DragonForce is a British power metal band who were formed in London, United Kingdom by Sam Totman, Herman Li, and ZP Theart in 1999. They play a style of metal which exemplifies some of the defining characteristics of the power, speed and melodic genres. They are best known for their fast guitar playing and a general influence of 1980s video games.

The band originally formed in 1999 under the name of DragonHeart, but they changed their name to DragonForce before releasing any commercial albums due to possible trademark issues with a Brazilian band of the same title. DragonForce's career began with the publishing of their early songs, including Valley of the Damned, Revelations, Starfire, Black Winter Night, and Disciples of Babylon, all on their "Valley of the Damned" demo, on the first incarnation of MP3.com, claiming the top of the site's Power Metal charts.

They have enjoyed increasing popularity over the years, publishing three albums and touring extensively, supporting Helloween, W.A.S.P. and Iron Maiden. Since then, they have headlined their own tours, with many bands, including Mendeed and Sabaton. They have also shared headline tours (swapping between headliners depending on the country) with Edguy and Angra. On the 28th of October 2005, bassist Adrian Lambert announced his departure from the band to raise his young son. On November 23rd 2005, it was announced that DragonForce have signed to Roadrunner Records in the UK, France, Australia and New Zealand. Roadrunner released their newest album, Inhuman Rampage, on January 9th, 2006 in the aforementioned territories.

Dragonforce's musical style includes:

* A general emphasis on a very high speed of playing
* Complex melodies and musical arrangements
* Lyrics relating (mostly) to tales of a fantasy or epic nature
* Subtle use of background choral singing throughout
* Trademark use of guitar artificial harmonics.

DragonForce claim that their music is not produced to be wholly serious and the lyrics, which pertain usually to fantasy subjects such as battles, swords, quests and heroes, serve to back up this claim. DragonForce have stated that they base their music on fantasy-related materials such as video games including "Wonder Boy in Monster World" (a game for the Sega Megadrive console), and carries lyrical themes which are sometimes similar to those of, for example, The Lord of the Rings, as they relate to fantasy subjects and battles.

* On their first album, "Valley of the Damned", the band placed particular emphasis on bombastic guitar sounds and melodies defining an epic sound, through an especially technical mix of bass and drum compositions. This created a somewhat thundering sound which has continued throughout the band's discography to date. The arrangements were more focused on voice and melody producing an epic sound true to the power metal genre.

* Their second release, "Sonic Firestorm" saw the integration of more advanced guitar techniques through the extended use of melody. With the arrival of ex-Bal-Sagoth drummer Dave Mackintosh, the style of drumming known as the blast beat, normally confined to the death metal genre, was brought into DragonForce’s vein giving support to their music.

* Their third release, "Inhuman Rampage" seems to be continuing with even more technical advances in guitar work. The inclusion of many new guitar sound effects produce a theme of experimentation into speed and melody in this album. Growling vocals similar to those found in death metal can also be heard (such as in "Revolution Deathsquad") as well as special effects on vocals.

Line-up

* ZP Theart - Lead vocals
* Herman Li - Lead guitar & Backing vocals
* Sam Totman - Lead guitar & Backing vocals
* Vadim Pruzhanov - Keyboards & Backing vocals
* Dave Mackintosh - Drums & Backing vocals
* Frederic Leclercq - Bass guitar

Former Members

* Adrian Lambert - Bass & Backing vocals
* Didier Almouzni - Drums
* Diccon Harper - Bass