History - Early years and Valley of the Damned (1999–2003).
DragonForce was founded in 1999 by guitarists Herman Li and Sam Totman, under the name of DragonHeart. Totman and Li had both experienced beings in a band previously, with both having come from the New Zealand heavy metal band Demoniac. The two later found vocalist ZP Theart through an advertisement, and soon acquired former Demoniac drummer Matej Satanc, bassist Steve Scott and keyboardist Steve Williams. Satanc left the band in December 1999 and was replaced by Didier Almouzni. The band also parted ways with Scott, who left to join Shadowkeep, in 2000. Williams took a small break then later rejoined the band as they recorded their first demo later that year, but left once again in December 2000, days ahead of the band's tour with Halford and Stratovarius to promote the demo, and formed his own band, Power Quest. Bassist Diccon Harper joined the band in November that year, with keyboardist Vadim Pruzhanov joining in February 2001 to complete the line-up for recording their debut studio album.
Although it was an independent release, their demo was enough to make them one of the most popular independent power metal bands in the UK at the time. Their song "Valley of the Damned" was released as their debut single shortly after they changed their name permanently to DragonForce in 2002 (after finding out another power metal band already had the name DragonHeart). A promotional video featuring live footage from their tour around Europe was released along with the song. The song was also a huge success on MP3.com where it charted at No. 1 for 2 weeks as the most downloaded song. In 2002, the band signed to Noise Records and began recording their debut album, Valley of the Damned. Harper performed the bass tracks for the album but left the band in 2002 because of a tendon problem that required surgery. The title track, re-released in the promotion of the album, is one of the best-known DragonForce songs to date and is a staple of their live performances to this day. The band's tour for Valley of the Damned lasted until 2004, with the tour ending in Tokyo, Japan.
Sonic Firestorm and Inhuman Rampage (2004–2007)
DragonForce's second studio album, Sonic Firestorm, proved to be even more successful than their previous album, with the help of the album's lead single, "Fury of the Storm." Sonic Firestorm was the first DragonForce album to feature new bassist Adrian Lambert and drummer Dave Mackintosh. When Mackintosh entered the band in 2004, they began referring to their style of music as "extreme power metal" due to his fast blast beats and double bass rhythms. The tour was longer than the band's previous tour for Valley of the Damned and featured many more headlining shows. The band toured with many well-known metal bands such as W.A.S.P. and Iron Maiden. On the album, they also added a video commentary focusing on the making of Sonic Firestorm.
The band went mainstream with their third album, Inhuman Rampage, which was released on 9 January 2006 after signing with Roadrunner Records. The first song on the album, "Through the Fire and Flames," is perhaps their most famous song to date, and is featured on the video games Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, Guitar Hero: Smash Hits and Brütal Legend, and as downloadable content for the Rock Band franchise. Former Demoniac frontman Lindsay Dawson appeared as a backing vocalist for the album. In November 2005, prior to the release of the album, Lambert left the band to raise his newborn son, and the band enlisted Frédéric Leclercq for the remaining of the Sonic Firestorm Tour. Leclercq later became an official member of the band in January 2006 following the release of Inhuman Rampage, and was also featured in the band's music video for their second single from the album, "Operation Ground and Pound." The "Through the Fire and Flames" single later reached gold status in USA and Canada.
Ultra Beatdown and world tour (2007–2009)
Herman Li, Frédéric Leclercq and Sam Totman in Melbourne in 2009
DragonForce toured with Disturbed and Slipknot during the inaugural Mayhem Festival in 2008; the band then returned in autumn with the release of their fourth studio album, Ultra Beatdown. The album's lead single, "Heroes of Our Time," was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance on 3 December 2008, eventually losing out to Metallica with their song "My Apocalypse." A short version of "Heroes Of Our Time" is also featured in the video game Skate 2, and the full version in NHL 10. On 22 January 2009, the music video for their song "The Last Journey Home" was released to the Xbox Live Community a week before it was released online.
The band carried out the Ultra Beatdown world tour in Europe, North America and South America. They were supposed to play in South America in May but the tour was postponed due to the swine flu outbreak. They performed at the Two Days a Week Festival in Wiesen, Austria on 4 September, before performing in the United States and Canada from 15 September to 11 October, with special guests Sonata Arctica and Taking Dawn. The next leg of the tour was in Germany, from 16–30 October, followed by a single live performance in Luxembourg on 31 October. They then traveled to South America to perform in Curitiba, Porto Alegre, São Paulo, Mexico City, Santiago, Buenos Aires and Bogotá from 6–14 November. The final part of the tour was carried out entirely in the UK from 19 November to 12 December.
The departure of Theart and Twilight Dementia (2010)
Li stated in late 2009 that DragonForce would stop touring in December and spend Christmas at home, before beginning to write and record their next studio album in January. On 22 February 2010, the band re-released their first two albums, Valley of the Damned and Sonic Firestorm. Valley of the Damned included newly remixed and remastered tracks while both albums included bonus tracks, updated packaging, and DVDs featuring live footage, commentary and more. Both albums were also released in a box set which featured a T-shirt, a card of guitar picks, and an inflatable guitar.
On 8 March 2010, it was announced via the band's record label at the time, Roadrunner, that Theart had parted ways with DragonForce due to "insurmountable differences of musical opinion," and that the band would be seeking a new frontman. The next day, the band released a press statement confirming the news and containing a link to request an audition.
The band released their first live album, Twilight Dementia, on 13 September 2010, in Europe and 14 September 2010, in US and Canada. The album art, title, and release date were revealed on the band's official website on 22 June 2010. The performances were recorded on the final leg of the Ultra Beatdown world tour. Regarding the album, Li stated:
For years, fans have been asking us to record a live album, but honestly, we never really had the time due to our worldwide touring commitments and studio album recording. However, due to the overwhelmingly positive feedback from fans on the Ultra Beatdown world tour, we decided to finally put some real thought into it...
These recordings really capture the raw sonic energy of a DragonForce show in fine detail. It is so real that you can hear the noise of the crowd and experience the show as it was that night – you can even hear the guitar pedals being stepped on!
The band then began working on their new studio album in early 2010, recording in various studios in California, London and the South of France. The band later confirmed that they would be the opening act for Iron Maiden in two UK shows in August 2011, with the first at Odyssey Arena in Belfast on 3 August and the second at The O2 Arena in London on 5 August.
The Power Within and Maximum Overload (2011–2015)
On 2 March 2011, DragonForce announced their new vocalist, Marc Hudson. Hudson had previous experience performing in a band but was not a professional musician before joining DragonForce. His first show with DragonForce was the band's opening for Iron Maiden in August 2011, where they debuted a new song titled "Cry Thunder." DragonForce released their fifth studio album, The Power Within, on 15 April 2012. Mediæval Bæbes vocalist Emily Ovenden appeared as a backing vocalist for the album. During their North American tour, the band performed a new song titled "Fallen World," along with "Cry Thunder." Starting from late September 2012, the band embarked on a UK and Ireland tour and was supported by The Defiled, Cavorts and Alestorm. DragonForce also played at Soundwave Festival in Australia in February 2013.
On 12 April 2013, the band announced that writing for a follow-up to The Power Within had been completed, and on 19 May 2013, DragonForce entered Fascination Street Studios in Sweden with Jens Bogren as the producer of the band's sixth album, Maximum Overload. On 31 March 2014, it was revealed that Trivium vocalist/guitarist Matt Heafy would appear as a backing vocalist for the album and that Ovenden would return after providing backing vocals for The Power Within. On 3 June 2014, DragonForce announced that they had parted ways with Mackintosh and had enlisted former Braindamage and Kill Ritual drummer Gee Anzalone. Maximum Overload was released in the UK on 18 August, in North America on 19 August and in Australia on 22 August, and a special edition which included five bonus songs was released in Japan on 19 August (the same date as the normal edition's release in North America) and in Australia on 22 August, at the same time as the release of the normal edition. To promote the album, the band embarked on their second world tour, beginning in Edinburgh on 17 September and ending in Brussels, Belgium on 1 February 2015. On 12 February, DragonForce announced that they would release their first live DVD, a recording of their performance at Loud Park Festival 2014 titled In the Line of Fire... Larger than Live. The band performed at Download Festival in June 2015, with a surprise guest appearance by Babymetal during the set. DragonForce would then act as Babymetal's backing band at the 2015 Metal Hammer Golden Gods (Li and Totman had previously collaborated on the track "Road of Resistance" for Babymetal).
Reaching into Infinity and an upcoming eighth studio album (2016–present)
In April 2016, the band released the compilation Killer Elite: the Hits, the Highs, the Vids, featuring a double CD of the band's greatest hits, with a DVD that contained the videos released by the band. The band also embarked on the "Killer Elite World Tour" to support the release. On July 2016 DragonForce issued a statement on the health status of Marc Hudson revealing he had been signed off by doctors and was unable to perform at the Metal Days Festival in Slovenia and the Benatska! Festival in the Czech Republic and replaced by Per Fredrik Åsly for the two shows. This was then further followed up by former Power Quest vocalist Alessio Garavello filling in for the Leyendas del Rock Festival concert in Spain, and the More//Than concert in Slovakia. DragonForce concluded their "Killer Elite World Tour" at a free show in Uncasville, Connecticut on 11 September. On 11 November, DragonForce was confirmed for the 2017 edition of Pulp Summer Slam in the Philippines.
During an interview with Alto Music at the NAMM 2017 Winter Show, Li revealed that the band was putting the "finishing touches" on their upcoming seventh album. In February 2017, the band revealed pieces of the album cover on their Instagram account, and the album title was revealed to be Reaching into Infinity. On 9 February, the band released details of the new album on their official website, including the release date, format and a release party show date. Leclercq also gave insight into the recording process of the album. "We were flying out, playing a festival, then back into the studio, then back out again," said Leclercq, who handled the majority of songwriting on the album. "It was very intense and very tiring... I lost my temper a few times – I think we all did at some point because we wanted to deliver nothing but the best. I think we have proven that playing fast was something we were good at, so this time I wanted to bring even more diversity into our music. It’s great to challenge ourselves instead of staying in a comfort zone." Reaching into Infinity was released on 19 May 2017.
A music video for "Ashes of the Dawn" was released on 15 May 2017. Keyboardist Vadim Pruzhanov was not featured in the clip, nor in any of the shows happening by the time of the album's recording. In a video published in his official YouTube channel, he explained he wanted to have more time for his daughter and that due to contractual limitations, he had to choose between performing in all or none of the shows. He chose the second option and will be absent from the album's promotional tour as well. Power Quest will support DragonForce as special guests on the UK leg for the Reaching Into Infinity World Tour while supporting their own new album, Sixth Dimension. On 13 July, the band announced that Swedish act Twilight Force would support the band during the European leg of the Reaching into Infinity World Tour a music video for "Midnight Madness" was released on 21 September 2017, which documented the making of that song at Fascination Street Studios. On 15 October, they were announced to appear as a headlining band at Vagos Open Air in 2018, however, on 20 January 2018, they issued a statement saying that they will not be attending due to "circumstances beyond their control." On 20 December, the band was announced to appear at Skogsröjet Festival in Rejmyre, Sweden in August 2018. In January 2018, the band was announced to appear at Area 53 Festival in Leoben, Austria in July and at Download Festival's main stage for the first time since 2009 in June. On 11 April 2018, the band announced a remastered version of The Power Within called Re-Powered Within, guitarist Herman Li stated: “I love how ‘Re-Powered Within’ has turned out. We remixed and remastered the original music with a more modern production, in the vein of our last two releases. The result is a clearer, more powerful sound. The fans will get to hear the music in better detail, bringing out parts they couldn’t hear so well before, and injecting new excitement into the songs we love even more now.” Re-Powered Within was released on 4 May 2018.
On 28 October 2018, DragonForce announced that they have entered the studio with Damien Rainaud, who had previously mixed and mastered for the band, to work on their eighth studio album, which is set to be released in 2019. It was also revealed that the band would be joining Megadeth, along with other artists on their MEGACruise from 13-18 October 2019.
In 2020, DragonForce has announced the addition Vigil of War bassist Alicia Vigil into the fold for the upcoming tour dates.
Musical style:
Much of DragonForce's idiosyncratic style comes from the high-speed dual guitar sounds of Herman Li and Sam Totman. By playing at a high tempo within the upper registers of their instruments, their sound becomes similar to the "bleepy" arpeggios and quick pitch-bends normally associated with chiptunes usually heard in the third generation of video game music. The band often pays homage to this influence in their music videos. Although the band has frequently referred to their style as power metal, 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 sometimes been labeled as a speed metal band.
Last Man Stands
DragonForce Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And the stars seem to change
Far beyond our universe tonight
And the cries of the brave
And the skies filled with pain
For the silent ones we pray for all tonight
Long days passing the fear of the rain
Soldiers fighting on the price they will pay
Nuclear meltdown the world uncertain from the
Power of the tragedy of man's creation
Rise from the suffering for our salvation
Fearless we stand strong till the end, at the trial of all our lives
Now say our final goodbyes
[Chorus]
Light the path for the journey home
Save a prayer for the lost alone
Find a way from the other side
Before the heroes task still binding
Through the long nights across the seas
Shine a light for eternity
Find a way beyond the other side
Until the last man stands for all mankind
Skies now blackened the night turns to day
Nations fearful of global decay
Fires still raging on in vain now we pray
Nuclear fallout the fortunes fading as we
Stand at the edge barren desolation
Fight for the future of our generation
Fearless we stand, brave we defend
For a thousand years gone by
Now say our final goodbyes
[Chorus]
[Chorus]
And the fate of the world in our hands
Rise again until the end of time
Until the last man stands for all mankind
The song "Last Man Stands" by DragonForce is an epic and powerful, yet haunting and melancholic, tale about the end of the world and the last few survivors clinging on to hope and fighting for their lives. The opening lines describe a lone survivor in an unfamiliar and cataclysmic universe, with the last remaining stars shifting and changing around him. The chorus urges us to save a prayer for the lost and to find a way beyond the other side, symbolizing the desperation of those still alive trying to survive and make it back to their homes and loved ones.
The second verse details the utter destruction and pain the survivors have had to endure: from long days of fear of the rain, soldiers fighting on at the ultimate price, to nuclear meltdowns and the uncertainty of the future, it paints a picture of a world on the brink of collapse. The chorus repeats again, emphasizing the importance of the survivors triumphing and standing to fight once more, as the fate of the world rests in their hands.
In the final section of the song, the last man standing stands tall and fights for his survival, for a thousand years gone by, battling on through the blackened skies and barren desolation. The bittersweet ending of the song is the final goodbye of the survivors, with the hope that their deeds will never be forgotten, that they will continue to shine a light for eternity.
Line by Line Meaning
One man remains
Only one person is left standing after all the fighting and destruction.
And the stars seem to change
The world as they knew it has been completely altered, as if even the stars are different.
Far beyond our universe tonight
The destruction has reached beyond their world, to the point of seeming to affect the entire universe.
And the cries of the brave
Even the bravest among them have been affected by the destruction and are in pain.
And the skies filled with pain
The atmosphere is dark and bleak, and the people are in great pain and suffering.
For the silent ones we pray for all tonight
They pray for those who have perished in the destruction, especially those who suffered in silence.
New dawn rising destruction and pain
With each new day, the destruction and pain continues to grow and spread.
Long days passing the fear of the rain
The people are living in constant fear, and every passing day only adds to their anxiety and despair.
Soldiers fighting on the price they will pay
The soldiers are putting their lives on the line, knowing that they may not make it out alive.
Nuclear meltdown the world uncertain from the
The world has been thrown into chaos and uncertainty due to the nuclear meltdown.
Power of the tragedy of man's creation
The destruction that has occurred is a result of the destructive power inherent in human creations.
Rise from the suffering for our salvation
They must rise up from their suffering in order to save themselves and the rest of the world.
Fearless we stand strong till the end, at the trial of all our lives
They will remain strong and brave until the very end, no matter what they face.
Now say our final goodbyes
They are preparing to bid farewell to those they love, knowing that they may not survive.
[Chorus] Light the path for the journey home
They pray for guidance and safety on their journey back home.
Save a prayer for the lost alone
They ask for prayers to be said for those who have been lost in the destruction.
Find a way from the other side
They are searching for a way to move forward and rebuild from the devastation.
Before the heroes task still binding
They are still bound by the responsibility of being heroes and fighting for the greater good.
Through the long nights across the seas
They will endure many long, difficult nights as they journey back home.
Shine a light for eternity
They ask for the light of hope to shine brightly, even in the darkest times.
Find a way beyond the other side
They will find a way to move forward and rebuild, no matter how difficult it may be.
Until the last man stands for all mankind
They will not give up until they have completely restored their world to its former glory, no matter how long it takes.
Skies now blackened the night turns to day
The destruction has caused a permanent change in the world, and even the time of day seems different.
Nations fearful of global decay
The nations are afraid that the destruction will continue to spread and consume the entire world.
Fires still raging on in vain now we pray
The fires continue to burn, seemingly without purpose, and they can only pray for help.
Nuclear fallout the fortunes fading as we
The nuclear fallout has caused the world's fortunes to decline rapidly.
Stand at the edge barren desolation
They are standing on the edge of complete and utter desolation and destruction.
Fight for the future of our generation
They are fighting for the survival and well-being of their future generations.
Fearless we stand, brave we defend
They will continue to stand strong and defend their world, even in the face of great danger.
For a thousand years gone by
Their world has existed for a thousand years, and they are fighting to ensure that it will continue to exist for a thousand more.
Now say our final goodbyes
They prepare to say goodbye to their loved ones once again, knowing that they may not return.
[Chorus]
Repeats the same meaning as the first occurrence of the chorus.
[Chorus]
Repeats the same meaning as the previous occurrence of the chorus.
And the fate of the world in our hands
The fate of the entire world rests on their actions and decisions.
Rise again until the end of time
They will continue to fight and rise up, no matter what, until the end of time itself.
Until the last man stands for all mankind
They will not give up until they have completely restored their world to its former glory, no matter how long it takes.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: FREDERIC LECLERCQ, HERMAN LI, SAM TOTMAN, VADIM PRUZHANOV
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@andrewpatterson3662
Probably the most underrated DragonForce song in my opinion.
@BrandonBrindle92
This song is one of my absolute favourites off of this album. You guys never disappoint. 🤘🏻
@speakingout6345
Your sounds are legendary. Your tone is revolution. Thank you for the metronome of hope in these dark times.
@Ultra-_Gaming
Absolutely amazing song, you guys will never die! Rock on!!!!!!!!!!!!
@kgiotakos
My favourite band releases another insane banger💥
@tritex6350
My favorite Vadim solo!
@wolfan20
Love that uplifting vibe.
@exulansis7589
It would be awesome if these songs were still available on Spotify in other countries
@lmon1312
I love this album this song Rocks
@jebl-bq2yu
my favorite dragonforce song