Dragonforce, a British-borne band on all lips of rock music enthusiasts, is leading a resurgence of an era-defining genre: METAL.
Currently on tour supporting its latest album release, aptly named Inhuman Rampage, Dragonforce conquered the Marquee Theatre Thursday night. The band gave swarms of screaming fans a reason to remember or discover the metal that was characterized by extreme musical technicality and unparalleled showmanship.
From the first moment a flood of blue neon light swept the stage, the audience was captivated by a power stance of amazing spread-legged proportions. The sheer technical skill demonstrated by the band members was ridiculous, in a sense that it was perfect and lightning-fast for the duration of the show. Frontman ZP Theart was fully capable of owning Tempe's crowd with grating vocals in octaves that aren't heard in the pop charts. Hong Kong-born Herman Li flawlessly pawed his guitar in ways that would never be thought of in waking life. He was to guitar playing what Michael Flatley would be on a Dance Dance Revolution platform.
One lead guitar would not suffice for such an outfit. Two lead guitars much better serve the purpose of delivering non-stop noise that quakes the hairs on your arms. The scene of a Dragonforce concert was the fusion of extreme rock elements. As a shower of electronic pulses emanated from stringed instruments, bodies were tossed through the air, only to be stopped by feet planting in onlookers' skulls.
There are tales told in Dragonforce's epic tunes that by night's-end surely had the audience asking, "Where has metal been hiding?" Did it die before this generation chanced heart arrhythmia from the pounding bass beat? Once again, the public can salute the Britons for incubating musical genius within its borders. Dragonforce is pure entertainment, provided that it is cranked at high volume with a fist in the air.
Flawless. Perfection. Power. Metal.
Reach the reporter at: bradley.butterfield@asu.edu.
