tracklist:
01 - My Spirit Will Go On
02 - Fury Of The Storm
03 - Fields Of Depair
04 - Dawn Over A New World
05 - Above The Winter Moonlight
06 - Soldiers Of The Wastelands
07 - Prepare For War
08 - Once In A Lifetime
09 - Cry Of The Brave

label: Noise Records, 2004
Similar bands: Freedom Call, Mob Rules, Onward



The band is powered by the twin guitar assaults of Herman Li and Sam Totman, vocalist ZP Theart and keyboard player Vadim Pruzhanov. This established core has recently been joined by bassist Adrian Lambert and drummer David Mackintosh. A standard line-up for a rock band it may at first appear but DragonForce features a uniquely diverse, multi-cultural line-up (Hong Kong, UK, New Zealand, South Africa, Ukraine) never seen before from a young new band.

Early DragonForce can best be described as a mix of modern melodic power metal with the fury of speed metal, since than, the band's style have evolved into a even more distinctive sound of their own. By combining all their favourite aspects of different rock and metal styles they like, ranging from – classic/power/thrash/speed/death/progressive metal/hard rock and video games music, played with a high octane energy, DragonForce's sound maybe best described as ‘Extreme Power Metal'.

The supremely catchy and instantly memorable melodies that stand shoulder-to-shoulder with some outrageous speed, power, complex twin guitar wizardry and extreme metal drumming are just some of the qualities that separate this band from the masses. This sonic fury in no way hides the bands greatest indisputable strength……their songwriting ability.

Pick any of their songs and you find a plethora of hook lines, enough technical prowess to satisfy lovers of progressive metal, guitar runs that will inspire air-guitarists everywhere and the voice of an outstanding rock shouter.

Well known on the metal-underground for a couple of years, the band started off with a self produced demo which attracted over half a million (500 000) downloads from 1 internet site alone. DragonForce had already toured with the likes of Halford, Stratovarius and Virgin Steele as well as headlining their own shows across England without having an album out. Upon release of their debut album, Valley Of The Damned , metal fans proved they knew something the media, up until that point, didn't, which was proven by the Burrn! Charts in Japan…. No 1 – Marilyn Manson / No 2 – Helloween / No 3 – DragonForce . Subsequently, the band was invited for their first tour of South East Asia, headlining their own shows in Thailand, opening for Helloween on their Japanese tour, and performing to an invited audience in Taiwan.

Glowing album reviews and album sales to match followed in Europe, with the band subsequently being booked to play prestigious festivals such as Sweden Rock, Torres Rock in Spain, Young Metal Gods in Germany and Bloodstock in the UK. In Finland, DragonForce was voted in the Top 20 new artistes alongside Beyoncé, The Darkness and 50 Cent.

Now the follow up to Valley Of The Damned is ready for ignition.

Sonic Firestorm will be released on April 19th,2004 through Sanctuary's Noise Records label, exceeding the established boundaries of melodic, speed / power metal.

Recorded between October and December 2003 at Thin Ice Studios, England, and guitarist Herman Li's own private studio in West London with producer Karl Groom, the release of Sonic Firestorm will see DragonForce launch into a fury of touring activity. A full 35 date UK & European tour will commence early May in support of WASP before the band heads back to South East Asia for their first headlining tour. Their debut US shows follow in August with a headline UK tour in the planning stages for September.

A lot has happened with this young metal band in a short period of time, to find out why, check out Sonic Firestorm and DragonForce's unique energetic live shows!

Line up
Herman Li - Guitars & backing vocals
Sam Totman - Guitars
ZP Theart - Lead vocals
Vadim Pruzhanov - Keyboards & backing vocals
Adrian Lambert - Bass
David Mackintosh - Drums & backing vocals

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ALBUM REVIEW:

With a debut as strong as “Valley Of The Damned”, the Britian-based Dragonforce set the standard high and does not make it easy for themselves to follow up. Only a year later, however, the sextet is back with a new album, once again brilliantly produced by the band and Threshold’s Karl Groom. Is it true what they say – that you have your whole life to make a debut album, while making the follow up can be difficult because of stress?

Stress or not, Dragonforce gives new meaning to the word “stress”. Whereas “Valley Of The Damned” was an in-your-face melodic speed metal attack with shredding guitars – yes, you guessed it, “Sonic Firestorm” is simply that and some. “…Firestorm” sees the band establish what they were onto with the first CD, a unique expression in a genre where most bands sound the same – so take a bow for that. And the stress? Dragonforce is the fastest there is, at least in the genre labelled “lead singers with tight trousers”, and even a bit innovative, as I never heard blastbeats in this setting. These hyper-feet belong to Dave Mackintosh, who used to play with Bal-Sagoth and hopefully will save the band’s live reputation… (Honestly, Dragonforce is said to be one helluva live band, which I don’t doubt, but they still have to make up for Sweden Rock – and I am sure they will.)

Back to the CD, “Sonic Firestorm” hits you like the title suggests. But is it stronger that “Valley Of The Damned”? In some ways, Dragonforce upgrades a bit. The speed and the sound, yeah, it’s faster and sounds better – but the songwriting is not quite as strong this time around. Not as strong means: still strong enough, just not that strong. (Remember, “Valley Of The Damned” was perhaps the best debut album since Angra’s “Angels Cry”…) Favourite songs? Quite a few, the opener, “My Spirit Will Go On” is killer (the intro gives me a W.A.S.P.-feel for some reason), “Above The Winter Moonlight” is a great speed metal hymn, but the almost 10 minute epic “Soldiers Of The Wasteland” makes me want to go and join the army of the wasted (Bartender!!!). A few songs serve as time-killing before the next hymn, though, and that is why I still rate the debut higher. Just a little higher, I might add.

To sum it up: Dragonforce, with only 2 albums under their belt, is one of the true leading speed metal bands these days. Their second release sees the guys stick to their (already own) formula, just putting an even stronger trademark on it. This is a study for young guitarists, as Herman and Sam wipe the floor with most guitar duos around. “Sonic Firestorm” equals the plane that just went 6 times the speed of light. I made a comment saying the singer was the band’s weakest link last time. He does great on the new CD, though, as it seems that the songs are more written around his voice. Check singer/frontman/Curley Top ZP out on the road this spring, as Dragonforce will go on stage and make W.A.S.P. sound like doom metal in comparison – coming to a European venue near you…

°°°заливаю на наш FTP. с надеждой на помощь°°°.