampage, , featured in band s music video second single album, operation ground , pound . through fire , flames single later reached gold status in usa , canada.

ultra beatdown , world tour (2007–2009)

herman li, frédéric leclercq , sam totman in melbourne in 2009

dragonforce toured disturbed , slipknot during inaugural mayhem festival in 2008; band returned in autumn release of fourth studio album, ultra beatdown. album s lead single, heroes of our time , nominated grammy award best metal performance on 3 december 2008, losing out metallica song apocalypse . short version of heroes of our time featured in video game skate 2, , full version in nhl 10. on 22 january 2009, music video song last journey home released xbox live community week before released online.

the band carried out ultra beatdown world tour in europe, north america , south america. supposed play in south america in may tour postponed due swine flu outbreak. performed @ 2 days week festival in wiesen, austria on 4 september, before performing in united states , canada 15 september 11 october, special guests sonata arctica , taking dawn. next leg of tour in germany, 16–30 october, followed single live performance in luxembourg on 31 october. travelled south america perform in curitiba, porto alegre, são paulo, mexico city, santiago, buenos aires , bogotá 6–14 november. final part of tour carried out entirely in uk 19 november 12 december.

departure of theart , twilight dementia (2010)

li stated in late 2009 dragonforce stop touring in december , spend christmas @ home, before beginning write , record next studio album in january. on 22 february 2010, band re-released first 2 albums, valley of damned , sonic firestorm. valley of damned included newly remixed , remastered tracks while both albums included bonus tracks, updated packaging , dvds featuring live footage, commentary , more. both albums released in box set featured t-shirt, card of guitar picks, , inflatable guitar. on 8 march 2010, announced via band s record label @ time, roadrunner, theart had parted ways dragonforce due insurmountable differences of musical opinion , , band seeking new frontman. next day, band released press statement confirming news , containing link request audition.

the band released first live album, twilight dementia, on 13 september 2010, in europe , 14 september 2010, in , canada. album art, title, , release date revealed on band s official website on 22 june 2010. performances recorded on final leg of ultra beatdown world tour. regarding album, li stated:

for years, fans have been asking record live album, honestly, never had time due our worldwide touring commitments , studio album recording. however, due overwhelmingly positive feedback fans on ultra beatdown world tour, decided put real thought it...

these recordings capture raw sonic energy of dragonforce show in fine detail. real can hear noise of crowd , experience show night – can hear guitar pedals being stepped on!

the band began working on new studio album in 2010, recording in various studios in california, london , south of france. band later confirmed opening act iron maiden in 2 uk shows in august 2011, first @ odyssey arena in belfast on 3 august , second @ o2 arena in london on 5 august.

the power within , maximum overload (2011–2015)

dragonforce live @ wacken open air 2016

on 2 march 2011, dragonforce announced new vocalist, marc hudson. hudson had previous experience performing in band, not professional musician before joining dragonforce. first show dragonforce band s opening iron maiden in august 2011, debuted new song titled cry thunder . dragonforce released fifth studio album, power within, on 15 april 2012. mediæval bæbes vocalist emily ovenden appeared backing vocalist album. during north american tour, band performed new song titled fallen world , along cry thunder . starting late september 2012, band embarked on uk , ireland tour, , supported defiled, cavorts , alestorm. dragonforce played @ soundwave festival in australia in february 2013.

on 12 april 2013, band announced writing follow-up power within had been completed, , on 19 may 2013, dragonforce entered fascination street studios in sweden jens bogren producer of band s sixth album, maximum overload. on 31 march 2014, revealed trivium vocalist/guitarist matt heafy appear backing vocalist album, , ovenden return after providing backing vocals power within. on 3 june 2014, dragonforce announced had parted ways mackintosh , had enlisted former braindamage , kill ritual drummer gee anzalone. maximum overload released in uk on 18 august, in north america on 19 august , in australia on 22 august, , special edition included 5 bonus songs released in japan on 19 august (the same date normal edition s release in north america) , in australia on 22 august, @ same time release of normal edition. promote album, band embarked on second world tour, beginning in edinburgh on 17 september , ending in brussels, belgium on 1 february 2015. on 12 february, dragonforce announced release first live dvd, recording of performance @ loud park festival 2014 titled in line of fire... larger live. band performed @ download festival in june 2015, surprise guest appearance babymetal during set., dragonforce act babymetal s backing band @ 2015 metal hammer golden gods (li , totman had collaborated on track road of resistance babymetal).

reaching infinity (2016–present)

in april 2016, band released compilation killer elite: hits, highs, vids, featuring double cd of band s greatest hits, dvd contained videos released band. band embarked on killer elite world tour support release. on july 2016 dragonforce issued statement on health status of marc hudson revealing had been signed off doctors , unable perform @ metal days festival in slovenia , benatska! festival in czech republic , replaced per fredrik Åsly 2 shows. further followed former power quest vocalist alessio garavello filling in leyendas del rock festival concert in spain. dragonforce concluded killer elite world tour @ free show in uncasville, connecticut on september 11. on november 11, dragonforce confirmed 2017 edition of pulp summer slam in philippines.

during interview alto music @ namm 2017 winter show, li revealed band putting finishing touches on upcoming seventh album. in february 2017, band revealed pieces of album cover on instagram account, , album title revealed reaching infinity. on 9 february, band released details of new album on official website, including release date, format , release party show date. leclercq gave insight recording process of album. flying out, playing festival, studio, out again, said leclercq, handled majority of songwriting on album. intense , tiring... [i] lost temper few times – think did @ point, because wanted deliver nothing best. think have proven playing fast at, time wanted bring more diversity our music. it’s great challenge ourselves instead of staying in comfort zone . reaching infinity released on may 19, 2017.

a music video ashes of dawn released on 15 may 2017. keyboardist vadim pruzhanov not featured in clip, nor in of shows happening time of album s recording. in video published in official youtube channel, explained wanted have more time daughter , due contractual limitations, had choose between performing in or none of shows. chose second option , absent album s promotional tour well. power quest support dragonforce special guests on uk leg reaching infinity world tour while supporting own new album, sixth dimension. on july 13, band announced swedish act twilight force support band during european leg of reaching infinity world tour music video midnight madness released on 21 september 2017, documented making of song @ fascination street studios. on 15th of october confirmed lineup vagos open air 2018 headliners.