The Strange History of Dragonforce (”the Guitar Hero band”)

[@ThePunkRockMBA]

Try Rocket Money for free: rocketmoney.com/punkrock #RocketMoney #personalfinance

[@througtonsheirs_doctorwhol5914]

yeaH THEY got a new record out last month march 2024, and Marc Hudson released a solo CD in the past 5-6 months

[@dredzik]

Is it that each band has a strange history, or do you not understand the world too much?

[@JuanManuelEslavaGordillo]

Fun fact: power metal is somewhat popular in Latin America. Bands like Hammerfall, Rhapsody, Helloween and Sonata Arctica have even played in my city (Cali, Colombia) which rarely gets international shows.

[@througtonsheirs_doctorwhol5914]

in latin america, Angra, Turisas and tons of other power metal band have been ther esince early 1990s so yeah we know : you even have the BET singer of power metal, the singer of HiBRiA and now he is also in ETERNITY'S END

[@chrisnorman1902]

I suppose because power metal bands sing about historical type things, and Latin is a historical language

[@My_Naginta]

A history of Helloween would be dope

[@througtonsheirs_doctorwhol5914]

@@chrisnorman1902 latin is very melodic, goes well with power metlal, no wonder some of europe's biggest bands are latin, like Mago de Oz.. the Rhapsody songs in italian are genius

[@TheAndostro]

one of the reasons is Angra and ofc latin people love metal and are full of energy

[@Jimmy-Mc]

I'm seeing them twice this week. Discovering Dragonforce through Guitar Hero had a big impact on my taste in music.

[@christiandauz3742]

Same with Korn and Rise Against

[@RunT0TheHillz]

i do not envy your ears, but i'm glad you've got something you enjoy.

[@chuckbilly-zg1ob]

Alexi Laiho and Children of Bodom! I would enjoy a video on them.

[@Tryptick]

Yes absolutely. I can't believe it hasn't been done yet. That guy is a legend

[@mfsoab]

Absolutely agree! One of my all time favorite bands!

[@Gremlack13]

I second this.

[@CoffinNachtmahr]

Yeah 👍🏽 definitely a children of bodom video PLEASE

[@La_br00tal_mija]

RIP Alexi😢

[@__-be1gk]

These guys singlehandedly defined the public perception of power metal. Everyone equates power metal with long, technical, fast shredding songs specifically because of these guys, when most power metal hasn't been like that since near its inception

[@rockydempsey94]

I cannot believe that you don't think other power metal bands have hooks. Power metal is probably the catchiest metal subgenre there is and all of the genre staples are filled with catchy guitar melodies and sing along choruses.

[@allosanthrwpos542]

Nu metal and metalcore are waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay catchier my friend. I love all these genres but it is what it is.

[@SMJSmoK]

But it's popular in in filthy Europe and not in the US, so who cares about it. /s

[@tylerlansky1186]

Well, Finn is known for his attitude towards what would be considered a "real" metal of the 70s and 80s. So I would not be surprised if he never heard a chorus from any Blind Guardian song, yet he knows that those "funny European" bands have no hooks.

[@ibfreely8952]

If anything, power metal has too many hooks

[@darrenthetuber743]

@@ibfreely8952 alot of power metal is a little too in love with its lore and it's imagery, and the music rarely feels contemporary in anyway, it is almost always in debted to the past musically and thematically

[@Surfklone]

I have an older brother who plays guitar. Hes always been a metalhead but got into Prog Rock/ Power Metal when we’re in Highschool. We shared a wall growing up. NGL it was maddening hearing him trying to learn to these complex/technical riffs like the opening to Rhapsody’s -Emerald Sword. When GH dropped a year or so later it turned up to eleven.lol.

[@ZackSeifMusic]

I'd argue Herman Li's social media presence is the main reason they are still relevant today.

[@Truedeftone]

Crazy, just saw them open for Dethklok Sunday

[@CHEWEDOUTNH]

I remember back in like 2004 I tried downloading Dragonforce but came across Dragon Heart with their album Throne of the Alliance. I loved playing that record while playing Golden Axe.

[@Tryptick]

Or watch Conan the barbarian action scenes on mute while cranking that music in the background

[@Seymour__Gamecats]

Saw em live in 2021 for the first time and they hold a spot in my Mount Rushmore of live performances. Between Hermin Li dropping the solo for TtFatF then looking at the crowd then shrugging it off and the "Fuck Detroit" chant it was a good time. They where wholesome and great fun the entire night.

[@LumbyMcGumby]

Valley of the damned is such a good album I remember my friend and I listening to that and sonic firestorm back in the day playing this weird online rpg called well of souls. When they got a track on guitar hero it blew our minds how popular the band became after that

[@cjklemonski1938]

The best live performances I've ever seen are power metal, like blind guardian, Helloween, and stratovarius

[@jahblo666]

Maaan... I thought you wouldn't mention Brutal Legend, that part is simply amazing... what a game! ❤

[@ArielTheStriker]

Power metal is actually popular pretty much everywhere but in the US.

[@xKB616]

Saw them last night at Dethklok! They are freaking awesome!

[@neighslayer768]

Dragonforce single handedly reinvigorated the US powermetal scene. Nearly 20 years after Guitar Hero III and we've now got several festivals dedicated to Power Metal.

[@givenspade]

Dragonforce was THE band that introduced me to metal. I first heard TTFAF when I was 12 funnily enough from a game on roblox (back when dmca wasn't as bad). I was instantly hooked and became a huge fan, went out and bought a guitar and gh3 which then introduced me to One by Metallica which became the band that truly made me fall in love and fully dive into metal so DragonForce and Herman Li as a guitarist will always hold a special place in my heart.

[@ptlemon1101]

Dude, you legit gotta stop acting like power metal is this super duper obscure metal subgenre that no one ever heard akin to deathcore, especially when you have AMERICANS like DIO planted the power metal seeds.

[@StuartHetzler]

yeah, i mean, there's a really strong argument that Iron Maiden is a power metal band. and they're one of the biggest metal bands in history

[@A7XdemesticPk]

@@StuartHetzler huh iron maiden is british. I agree with your point though

[@joshabreu1156]

Power Metal was we know it is different than Maiden, but there could be an argument for Dio. To me Power Metal is sped up traditional metal with a happier sound as opposed to darker sounds. That's what separates Power Metal from say, iron maiden.

[@SMJSmoK]

Also talking about power metal and not mentioning Sabaton once is wild. I guess it would shatter the narrative about a small niche genre full of people singing about wizards that nobody cares about.

[@joshabreu1156]

@@SMJSmoK to be fair, Sabaton isn't really that big in the US. Power Metal is more European

[@sandervandriel3476]

Wow this was a great trip down memory lane! I have always been more into metalcore but my highschool metal posse was big into power metal (Europe indeed..), the likes of Hammerfall, Blind Guardian, Sonata Arctica and the likes. I did join them to Dragonforce just for the event and really, really liked the show! 2nd shows I went they had a new supporting act called Sabaton that I also didnt know till that day.. times have changed since!

[@ilp8817]

They did it again in VR. My 11 year old knows DragonForce from a beat saber song called power of the saber blade.

[@TikkiNikki]

Guitar Hero helped, but I rmemeber my friends and I (mainly wannabe rockstars) were sharing the Bible of Dragonforce a d their ungodly guitar skills. Trying to imitate Herman was the competition we all had. Then guitar hero came out and we did the whole "we knew them before they were mainstram" 😂

[@PolarityMetal]

As you say near the end of the video, I got GH3 for Christmas the year it came out and literally 4 months after that I was asking my parents for a real guitar. Crazy how influential that game was

[@DucktorZom]

Please do more Power Metal videos!!

[@drewsta005]

Herman Li has a pretty cool KZbin channel. Very talented guitarist

[@AntonioGarcia-en9yf]

It would´ve been worth mentioning their song appearance in "Regular Show"

[@6sKi6z6]

I discovered Dragonforce back in 2006 through a work friend who played in a Christian metalcore band of all things. He asked if I’d heard of them and described them as “cheesy, but fun.” So I went on this new thing called KZbin and found their video for “Operation Ground and Pound.” It blew me away and I quickly went out and bought the cd. I consider myself a fair weather fan as I listen to about half of the album. I got Ultra Beatdown when it came out and like it about the same as the previous album. When ZP left, I was done. “Cry Thunder” didn’t do it for me and I haven’t really paid attention to them since.

[@ShinerCCC]

Dragonforce has always been connected to video games. They've admitted they got their name from a Sega Saturn game. When I was in high school in 2002 I was playing Stepmania Online, an open source version of Dance Dance Revolution that we played on our keyboards, and power metal music, like Kamelot and Rhapsody (not Of Fire yet), was very popular in the early rhythm game community. Fury of the Storm and My Spirit Will Go On were some of the hardest charts at the time! It was inevitable they were going to be in Guitar Hero and that game's mainstream success brought them along with it.

[@minecraftnstuff17]

I'm an acoustic guitar player player that focuses on finger picking. With that being said DragonForce is still my favorite band of all time. The melodic singing, beautiful solos, intense drums, etc I can't get enough. They have two distinctive eras with their different vocalists and I like them both. Imo their peak album was maximum overload with their new singer. I wanted to deny it but I no longer can, DragonForce is my favorite band.

[@tomleek7395]

Reading straight off Wikipedia. Respect the hustle. Nice.

[@drexelmarz7144]

Video games is not how I’ve been exposed to these guys. I remember back in ‘06 watching “Operation Ground and Pound” in a local TV show where they play metal music videos, I watched Herman Li & Sam Totman ripping up their guitars so freaking fast… I was really blown away! Started looking into their music & other bands within the power metal scene, & I never regret moving away from mainstream music.

[@SuffocateMe]

herman li has the most bizarre accent. a hybrid chinese-english accent is crazy

[@richardkinier3493]

cuz he was born and raised in Hong Kong

[@IbanezNinja]

bruce lee accent

[@TorontoTowing]

Awesome you showed Rolland coles cover he did an amazing job

[@bjhellstream]

Never been a big fan of DragonForce but have loved band like Halloween, Gamma Ray, Blind Guardian, Rage and so on since early 90s. Power metal is cheesy but also great musically.

[@mistahbeardo]

Another factor in their rise/relevance is how they embraced the memes, full on bear hug. Their quarantine KZbin series "How to ___ in 10 minutes" was a riot, they collabed with people that covered their songs (buckets the drummer, Stevie T, etc) and the collabs were anything from tiktok duets to performing on stage with the band. And people seeing niche artists and content creators get their big break because DragonForce are very community centric probably inspired it's own wave of new musicians.

[@nikokaliterna]

I wouldn't agree that power metal is not popular anywhere outside of Europe. Power metal is one of the biggest metal genres in Japan for example and power metal is also absolutely huge in South America.

[@djdrack4681]

They're solid, but I'd say that they didn't do anything different (besides embracing early internet/00s game culture), that Blind Guardian, Savatage did (arguably much better) in the 90s, and that Halloween did in the 70s/80s. People may hate it: but Dream Theatre is even worse, not embracing their niche fanbase as any of the above (incl. DF) they didn't really push the genre outside their 1st couple albums, and didn't tour nearly enough. They're C tier Powermetal at best.

[@ok-tchau]

Power metal was actually way bigger before DragonForce. During the 90's bands like Helloween, Blind Guardian, Stratovarius and Angra were powerhouses. DragonForce managed to get famous way after the power metal boom ended. Kind of what Steel Panther did with glam metal. Quality and self awareness.

[@deltamaxxhomevideo]

The world is a better place with Herman Li in it.

[@tsubakichan]

Will get to see them, Babymetal and Dethklok in a couple weeks. I anticipate a good time!

[@Wailmur]

Even though I don't really like babymetal, they are pretty good live(saw them with Sabaton and Lordi last April)

[@spfadden082711]

Dragonforce is kind of like Van Halen. You may love the vocals but the band is what makes them great.

[@MysticPredator]

Lol great timing. Going to see them and Dethklok next week

[@fajarnurcahyo221]

Yess.. i mean, what band did MV when two guitarists had guitar-battle in the middle of the song?

[@douglasdbs7139]

All wrong in the very first thing Finn said: 1) Dragonforce is not the most well-known/greatest power metal band, it is Helloween by far, like, by 1 thousand miles. 2) Dude, Power Metal isn't popular only in the US. It just happened that you were born in a place where Power Metal isn't popular. As a matter of fact, in the rest of the whole freaking world Power Metal is *at least* in the top 3 most popular metal genre, definitely in South America, Europe and Asia (just look at the headline of any Wacken, Hell Fest, or even the last Rock in Rio, lol in what universe does Finn live). Just google the headlines of the main metal festivals in the world for God's sake.

[@jamesdoescode]

Maybe within the genre Helloween are much bigger, but as someone who doesn't listen to power metal, I have no idea who Helloween are, and have known about dragonforce for ages. Notice also that dragonforce has almost double the monthly listeners of Halloween on Spotify

[@SMJSmoK]

@@jamesdoescode Helloween is one of the pioneers of the genre and it got popular in the 80's, so it's a bit of a different generation than your average Spotify listener. Actually, if they really have half the monthly listeners of Dragonforce on the platform, that's damn impressive.

[@douglasdbs7139]

@jamesdoescode Just for you to have a perspective, as per Google (I know it's not the best source but just for the perspective), Helloween sold 8 million albums while Dragonforce sold 600 k. Helloween has headlined countless Wackens, Hell fests and even a Rock in Rio (I suppose as a metal or even rock listener you heard about these festivals before), it appears in any Rolling Stones or All music top list of definitive genre-defining bands and tbh it is kind of mind blowing that you don't know Helloween but know Dragonforce, it is like knowing Blink 182 but never have heard of the Ramones or Sex Pistols (to make a parallel with punk).

[@douglasdbs7139]

@SMJSmoK Helloween having less listeners in Spotify than Dragonforce sounds weird. Dragonforce literally has like only 2 or 3 popular songs (and I've been listening to DF since their 2002 demo), while Helloween basically is to Power Metal what Metallica is to Thrash Metal, they created the genre and have several classical album. Knowing Dragonforce and not having heard of Helloween is like knowing Blink 182 and have never heard about the Ramones or Sex Pistols.

[@Braddicusfinch]

Dragonforce were my first gig and I have zero shame. They were fantastic. Kinda sad that one bad festival appearance got them deemed as "Studioforce" for a long time

[@benjammin105123]

Love Dragonforce. They are just fun.

[@tg8603]

I listened to the Metallica song that beat DF for the Grammy. I don’t know what the hell the judges were thinking choosing that drivel.

[@deabreu.tattoo]

The thing with the new vocalist is, power metal vocalists don't have a lot of personality. They all sound the same, so a replacement won't make much of a difference (sonically, at least)

[@andrewweltlich9065]

Dragonforce might be the most well known power metal band, but when I think of power metal, I think of Gloryhammer.

[@JHamsher98]

The guitar hero > DragonForce > trying to learn guitar > to being bad but obessing on people who are good pipeline is real!

[@Sykdude]

Coheed and Cambria when?

[@lucaslouzada44]

The Power Metal fanbase is anything but derived from the traditional headbangers. That explains a lot about its insertion in the heavy metal scene.

[@bamblebamble]

Claiming power metal is a tiny obscure genre of metal is wild - Americans generally love dismissing anything that isn’t popular in the US (power metal fan from New Zealand)

[@evacody1249]

I live in the USA for me it's symphonic metal, power metal, folk metal, prog metal, melodic death metal and a bit of black metal and a small bit of metalcore.

[@mdk064hernandez9]

I used to like DragonForce when I was a teen, specially when I was getting into drums.

[@Wailmur]

If you can play dragon force on drums, you're pretty good I want to say

[@pigsinspace9927]

Herman Li is the true face of Dragonforce, I didn't even know at the time that they changed vocalists

[@YoursTrulyThe1Pony]

It was all because of guitar hero I knew this band. It was till the release of the album Ultra Beatdown when I started to really listen to Dragonforce.

[@SamuelBlackMetalRider]

Power Metal is HUGE in Japan, ain’t it ?

[@OmgWtfTsuji]

Yes

[@tastefullynerdy1161]

Absolutely insanely so

[@Tacom4ster]

I cried during their cover of that Titanic song, I was high and dealing with a passing of a parent, it was cathartic

[@SMJSmoK]

sorry for your loss

[@assadi89]

Getting high to cope with loss is a trap I've fallen into way too often. I hope you're in a better place mentally now. I'm also sorry for your loss.

[@pikik100]

Just for clarity, the song is ÉMy heart will go on" by Céline Dion. it may help going back to it if you want to.

[@tiburonroano]

Their song was in Despicable Me 4!

[@bobtknob]

I remember going to see them live in about 2005/6 The place was full of plastic swords and shields, no one took it seriously, it was FANTASTIC

[@codexnecro666]

Yeah I remember those gigs, the atmosphere was awesome, especially in London

[@UKNick01]

I will also say this, they are super nice dudes. I have known Herman for years (although it has been a while now as he is living in the US). I met him at a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu class a looong time ago, I was already a big DF fan and tried not to nerd out on him too much. He couldn't have been nicer, ended up getting me into their shows, going to other bands shows, hanging out at clubs and using me as a dummy for a martial piece in Metal Hammer. Literally 0 ego with them, which clearly shows in all aspects of the band.

[@techdeth]

Wild I'm getting misty eyed thinking about dragonforce for the first time in years. My friends and I listened to them and Sonata Arctica as freshman in HS religiously, even performed Black Fire at the talent show one year!

[@Rose-From-the-Dead]

I saw Dragonforce open for Killswitch Engage before the whole guitar hero thing and im pretty sure I was one of the only people that was there to them and not Killswitch. Jaw dropping to see them play that shit live

[@AvB.83]

Same here, saw them opening for Machine Head, right between Arch Enemy and Trivium (whoever put that tour together must have been drunk af 😅)... it was hilarious. Although I'd say they did deserve their reputation for putting fun first & precision second in those days, I'll never forget the keyboarder falling over with his keyboards mid song.

[@La_br00tal_mija]

Had a similar moment of this with megadeth when they did Gigantour. It was right after Hanger18 was on GH2. The crowd went from almost capacity to 1/3 of what it was after that song… my drunk ass screaming obnoxiously about all the posers😅😅 cheers to 8 years sober cause😅😅

[@woofspider330]

So you can attest to the false rumor that their music is all sped up and they can't actually play that shit. It's pretty crazy for sure!

[@woofspider330]

​@AvB.83 I love when bands just have fun. Alestorm was jealous of Gloryhammer having epic battles and sorcery, so they decided to "try out a new bit" where one of the techs came out with a watering can strapped to his head and poured "rum" into the mouths of the players while playing the song "sadly i cant remember the song they played. Hopefuly Rum). Whether it was actually rum or just water, it was so damn funny 😂 they ended the song and claimed that their instruments were all sticky and they would not be doing that bit again.

[@leannasty]

Can't believe Herman wasn't given more credit in this video. He did most of the song writing, and his meme-worthy character is what lifted this band to its current level. Respect where it's due.

[@immortalx50]

THAT'S A HAMMER

[@Ron322]

that and when people think of Dragonforce, people think of Herman Li and no one else!

[@lewisb85]

@@Ron322 Sam is actually the main writer, he comes out with the bare bones of the song and herman fills the rest in.

[@TheCadegoodspeed45]

Sam wrote the bulk of the songs. But fred basically wrote an entire record for them.

[@horokai]

Herman Li, the memelord himself.

[@Monterey96]

“Essentially unknown in America.” I love this channel, but sometimes it feels like this dude tries so hard to pretend the 70s and 80s metal scenes didn’t happen.

[@chamaileon81]

Nightfall in Middle Earth and Keepers part 1 and 2 are masterpieces of unfathomable height. Also, an important note: most power metal bands were self-aware of their goofiness, to the point of parody, since the 80s. Take a look at Rise and Fall from Helloween or Blind Guardian's covers for Surfin' USA and Mister Sandman.

[@Hobbiiihorsah]

Exactly. I was doing my West-German army duty in 1987 and had a lot of people in my squad who were very deep into Helloween. This band never really took themselves very seriously (compared to many German indie or thrash bands at that time). Dr. Stein and its video are a great example. Their whole tongue-in-cheek attitude was later only matched by Rammstein…

[@chamaileon81]

@@Hobbiiihorsah And I almost forgot entirely Edguy with the likes of "Lavatory Love Machine", which (for the love of god) is already 20 years old. Now that I come to think of it, there isn't a single genre in metal with such levels of self-awareness as to how ridiculous and AWESOME its music is.

[@ghost_to_a_ghost]

I've been watching Herman's KZbin content for years now just because of him. He seems like a pretty cool, open-minded dude and you don't get a lot of that in metal. I'm not big on Dragon Force but they ARE undeniably talented. Anyhoo, this was unexpected! ...but I like it. 😎👊

[@wiadran]

Herman seems to be a really nice dude, the guy you want to grab some beer with.

[@DabbaRanx]

Best things they did was when Herman and Sam were "creating other bands songs in 10 minutes." That whole series is absolute gold and really amplifies how much they treat their own music and genre as an out of hand joke.

[@meowtherainbowx4163]

The best part is that it's a very high-effort joke. They pour passion into their music even though they know what they're making is absurd.

[@Mu4dD1b15]

I absolutely love them. Sam shows how good of a musician he is even when piss drunk.

[@averytherockgod9822]

EXACTLY it’s phenomenal, those streams were some of the best ones of 2021 or 2020 or whenever that was.

[@maxhalley4373]

Can someone share where that can be found? Sounds cool

[@DabbaRanx]

@@maxhalley4373 if you search "dragonforce 10 minutes" the playlist of all the videos come up. They did Rammstein, Amaranth, Amon-Amarth, Nightwish, Alestorm, Sabaton, pop-punk amongst others. They're genuinely brilliant. Sam Totman just gets more and more drunk as they go along and the songs are always brilliant. It's basically Sam doing all the work and Herman placing a one-take guitar solo in the middle of an instrumental bit

[@th3suffering]

Herman Li is a huge part of what makes this band what it is and his youtube/twitch streams id wager bring in a lot of new fans. hes just a great guy to listen to.

[@tastefullynerdy1161]

I love how Hermann was was part of one my favourite metal songs ever, Road of Resistance But, lbr, DragonForce is just amazing

[@Chloe-ei9iw]

Rocket money sounds like another annoying subscription

[@hulluporo9067]

Sorry Finn, but big catchy choruses is elementary for Power Metal.

[@meowtherainbowx4163]

You should definitely interview Herman Li. I remember him doing a cool interview with Anthony Fantano several years ago that went into some of the business/marketing side, so it would totally be within your wheelhouse.

[@Acroanidd]

I love dragonforce. My kids are getting into metal (they are 8 and 10) and when something like power of the triforce came out that really pushed them over the edge into the fun world of powermetal. Another powermetal band I really like, from Canada of all places, is Unleash the Archers.

[@christiankoll1528]

16:53 does Herman have a fan set up in his living room for blowing his hair while soloing?! Man, i love that guy!

[@NisuUuno]

Besides that one song, I think Blind Guardian and Helloween are bigger bands

[@gregorymichael9031]

I was a huge power metal nerd in 2006-2012 about haha. I'm 39 now and my tastes have changed a lot over the years, but these gusy bring me back to very happy times in college and helped get me through rough times in my life including the death of my mother. Love bands like Kamelot, Sonata Arctica, Blind Guardian and Helloween still! Out of all these bands, I think Blind Guardian and Helloween have held up the best.

[@johnh5424]

I was at Dragonforce gig a few weeks ago in the uk. There were guys in their mid 30s, like me, older metal fans, kids were there, WOMEN! It's probably the most diverse metal crowd I've been in. They killed it.

[@EricAxel36]

This video came at a great time. I have never been a fan of power metal, but I have enjoyed some DragonForce tracks in the past. I recently did a deep dive into their full discography, and I'm actually a bigger fan than I thought. Valley of the Damned, Heroes of Our Time, Black Fire, Defenders, Cry For Eternity, are all absolute bangers.

[@nicholascameron6603]

The funniest part is Through the Fire and Flames isn't even part of the regular Guitar Hero Playlist. It's unlocked 🔓 once you've hit expert rank or the end of the game. 😅

[@Ragnacide]

Nah it was at the end of the game regardless of difficulty. Blew my mind when i beat the game on medium. I never fathomed using the orange button lol

[@pompousdenial]

It’s been absolute years since I played it but don’t you beat the devil playing “the devil went down to Georgia” and once you’ve beaten him it unlocks dragonforce? What a game.

[@josegdiazperez9881]

Those first 4 albums have a special place in my heart. I honestly couldn't get into them when they changed vocalists, but I'm glad they're doing well.

[@michaelvdbgd]

Their latest album absolutely sucks tho

[@jacklynch1128]

ZP is the best. His replacement has been killing it though. Galneryus had the same thing. Prefer Yama B era, but Ono kills every song hes on.

[@TimmyTurner421]

@@michaelvdbgd not at all. Got great reviews everywhere

[@gustavoaraujo6923]

Nah he's very good, just diferent vibe from ZP

[@RetroGoldenGrahams]

Mormon theatre kids at my high school introduced me to Dragonforce (prior to Guitar Hero)... I guess it was the only 'extreme' music they were allowed to listen to. No idea how they discovered them.

[@acerimmer8338]

As an ex-Mormon, this sounds so typical yet heartwarming. 😇

[@MetalGildarts]

I mean I’m a member of the church and I been jamming to Amon Amarth since March. Seeing them in two weeks.

[@chazhartwayne6493]

Blind Guardian > Dragon Force btw. :D

[@TheCivildecay]

The punkrock MBA: " I respect this band for ...." FinnMckenty: "loser music for European virgins that rather touch a guitar than a boob" ;)

[@ViinnePorreta]

let me rant about power metal here power metal is NOT a genre inspired by the lord of the rings or any of those elements that rush to medieval themes yk? originally power metal was a natural evolution of speed metal combined with the new wave of british heavy metal or some other genres depending on some regional differences, we can see that with the pioneers of power metal being running wild and helloween, they dont talk about those things in their songs. Maybe it was on the beginning, but power metal evolved, its not that same dungeons and dragons stuff. I live in brazil and here we had a humongous surge of power metal on the 1990s - 2000s and we have bands for example, symbols, shaman, viper and the one who stood out the most, angra. These bands are power metal but they dont have those larpers characteristics. Power metal is much bigger today and we have a bunch of bands that have nothing to do with D&D. Honestly, it kinda pisses me off, bc it seems like youre just throwing everything into a big cauldron and calling it power metal. there is a power metal band called NORTHTALE that dont sing about dragons and stood out in US that you guys just called it ´´thrash metal with queensryche elements`` like wtf dude theyre nothing alike.... so, let me adress elements that structure a power metal song Power metal bands often plays with virtuous guitars, funky and agressive basslines and a lot of falsettos. Just because a band dont sing about quest through the kingdom and dragons and magic and all that stuf it doesnt mean that its not power metal ok? of course it can have those lyrics, but a lot of songs from angra for example spread uplifting kind messages dude. HERE are my recommendations for those who want to try out this even more obscure part of power metal: Brazillian bands (kinda goat ngl) Angels cry - Angra Holy land - Angra Rebirht - Angra Temple of shadows - Angra ritual - shaman Theater of fate - viper call to the end - symbols the skull collectors - hibria international bands episode - stratovarius visions - stratovarius infinite - stratovarius keeper of the seven keys pt 1 and 2 - helloween better than raw - helloween the time of the oath - helloween helloween - helloween welcome to paradise - northtale eternal flame - northtale winterheart´s guild - sonata arctica reckoning night - sonata arctica ecliptica - sonata arctica silence - sonata arctica these are albuns from POWER METAL bands that DONT sing about dragons and all that shit, may have one or two tho also i like to divide power metal in 4 subgenres power metal: angra, helloween and similars. medieval power metal: raphsody, twilight force and similars. neo power metal: beast in black, fraser edwards and similars. extreme power metal: dragonforce, ascension and similars.

[@karlisarajs]

First time getting in at zero views.

[@A_Sailors_Prayer]

475 🤩

[@eweng903]

Your viewpoint is rather American-centric. It is true that Power Metal is a sub-genre of rock and that it is dominated by European artists rather than Americans. But, in Asian nations Power Metal is also very popular, and beyond the highly talented and influential DragonForce, bands like Stratovarius have proved to be extremely popular in Japan. In fact, the last Stratovarius album (Survive) was a top ten hit album in Japan. Perhaps Power Metal is not so niche as you might think.

[@kloroformd]

My late roommate who was a fantastic guitar player went from playing some stupid complex stuff to one day practicing some Dragonforce riffs. I once called him out like 'what really, Dream Theater to Dragonforce?' and he was like "what about them?" I said "they're good but they're really cheesy" and he said "everything after 'but' doesn't matter, this is a challenge." Then he went and grabbed another Bud Ice 40oz cuz it was either that or water in our place. I appreciate Taylor Swift now. She's good. Can't say anything else.

[@wesleybush8646]

Obscure? Maybe. It depends on who you ask and how you describe it. Sam Dunne defines the subgenre in his various documentaries and includes various well-known bands like Dio and Manowar, though maybe they're the predecessors of the modern genre.

[@samueldemos958]

Sabaton Powerwolf Helloween Kamelot Avantasia they play areas all around the world, including Europe, South America, and Japan with crowds are over 10,000 people attending these are not small bands, and definitely not a small genre

[@freekout1]

im generally more into technical and melodic death metal now but dragonforce will always have a special place in my heart. i remember back in like 2011 i was 19/20, not working and with infinite free time and id just be stoned out of my mind playing wow and having all of their albums on a big loop playing in the background

[@StarsForward]

"ZP-Thirt" sounds like a Star Wars droid model.

[@williamrpetrie]

The melody on the verses of Fire & Flames always reminds me of The Thunder Rolls by Garth Brooks. Internet, see if you can make a mash up. Lol.

[@Tragic_TV]

Why isn’t this about Nu-metal?

[@ptakleo]

Finn on his main channel: very thoughful,deep-analytical guy Finn on his second channel: dragonforce and power metal are pure incel shit

[@cnilecnile6748]

Being 63 years old, powermetal was what we called Iron Maiden and Metallica back in the 80's because it was different from Hair bands, like Motley Crue and Judas Priest. I have vaugely heard of Dragonforce, but couldn't tell you who they were or what they did. I think they are BabyMetal's touring band right now, as the West Kami Band. Listening to the stuff in this video reminds me a bit of BabyMetal, which I like, especially the early stuff with Mikio Fujiota. I guess I will go back and check some of this stuff out.

[@Riyoe]

What was brought into guitarhero, was carried on onto osu, dragonforce lives on in rhythm games.

[@TehPlayground]

What?! A video that isn't about a nü-metal band!? Think of the loss in revenue, Finn!! Think of the baby! BTW, great vid as always.

[@CarnivorousMower]

There wasn't much outcry at a change of singer because DragonForce's main focus has always been the two guitar players, not the singer.

[@througtonsheirs_doctorwhol5914]

I don't agree with your conclusion. I'm a hipster, I was there in 2000 for the firtst demos when they were DragonHeart, but I cannot place them above Iron Maiden, Hwlloween, Bliuardian, the tops of power metal. Even others like Edguy can be among the best ones... popular ok, but DragonForce ain't #1power metal. Rhapsody peak era, even,m should maybe keep the title

[@lewisb85]

They arent sonta ill give them that.

[@StuartHetzler]

i've been saying it for 20 years. Sam Totman is a melodic genius. Underneath all the shred and sweep tapping are solid chords and solid melodies and that's why Dragonforce stands out

[@richardaubrecht2822]

"Never really took off outside Europe" duuuuude... Latin America and Japan love power metal. And tiny genre it is not - Power metal bands like Blind Guardian are headliners at Wacken and similar fests. It's just USA that does not like it that much, altough it has some great power metal bands.

[@SMJSmoK]

Also, Sabaton...