DragonForce announced on Wednesday that musician and YouTube personality Stevie T (Steve Terreberry) will join the band for the US leg of its upcoming world tour. DragonForce guitarist Herman Li jokingly invited Stevie T to join the band this summer, asking him to play the triangle. Stevie T responded with a video on his YouTube channel, accepting Li’s offer and playing an extended triangle solo to DragonForce’s hit “Through the Fire and Flames.” Stevie T’s ground-breaking triangle solo can be viewed at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3jXO1gbhY8
Li said “I was deeply moved when I saw Stevie T’s technical precision and finesse on the triangle and immediately invited him to join the tour. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to see the greatest triangle player ever to grace this earth.” Stevie T will also step in to play bass for the band, after the departure of bassist Frédéric Leclercq, which was also announced on the band’s website on Wednesday. Leclercq’s last show with DragonForce will be this weekend at Elb-Riot in Hamburg, Germany. Li said, “We want to thank Fred for all the musical contributions and good times over the years. As sad as we are to lose him, we are excited that he is going to continue playing the music he loves. He will always be a friend and a member of the DragonForce family.”
DragonForce’s new album, Extreme Power Metal, will be released worldwide on September 27th, 2019. Produced in Los Angeles, California by Damien Rainaud at Mix Unlimited, Extreme Power Metal was also recorded, in part, on guitarist Herman Li’s livestream channel on Twitch (www.twitch.tv/hermanli) with participation from the fans. For a first preview of the album, a video for the new single, “Highway to Oblivion”, can be viewed at: https://youtu.be/Rn5CsAs798I
DragonForce’s upcoming tour dates, featuring the greatest triangle player in the galaxy Stevie T:
w/ special guests Dance with the Dead, Starkill
Tickets – http://dragonforce.com/ + VIP – http://bit.ly/DragonForceVIP
Oct. 1 – Encore – Tucson, AZ
Oct. 2 – Sunshine Theater – Albuquerque, NM
Oct. 3 – Vinyl @ Hard Rock – Las Vegas, NV
Oct. 4 – Strummers – Fresno, CA
Oct. 5 – Cargo – Reno, NV
Oct. 6 – Hawthorne Theater – Portland, OR
Oct. 7 – The Red Room – Vancouver, BC
Oct. 8 – El Corazon – Seattle, WA
Oct. 10 – August Hall – San Francisco, CA
Oct. 11 – The Observatory – Santa Ana, CA
Oct. 12 – Ventura Theater – Ventura, CA
Oct. 13 – Megacruise – Los Angeles, CA, USA *
DragonForce Tour Dates
w/ special guests Lovebites + McRocklin & Hutch
Tickets – http://dragonforce.com/ + VIP – http://bit.ly/DragonForceVIP
Nov. 2 – Liquid Rooms – Edinburgh, UK
Nov. 3 – Welly – Hull, UK
Nov. 4 – Stylus – Leeds, UK
Nov. 5 – Academy 2 – Manchester, UK
Nov. 6 – Institute – Birmingham, UK
Nov. 8 – Forum – London, UK
Nov. 9 – The Waterfront – Norwich, UK
Nov. 11 – Engine Rooms – Southampton, UK
Nov. 12 – Tramshed – Cardiff, UK
Nov. 13 – Roadmember – Northampton, UK
Nov. 14 – Northumbria Institute – Newcastle, UK
DragonForce Tour Dates
Tickets – http://dragonforce.com/ + VIP – http://bit.ly/DragonForceVIP
Feb. 5 – 013 – Tilburg, Holland
Feb. 6 – TBC – Belgium
Feb. 7 – Le Forum – Charleville-Mezieres, France
Feb. 8 – La Laiterie – Strasbourg, France
Feb. 9 – CCO – Lyon, France
Feb. 11 – La Machine du Moulin Rouge – Paris, France
Feb. 12 – Krakatoa Club – Bordeaux, France
Feb. 13 – Metronum – Toulouse, France
Feb. 14 – L’Usine – Istres (Marseille), France
Feb. 15 – Konzertfabrick Z7 – Pratteln, Switzerland
Feb. 16 – Les Docks – Lausanne, Switzerland
*=only DragonForce
About DragonForce:
Known as the fastest band in the world, Grammy-nominated extreme power metal band DragonForce is based in London, England. Their platinum-selling record, Through the Fire and Flames, brought them international acclaim and was featured as the most-challenging song on Guitar Hero III. Their energetic and humorous live performances have won them fans on every continent.
The group is known for their long, complex and fast guitar solos performed by Herman Li and Sam Totman, who founded the band after meeting through a classified ad in 1999. Since then, the band has released seven studio albums, including Valley of the Damned (2003), Sonic Firestorm (2004), Inhuman Rampage (2006), Ultra Beatdown (2008), The Power Within (2012), Maximum Overload (2014), and Reaching into Infinity (2017). 2019 brings the next chapter in DragonForce history: Extreme Power Metal!
Regarding Extreme Power Metal, Li says, “This album again combines the best of DragonForce in an even bigger, more epic way than we have ever done before. We are so excited for fans to hear it!” Following the departure of Vadim Pruzhanov from the band last year, the keyboards of this new album was performed by Coen Janssen of symphonic metal titan Epica, bringing a new dimension into a DragonForce album. Totman says, “We worked really closely with Coen on this new album. We are so happy with what he has brought into this new album. Every fan will be so happy to hear his majestic playing!”
Drawing from a wide range of influences, the band’s sound combines the sing-a-long choruses of classic 80’s rock with triumphant, uplifting melodies and fantasy-themed power-metal-inspired lyrics. As a nod to their passion for all things video-game related, the band frequently incorporates retro game sounds and melodies into their recordings and live shows.
Following the release of Extreme Power Metal, DragonForce will begin their world tour in support of it. Li promises, “In this age, where our music is easily accessible, I am not going to waste time trying to describe the sound of our new album. I’ll let the music do the talking! However, what I can tell you is, our upcoming tour will be our biggest in a decade. We have a massive epic production and a really special surprise for VIPs. We can’t wait to see everyone out on the road!”