DragonForce are an English Grammy-nominated power metal band from London, England, formed in 1999. They are known for fast guitar solos, fantasy-based lyrics, and electronic sounds in their music to add to their retro video game influenced sound.

History

DragonForce was formed in 1999 by singer ZP Theart, bassist Steve Scott, guitarists Sam Totman and Herman Li, drummer Didier Almouzni, and keyboardist Steve Williams. Initially the band intended to call themselves "DragonHeart", but found that a band with this same name already existed. They played with Stratovarius and Metal Church in Finland. The band underwent various lineup changes before settling with the six current members. Their song "Through the Fire and Flames" is one of their most famous songs and is featured on the game "Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock". The first track and first single, "Heroes of Our Time", from their latest album, Ultra Beatdown, was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance on December 3, 2008 , and is also featured in the video game Skate 2.. In a concert in Melbourne, Michael Birney covered for Sam Totman as he broke his wrist. On January 22, 2009, the music video for their song "The Last Journey Home" was released to the Xbox Live Community.

DragonForce will carry out the Ultra Beatdown Tour in Latin America in May 2009, performing in Mexico City, Monterrey, Santiago, Buenos Aires, Bogotá, Porto alegre, Curitiba and São Paulo.

Current members

• ZP Theart - lead vocals (founder)
• Herman Li - lead and rhythm guitars, backing vocals (founder)
• Sam Totman - lead and rhythm guitars, backing vocals (founder)
• Vadim Pruzhanov - keyboards, backing vocals (2001-present)
• Dave Mackintosh - drums, percussion, backing vocals (2004-present)
• Frederic Leclercq - bass guitar, backing vocals (2006-present)

Former members

• Adrian Lambert - bass guitar (2004-2005)
• Didier Almouzni - drums, backing vocals (1999-2003)
• Diccon Harper - bass guitar, backing vocals (2001-2003)
• Steve Williams - keyboards, backing vocals (1999-2000)
• Steve Scott - bass guitar, backing vocals (1999-2000)

Musical Style

DragonForce's musical style includes:

• Emphasis on fast, twin-guitars in speed metal styles, with fast and lengthy solos (over 2 minutes);
• Fast keyboard solos, sometimes dueling with the guitars;
• Fast tempos;
• High pitched style vocal melodies;
• Video game-influenced melodies, noises;
• Lyrics covering topics like journeys, wars, battles, etc;

The band have frequently referred to their style not just as power metal, but as extreme power metal. Herman Li commented on descriptions of the band's style in an interview with Guitar World: "'Nintendo metal', 'extreme power metal', 'Bon Jovi on speed', 'Journey meets Slayer', ... people are always coming up with weird labels for us." The band has often been labelled speed metal due to the fast tempos present in their songs, but always as a supplement to other types of metal descriptors.