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{{
[[File:df_77.jpg|frame|[[Memetic Mutation|The hardest metal known]] to man.]]
|"Heart of a Dragon"}}
{{quote|"PAIN! DRAGONS! RAMPAGING! FIRE! MORE DRAGONS! FLYING! SUFFERING! [[The Runt At the End|ONE MENTALLY HANDICAPPED DRAGON THAT WAS LEFT BEHIND!]]"
▲{{quote|''Proud and so glorious''<br />
|Rexisfed, on a ''[[Guitar Hero]]'' forum}}
▲''Standing before of us''<br />
▲''Our swords will shine bright in the sky''<br />
▲''When united we come''<br />
▲''To the land of the sun''<br />
▲''With the heart of a dragon we ride''|"Heart of a Dragon"}}
▲{{quote|"PAIN! DRAGONS! RAMPAGING! FIRE! MORE DRAGONS! FLYING! SUFFERING! [[The Runt At the End|ONE MENTALLY HANDICAPPED DRAGON THAT WAS LEFT BEHIND!]]"|Rexisfed, on a ''[[Guitar Hero]]'' forum}}
▲''DragonForce'' ([[We Will Use Wiki Words in The Future|sic]]) are a British band famed for their epic fantasy lyrics and energetic, over-the-top style of extreme power metal. On the other hand, they're also quite widely hated for having songs with similar structure and writing, [[No True Scotsman|and being perceived by some as stereotyping PowerMetal as nothing more than super fast guitars, double bass drums and high pitched vocals about dragons]], as well as various false accusations that they digitally speed up their playing and the occasional [[Its Popular Now It Sucks]]. They're best known for [[That One Boss|their appearance]] in ''[[Guitar Hero]] 3''.
In March 2010, the group [[Creative Differences|parted ways]] with singer ZP Theart. The group announced an open audition via [[YouTube]] for his replacement, and after screening thousands of applicants, selected in March 2011 native Englishman Marc Hudson as his replacement. The group's first album with Hudson was released in early 2012.
In 2014, members Sam Totman and Herman Li collaborated with Japanese "Kawaii Metal" group [[BABYMETAL]] on the latter's song "Road of Resistance"; the next year BABYMETAL appeared with DragonForce at the Download Festival in England.
** ''Valley of the Damned'' (2000/2003)▼
Not to be confused with the video game ''[[Dragon Force (video game)|Dragon Force]]''.
** ''Sonic Firestorm'' (2004)▼
** ''Inhuman Rampage'' (2006)▼
** ''Ultra Beatdown'' (2008)▼
** ''Twilight Dementia'' (live album) (2010)▼
** ''The Power Within'' (2012)▼
▲* The group's current lineup consists of:
▲** Marc Hudson, of Oxford, England, on vocals.
▲** Frédéric Leclercq, French-born. Plays bass and provides harsh backing vocals.
▲** Herman "Shred" Li, guitar, born in Hong Kong. Often performs his solos [[Dramatic Wind|standing directly in front of a giant fan.]]
▲** Dave "Compact Dynamo" Mackintosh, of Glasgow, Scotland, on drums.
▲** Vadim Pruzhanov, of the Ukraine. Plays keyboards and various electronics, including a [[Theremin]], turntable, and Kaoss Pad.
▲** Sam Totman, guitarist and principal songwriter, born in England but raised in New Zealand.
Not to be confused with the [[Sega Saturn]] game ''[[Dragon Force (
▲* Former members include:
▲** ZP Theart, lead vocals, born in South Africa. [[Mr. Fanservice|Extremely charismatic]]. Note that "ZP" are not initials, but rather ''[[Awesome McCoolname|his actual first name]]''. After his departure from Dragonforce, he formed his own band, ''I AM I''.
▲** Adrian Lambert, bassist, from England.
{{discography}}
▲Not to be confused with the [[Sega Saturn]] game ''[[Dragon Force (Video Game)|Dragon Force]]'', although said game was the inspiration for their name - they're [[One of Us|self-confessed video game geeks]] (hence video game-like sound effects in their songs).
{{creatortropes}}
* [[Arc Words]]: 'Fire', 'Sword' and '[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gA9lPZSkuDE So far away]' are popular enough to inspire [[Drinking Game|drinking games]].
* [[Audience Participation Song]]: The chorus of "Heart of a Dragon", as quoted above, is a sing-along. Also, ZP usually <s>has</s> had the crowd sing along to part of "Through the Fire and Flames".
* [[
* [[Break Up Song]]: "Seasons", written by Frederic. It's about recovering in the aftermath of a particularly rough breakup.
* [[Breather Episode]]: Each of the group's albums features one [[Power Ballad]] as a counterpart to the rest of their music: "Starfire", "Dawn Over a New World", "Trail of Broken Hearts", and "A Flame For Freedom".
* [[Captain Obvious]]: "Our swords are made of steel" from "Cry Of The Brave". Yeah, that's usually what swords are made of...
* [[Cluster Bleep Bomb]]: During one of the "[http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=xS-DfETmykA#t=347s Making of The Power Within]" videos, Frederic delivers a profanity-laden rant in French after repeatedly failing at one particular section of a song.
* [[Cluster F
* [[Creative Differences]]: The band stated that ZP leaving "is due to insurmountable differences of musical opinion".
* [[Department of Redundancy Department]]: "Through the Fire and Flames", anyone?
** "In flames we'll now forever burn eternally" from "The Flame of Youth".
* [[Determinator]]: Almost every one of their songs is such from the POV of such a character.
* [[
* [[Epic Rocking]]: Most of their songs clock in at around seven minutes long and are half guitar solo. The above-mentioned "Strike of the Ninja" is noteworthy for being the group's first recorded song to run ''less'' than five minutes.
** And "Strike of the Ninja" isn't even a DragonForce song. It's originally from Sam's joke band side project, Shadow Warriors.
** They've stepped away from this a bit for ''The Power Within'', averaging about 5 minutes per song and reset their record for shortest song with ''Fallen World'', which is only 4:07.
* [[Funny Moment]]: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ywxm6zLEjFY#t=3m30s ZP just drinks coffee in front of a green screen during a guitar solo.]
* [[Fun
** And in Montreal, Quebec they had him [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_SysskWzFc do the same in Québécois French.]
* [[Glory Seeker]]
* [[Heavy Mithril]]: Lots of their songs are about sticking it to Satan and assaults on evil temples.
* [[Hot
* [[I Call It Vera]]: Vadim's keytar is named "BATMAM", after an acronym used by the band to describe Sam Totman: Bitter And Twisted Middle Aged Man.
* [[Instant Awesome, Just Add Dragons]]: Despite the name of the band, dragons are rarely mentioned in their songs.
* [[Large Ham]]: ZP Theart. Just listen to them live.
* [[Loudness War]]
* [[Lyrical Dissonance]]: There's a surprising amount of darkness and death hidden underneath all the upbeat, uplifting music - though usually offset by some [[Determinator]]-esque lines commonly apparent in their songs.
** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNcX4dFvcHs&feature=related "Once In A Lifetime"] sounds pretty uplifting, and the chorus is pretty encouraging. The verses, however...
{{quote|
''Truth is that we all die in vain.'' }}
** "Once In A Lifetime" also includes the line "Violent fury of firestorming death".
** Also extremely obvious in [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dA7uEh2jYe4 "Black Winter Night"]. While it is slightly less uplifting than many other Dragonforce songs, it is still a fairly happy-sounding song, which heavily conflicts with its lyrics:
{{quote|
''As we raise our hands to the sky''
''No more dreams''
''As the rivers run dry...'' }}
** And later in the song:
{{quote|
''Dying of sorrow...'' }}
* [[Mad Lib Metal Lyrics]]: They really take this [[Up to Eleven]].
* [[Manly Tears]]: DragonForce's songs use the words 'tears' and 'cry' within their lyrics frequently, but this has more to do with the fantastical, over-the-top and epic settings and situations they sing about than trying to pull [[Tear Jerker|Tear Jerkers]] from their audience.
* [[Multinational Team]]: Every member of the band comes from a different country, though they identify themselves as "Dragonforce from London England".
* [[One of Us]]:
* [[
* [[Power Ballad]]: [[Once an Episode|One per album]] - "Trail of Broken Hearts", "Starfire", "Dawn over a New World", and "A Flame for Freedom". Subverted in their most recent album, wherein it doesn't have a full power ballad, but instead the first portions of "Wings of Liberty" and "Last Man Stands" are power ballads.
* [[Power Metal]]: They like to call themselves "Extreme Power Metal."
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* [[Promoted Fanboy]]: Marc Hudson, who won the contest to replace ZP Theart after he left the band.
* [[Rapunzel Hair]]: [http://img45.imageshack.us/img45/2233/lc4f7f87cdff20762148f09qm1.jpg Herman Li.]
* [[Rated "M" for Manly]]: Even Chuck Norris sheds a manly tear when ''Starfire'' plays, and their themes are about war and heroes and other hypermasculine pursuits.
** Oh crap, someone, catch it and bottle it up! We need the [[Chuck Norris Facts|cure of cancer]]!
* [[Retraux]]: The beginning half-minute or so of the bonus track on ''Ultra Beatdown'', [[Fun
** As is the synth in the first verse of "Through The Fire and Flames".
* [[Rousing Speech]]: "Heroes of Our Time": "Call on us! The power in all of us! Forever more, with us! We are victorious! [[Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night|And so aliiiiiiiive!]]"
* [[Rule of Cool]]: Quite possibly the driving force behind the entire band. Why the extravagantly long guitar solos? Why is every song about warriors charging into glorious battles at the end of the world? [[Refuge in Audacity|Why]] [[Serial Escalation|not?]]
* [[Sampling]]: The theme to ''[[Double Dragon]]'' is played during the guitar solo in "Black Fire".
* [[Self
** Also, the intro to "Fields of Despair" is actually the Winning Run theme from Super Hang-On.
* [[Short Run in Peru]]: The group's albums are typically released in Japan a full week before the rest of the world gets them.
* [[Shout
** Also of interest, parts (''all'' parts, to some) of some songs very similar to others - if you've heard the chorus of Storming the Burning Fields, then Heroes of Our Time's intro will sound very familiar indeed. Also, the intro to My Spirit Will Go On is the same as Once in a Lifetime, only sped up quite a bit.
* [[Sir Swearsalot]]: ZP Theart, normally. Averted in their actual songs though.
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* [[Subdued Section]]: Quite frequently.
* [[Surprisingly Gentle Song]]: Subverted in ''Evening Star.''
* [[Three Chords and
* [[Troperiffic]]
* [[Truck
* [[Wham! Episode]]: It might fly over the heads of anyone not looking for deep messages in a [[Power Metal]] song (i.e. most normal people) , but when you look at the lyrics of ''Scars of Yesterday'', it's pretty clearly about rape.
** That's not all. ''Heartbreak Armageddon'' is about a man spiraling into depression after being divorced, and ''Reasons to Live'' is about a counselor failing to prevent suicide. Wow.
*** All of these songs are from ''Ultra Beatdown'', making it something of a [[Wham! Episode|Wham Album]]
** And from ''The Power Within'', "Give Me the Night" is about drug addiction and "Seasons" is a fairly dark [[Break Up Song]] ([[Earn Your Happy Ending|it has a hopeful ending, though]]).
* [[What Do You Mean
* [[The X of Y]]: Used in some of their song titles: "Fury of the Storm", "Soldiers of the Wasteland", "Valley of the Damned", "The Flame of Youth", "Trail of Broken Hearts", "Scars of Yesterday", etc.
* [[BFG]]: The [[Artificial Human|lady cyborg]] with [[Absolute Cleavage]] on the cover of ''Ultra Beatdown'' is holding one.{{context}} <!-- By BFG, do you mean "Big Freakin' Guitar", "Big Freakin' Gun", or one of the other meanings of this TLA? -->
* [[Deep
* [[Desolation Shot]]
* [[Dramatic Wind]]
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