DragonForce

DragonForce is a power metal rock band formed in London, England.
==History==
===Formation===
The band was founded in 1999 as Dragonheart by guitarists Herman Li and Sam Totman. Both guitarists came from New Zealand after previously playing for a band known as Demoniac. The two posted an advertisement to recruit others who could contribute at vocals, bass, and drums. The duo settled in on vocalist ZP Theart, drummer Matej Setinc, bassist Steve Scott, and keyboardist Steve Williams. Setinc eventually resigned in 1999 to focus on his studies in Slovenia. Peter Hunt briefly took over at drums in an effort to help out for the band's demo album before stepping down. The next man up for drums was Didier Almouzni. In early 2000, bassist Scott departed and joined Shadow keep. Williams took a short-term break while Clive Nolan took over as a session keyboardist as the band continued recording their demo album. In December 2000, Williams resigned completely just days before the band embarked on its first tour. In February 2001, Diccon Harper took over at the bass, while Vadim Pruzhanov took over at the keyboards, thereby completing the lineup.
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. By early 2002, the band changed its name to DragonForce. Later that year, the band signed with Noise Records.
===Valley of the Damned===
With the lineup complete and signed to a record label, DragonForce began development for their first studio album. Around the same time, Harper was dealing with a tendon injury that required surgery, thereby ending his tenure with the band. DragonForce released their first studio album, Valley of the Damned, on February 25, 2003. The album's standard edition contained nine tracks. Development for the album lasted five months between May through October 2002 at three different recording studios; Thin Ice Studios in Surrey, England, Jail House Studios in Denmark, and LamerLuser Studios in London, England. Shortly after the release of the album, the band went on a worldwide tour, which concluded in early 2004 after one last show in Tokyo, Japan.
===Sonic Firestorm===
Development for the band's second album took place at the same studios they recorded their first album before except for Jail House Studios. Development only lasted for two months and four days, between October 6 to December 10, 2003. Sonic Firestorm was released on May 11, 2004. The album included nine tracks. "Fury of the Storm" was the only single, but became hugely successful due to its complex guitar speed notes and twin pedal drumming. Not too long after the album was released, Adrian Lambert was the next bassist in line. The band embarked on another world tour that was slightly longer than their previous tour.
===Inhuman Rampage===
DragonForce released their third studio album, Inhuman Rampage, on December 28, 2005 in Japan and January 9, 2006 in all other countries. The album contained eight tracks, and three of those tracks became singles; "Through the Fire and Flames", "Operation Ground and Pound", and "Revolution Deathsquad". "Through the Fire and Flames" has become the most successful track as of up to date, having appeared in various video games. Former Demoniac frontman Lindsay Dawson helped contribute as a backing vocalist for the tracks of the album. In November 2005, about two months prior to the album's release, Lambert resigned in an effort to raise his newly born son. Frédéric Leclercq, who was enlisted just before the previous tour concluded, took over as the band's next bassist shortly after the release of the third album. The next tour to promote the third album was marred by negative receptions due to tuned-down instruments and Theart becoming too cursive during performances.
===Ultra Beatdown===
Following a performance at the inaugural Mayhem Festival, DragonForce began development for their next album. Ultra Beatdown was released on August 26, 2008. The album included eight tracks. "Heroes of Out Time" was a single that was nominated for Best Metal Performance at the Grammy Awards four months after the album's release, which came in second place behind "My Apocalypse" by Metallica. The band went on tour again, but their hopes of performing in South America were put on hold due to a recent swine flu outbreak. Their tour took place mainly in Europe and finally were able to seek action in South America for the first time in November 2008.
By late 2009, the band stopped touring and spent their Christmas holiday at home. On February 22, 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 March 8, 2010, the band announced that Theart had left the band. A live album titled Twilight Dementia was released on September 13, 2010 in the UK and September 13, 2010 in the USA. The live album contained recording of the band's live performances during their Ultra Beatdown tour with seven tracks for Disc 1 and six tracks for Disc 2, having 13 tracks altogether.
The band sought about working on a new album in early 2010, but having no vocalist at the time, they had to reverse their ambitions and go on another intercontinental tour with all of their performances being entirely instrumental. They also highlighted two concerts; the first being at the Odyssey Arena in Belfast, Ireland and the other at the The O2 Arena in London, England.
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