DragonForce
I like music in all forms - even to a point of going out and exploring unfamiliar territory, Yet metal has always been approached with caution. Sure there have been flirtations (like Led Zeppelin, Queen and to a lesser extent Pink Floyd) but all else came across as intimidating. When I was in Primary and High School it struck me that all the tough kids listened to metal and with good reason. Indeed, it has been said, in order to describe the genre, that 'When drinking blood be sure to have it chilled or else it will curdle". That being said, as Metal attracts the types who approach their love with disturbing seriousness, insisting that the evilness of metal should remain that way (thus making the controversy of Elvis' hips in the 1950's seem tame by comparison). Why, I remember being nine years old, hearing Metallica's Nothing Else Matters for the first time and thinking: 'Who's this?! This song's absolutely fantastic!' - but since then, NEM has been looked down upon by die-hards. Coupled with the disdain the metal community have for posers, it thus isn't hard to see how a card-carrying music geek like myself can be intimidated (additionally, hearing a singer sound like he's channeling Cookie Monster doesn't really help).
Which now brings me to Dragonforce: back in 2002 my friend Al got me to listen to this mp3 he'd gotten a hold of insisting that it rocked. Reluctant at first, I eventually agreed - but what happened next was something I wasn't expecting: Thunderous music accompanied with masterfully executed guitar work, a lead singer who can actually sing and lyrics that dealt with positive and inspiring themes. This was Power Metal in all it's glory and I think I liked it. Finally, here was a metal band that actually made sense! Since then I have heard more metal bands but I owe those walls being broken down to Dragonforce. Plus I have the satisfaction of saying I got into them before Guitar Hero was even invented.
Key Album: Sonic Firestorm (2004) Ridiculous and inspiring in equal portions. Al described it as Battle music and indeed this really does work best as a soundtrack to a video game. Sure that's pretty much it but it does it's job and it does it well. What more can you ask for?
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