UK-based metallers DRAGONFORCE have completed writing the follow-up to last year’s The Power Within album, which was their first with vocalist Marc Hudson. Since his live debut with the group in July of 2011, Marc has gone on to front over 100 shows with the band in 32 countries across the globe, including arenas with IRON MAIDEN as well as a mammoth headlining world tour to support the album.
With a new found wealth of experience for the new singer and two years of playing together, the Dragonforce machine will be at it’s most powerful when they enter Fascination Studios in Sweden in May with Jens Bogren to start laying down tracks. Known for his work with the likes of OPETH, DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT, AMON AMARTH, KATATONIA, SOILWORK and SYMPHONY X to name a few, a killer-sounding album will be the inevitable result.
Shredmaster Herman Li says: “Right now, everyone in the band is itching to get into the studio to record probably the most epic Dragonforce music ever written. With so many ideas flying around and songs already written, we decided to team up with producer Jens Bogren to help us take the DF sound to the next level and beyond!”
The band will perform at Download Festival at Donington Park June 14 – 16th. More on Dragonforce at this location.
Guitarist Herman Li of British epic metallers DRAGONFORCE will appear on CBBC‘s “How To Be Epic At Everything”, a new series from the BBC aimed at demonstrating to young people how to excel in certain professions. At 10.30 a.m. on February 17 and March 17 on the CBBC channel, Li will will take his guitar through the paces, showing the next generation of guitarists how it’s done.
In an April 2012 interview with Ultimate-Guitar.com, Li was asked if there was an “aha” moment when he was first starting to play guitar that he realized he was capable of great speed. “Maybe I can explain it this way: I’m not a person who’s over-confident,” he said. “If you think you know, you really don’t know. Me personally, I think the more you learn, the more you realize the world of guitar is so big and you haven’t really learned enough. There’s not really a time that I feel I mastered anything. I think each album is just a snapshot of our lives and things change and people come out with other things and you go, ‘Oh, that’s cool,’ and take some things from that. If I think I know, then I think the music becomes boring because there’s nothing to pursue.”
DRAGONFORCE‘s new album, “The Power Within”, sold 5,800 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 74 on The Billboard 200 chart.
DRAGONFORCE‘s previous CD, “Ultra Beatdown”, opened with 24,000 units back in September 2008 to land at No. 18.
DRAGONFORCE‘s recent North American headlining tour marked the band’s first trek with new singer Marc Hudson, who also makes his recorded debut on “The Power Within”.
“The Power Within” was released in the U.K. on April 16 via the band’s own Electric Generation Recordings, distributed by Essential Music.
ONSLAUGHT, 3 INCHES OF BLOOD, and SINISTER are the latest bands to be confirmed for 70000 Tons Of Metal.
The World’s Biggest Heavy Metal Cruise will sail Monday, January 28, 2013 aboard the Royal Caribbean Majesty Of The Seas from Miami, FL to Cockburn Town on Grand Turk Island, and will not return to the real world for four days until Friday, February 1, 2013.
The following 30 out of 40 bands have now been announced:
3 INCHES OF BLOOD, ANACRUSIS, ANGRA, ARKONA, DELAIN, DIE APOKALYPTISCHEN REITER, DORO, DRAGONFORCE, ENSIFERUM, EVERGREY, FLOTSAM AND JETSAM, GOTTHARD, HEIDEVOLK, HELLOWEEN, HELSTAR, IMMOLATION, IN FLAMES, KREATOR, LACUNA COIL, METAL CHURCH, NILE, ONSLAUGHT, RAGE and LINGUA MORTIS ORCHESTRA, SABATON, SINISTER, SUBWAY TO SALLY, TIAMAT, TURISAS, TÝR, UNEXPECT.
Ticket prices start at US$666 plus US$299 taxes and fees per person and include all on-board entertainment, non-alcoholic and non-carbonated beverages, all meals at the dining rooms, most on-board restaurants and even 24 hour room service!
What are you waiting for? You might even need a vacation from this vacation when all is said and done! Check out 70000tons.com for more information.
Source: Bravewords.com
70000 Tons Of Metal – The World’s Biggest Heavy Metal Cruise – will sail Monday, January 28, 2013 aboard the Royal Caribbean Majesty Of The Seas from Miami, FL to Cockburn Town on Grand Turk Island, and will not return to the real world for four days until Friday, February 1, 2013.
Organizers have announced that Canadian guitar mastermind Jeff Waters (ANNIHILATOR) will host “Jamming With Waters In International Waters”, the official 70000 Tons Of Metal All-Star Jam… and they want to have your input. Head over to the official 70000 Tons Of Metal Facebook page and give your feedback on which of the musicians on board you would like to participate in the most incredible jam session the metal world has ever seen. And guess what? You can even join in yourself. Ever wanted to jam with Jeff Waters in International Waters? You can do so, but only on 70000 Tons Of Metal.
The following 27 out of 40 bands have now been announced: ANACRUSIS, ANGRA, ARKONA, DELAIN, DIE APOKALYPTISCHEN REITER, DORO, DRAGONFORCE, ENSIFERUM, EVERGREY, FLOTSAM AND JETSAM, GOTTHARD, HEIDEVOLK, HELLOWEEN, HELSTAR, IMMOLATION, IN FLAMES, KREATOR, LACUNA COIL, METAL CHURCH, NILE, RAGE and LINGUA MORTIS ORCHESTRA, SABATON, SUBWAY TO SALLY, TIAMAT, TURISAS, TÝR, UNEXPECT.
Ticket prices start at US$666 plus US$299 taxes and fees per person and include all on-board entertainment, non-alcoholic and non-carbonated beverages, all meals at the dining rooms, most on-board restaurants and even 24 hour room service!
What are you waiting for? You might even need a vacation from this vacation when all is said and done! Check out 70000tons.com for more information.
CHILDREN OF BODOM, CIRCUS MAXIMUS are the latest act confirmed for this year’s installment of the Loud Park festival, which is set to take place October 27th at Saitama Super Arena, a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Saitama City, Saitama, Japan.
Acts confirmed for Loud Park 12: CHRISTOPHER AMOTT, SEBASTIAN BACH, BUCKCHERRY, CHILDREN OF BODOM, CIRCUS MAXIMUS, CRYPTOPSY, DIR EN GREY, DRAGONFORCE, HALESTORM, HELLOWEEN, HIBRIA, IN FLAMES, NAGLFAR, OUTRAGE, SLAYER, SONATA ARCTICA, STONE SOUR and 1349.
Niclas Müller-Hansen of Sweden’s Metalshrine recently conducted an interview with guitarist Herman Li of British epic power metallers DRAGONFORCE. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.
Metalshrine: The [latest DRAGONFORCE album, "The Power Within"] been out now for a number of months. How do you look at it now? Did it turn out the way you wanted it to?
Herman: Yeah, I really like the album and I listen to it myself all the time and I really like the energy of it. It’s different from the previous albums in terms of the dynamics and the energy and in the way it sounds. I really like it and playing the songs is also very exciting. We’ve got some songs that are shorter and some songs are a bit slower and it actually adds to the dynamics of our show, because usually in the past, every song was really fast and really long. Now we have something to kinda put in there which we didn’t before.
Metalshrine: When it comes to the show, are you a band that mixes up the setlist a lot or is it the same one night after night?
Herman: At the moment we’re at the stage where we can change it every night if we want to. We do experiment and change stuff and we always change things depending on where we’re going to. Like in certain countries, it’s like, “Oh, we’ve already played that song three times last time we were there!” Of course we’re also gonna play songs from all the DRAGONFORCE albums. It’s never that you go in and you only hear the new album and just two old songs, you know. We try to put as much in so to keep everyone happy.
Metalshrine: On the road, even though the album is still fresh, [is there] any time for coming up with new stuff like at soundchecks or things like that? Are you already putting ideas into the song bank?
Herman: Yeah! Of course, like you said, the album only came out a few months ago, but we already have some ideas that we started working on, but the main concentration is on the tour and the live shows because we don’t just learn ten songs and only play those. We’re learning songs all the time, so we can change the setlist whenever we want to. Last night in Dublin, we played a song with Marc [Hudson, vocals] that he’s never done before. “It’s time to do that one,” that kinda thing, you know.
Metalshrine: This label of yours, Electric Generation Recordings, is it turning out they way you hoped it would? Is it doing better than you hoped for?
Herman: One thing for sure… it’s doing well for us, but one thing for sure is that it’s way more work than we originally had envisioned. Oh man, it really was a lot of work to get the label going and to get the album out. We did everything we were supposed to do, but it was hard work and it’s still ongoing.
Metalshrine: But it is something you will continue working on?
Herman: We’ll see, you know. It’s hard to say at the moment. We just released the album and we’ll see at the end of the performance if we’re gonna sign a new deal or not. Like, in America, we’re still signed to Roadrunner and that’s our last record deal. Now we might find a new deal and might do everything ourselves again. We’ll see. It’s pretty brutal. [laughs]
“Seasons”, the new video from British epic power metallers DRAGONFORCE, can be seen below. The song comes off the band’s new album, “The Power Within”, which sold 5,800 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 74 on The Billboard 200 chart.
DRAGONFORCE‘s recent North American headlining tour marked the band’s first trek with new singer Marc Hudson, who also makes his recorded debut on “The Power Within”.
“The Power Within” was released in the U.K. on April 16 via the band’s own Electric Generation Recordings, distributed by Essential Music.
Guitarist Herman Li recently stated about “The Power Within”, “The last two years have been the most fun we ever had making an album. Through writing, jamming and touring together, we have built this incredible energy and it has been fully captured on the new album.
“This time around we’ve really brought our metal side to the surface and made some of the best music of our career. From the fastest song we’ve ever recorded ['Fallen World'] to the slower songs, and some things you would never expect from us, this is by far the most diverse DRAGONFORCE album yet.”
Li added, “This is an exciting new era for DRAGONFORCE with Marc joining the band, so we figured this was an ideal time to take full control of our own destiny and establish our own record label for Europe. It’s all hands on deck running it, but a great buzz!”
DRAGONFORCE, HUNTRESS and KISSIN’ DYNAMITE will join forces for a European tour in October/November.
Commented HUNTRESS: “HUNTRESS is honored to join our friends DRAGONFORCE on tour once again. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to travel through Europe, performing our entire album, ‘Spell Eater’, for those who’ve had faith in us from the start. Spread it, shred it, behead it!”
The dates are as follows:
Oct. 09 – Tilburg, Netherlands – 013
Oct. 10 – Antwerp, Belgium – Trix Ball
Oct. 12 – Hannover, Germany – Capitol
Oct. 13 – Cologne, Germany – Live Music Hall
Oct. 14 – Copenhagen, Denmark – Amanger Bio
Oct. 15 – Oslo, Norway – Rockefeller
Oct. 16 – Stockholm, Sweden – Tyrol
Oct. 18 – Seinajoki, Finland – Rymikorjaamo
Oct. 19 – Helsinki, Finland – Nosturi
Oct. 22 – Gothenburg, Sweden – Brewhouse
Oct. 23 – Arhus, Denmark – Train
Oct. 24 – Hamburg, Germany – Markthalle
Oct. 30 – Munich, Germany – Backstage
Oct. 31 – Berlin, Germany – Postbahnhof
Nov. 01 – Dresden, Germany – Reithalle
Nov. 02 – Erfurt, Germany – HsD
Nov. 03 – Bochum, Germany – Zeche
Nov. 05 – Frankfurt, Germany – Batschkapp
Nov. 06 – Vienna, Austria – Szene
Nov. 07 – Zurich, Switzerland – Komplex
Nov. 09 – Florence, Italy – Viper Theatre
Nov. 10 – Treviso, Italy – New Age Club
Nov. 11 – Milano, Italy – Alcatraz
Nov. 12 – Solothurn, Switzerland – Kofmehl
Nov. 15 – Barcelona, Spain – Salamandra 1
Nov. 16 – Lisbon, Portugal – Cine-Teatro de Corroios
Nov. 17 – Madrid, Spain – Sala Arena
Nov. 18 – Bilbao, Spain – Rock Star Live
Nov. 21 – Bordeaux, France – Rock School Barbey
Nov. 22 – Paris, France – La Cigale
Nov. 23 – Strasbourg, France – La Laiterie
Nov. 24 – Lille, France – Le Splendid
Nov. 26 – Amsterdam, Netherlands – Melkweg Max
DragonForce‘s two guitarists, Sam Totman and Herman Li, recently filmed a “rig rundown” video for Premier Guitar, showing off all the guitars they play on stage, as well as the contents of their racks, pedals, and all the rest. Pay special attention to the seven-string guitars they use on “Fallen World,” from the latest album The Power Within, and the presence of an acoustic guitar(!).
ALESTORM will join Dragonforce on a string of dates in the UK and Ireland kicking off in Dublin on September 25, 2012.
They’ll be joined by The Defiled and Cavorts.
The dates are as follows:
September 25 – Dublin, Academy
September 27 – Belfast, Mandela Hall
September 28 – Glasgow, ABC
September 29 – Newcastle, Academy
September 30 – Wolverhampton, Wulfren Hall
October 1 – Bristol, Academy
October 3 – Nottingham, Rock City
October 4 – Norwich, UEA
October 5 – Manchester, Academy
October 6 – London, Shepherd’s Bush Empire
October 7 – Portsmouth, Pyramids
