DragonForce

Multi-national UK-based power-metal group Dragonforce are famed for their fast-paced guitar solos. The group comprises guitarists Herman Li and Sam Totman, who complement the powerful vocals of frontman ZP Theart. Dragonforce have attributed much of their popularity to the arcade game Guitar Hero, through which many first became familiar with their music; their hit song "Through the Fire and Flames" featured on Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock. Many of the band's lyrics are based on fantasy, as demonstrated by their 2003 debut album Valley of the Damned, which earned the band a dedicated worldwide fanbase. The subsequent tour was a sellout in both Europe and Asia, and three albums followed: Sonic Firestorm in 2004, Inhuman Rampage in 2006, and Ultra Beatdown in 2008. After years of fan requests for a live album, the band recorded Twilight Dementia in 2010 featuring live performances from their Ultra Beatdown world tour. After the departure of ZP Theart earlier in the year, the band announced the appointment of their new frontman Marc Hudson. Their fifth studio album, and first with Marc Hudson, was released in 2012 with the title The Power Within, featuring Emily Ovenden of Mediæval Bæbes performing on several tracks. In 2016 Dragonforce released a greatest hits album Killer Elite: the Hits, the Highs, the Vids. They embarked on a world tour to promote the album and signed up to perform at the Pulp Summer Slam festival in the Philippines in 2017. While on tour, the band announced the title of their seventh album Reaching Into Infinity, notably their last recording with trusted keyboardist Vadim Pruzhanov and first with drummer Gee Anzalone. The band waved off another member, bassist Frédéric Leclercq, with the release of eighth studio album Extreme Power Metal while new bassist Alicia Vigil stepped up to take his place for album number nine. Issued via Napalm Records, Warp Speed Warriors emerged in 2024, following a five-year gap in between albums.