Welcome to the LOUDEST DOT COM ON THE PLANET! | ![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
DRAGONFORCE, VISIONS OF ATLANTIS, SEVEN SPIRES In Santa Ana, CA With Photos! By Junkman, On-Air Personality Sunday, March 13, 2022 @ 11:38 AM
To celebrate and promote their 2020 album release Extreme Power Metal, DRAGONFORCE finally returned to the concert stage here in 2022. After being shut down, like everything else the last few years, an enthusiastic DRAGONFORCE blew the roof off of The Observatory concert club in Santa Ana to kick off their tour. Previously dubbed “The Fastest Band in the World” by some due to their extreme guitar skills and high energy live shows, a sold out crowd was treated to the band at their best.
Giant arcade games, of which the band members periodically appeared on top of, a huge Dragon, Lazer lights, and confetti canons were all part of the elaborate stage show. It was like a giant arcade inside the club, with the video wall behind the band showing a constant array of old-school video games, as well as commercials for past video game consoles like Colecovision and Atari. The band even adorned plastic “Day-Glow” shaded glasses from the early 1990’s that glowed brightly when bathed in blue light.
The real show was the band itself. Based on the blazing lead guitars of Herman Li and Sam Totman, who are masters of guitar wizardry, the band was rounded out by drummer Gee Anzalone, bassist Alicia Vigil, and singer Marc Hudson. Riff after fiery riff brought the crowd to a fever pitch and a mosh pit ensued. The pace of the music of DRAGONFORCE is epic. Li and Totman are in constant motion throughout the show, slowing down only momentarily to marvel at the crowd’s reaction. Singer Hudson is like a cheerleader, eliciting fist-pumping and chanting from his beloved audience. He even brought out a large gun that shot imitation fire, pointing it at his most loyal subjects.
As for the set, the band was there to promote the Extreme Power Metal release and played five of the album's ten songs, including the opening number “Highway To Oblivion” as well as the outstanding “The Last Dragonborn”. One of my favorite DRAGONFORCE numbers, “Ashes of The Dawn” from 2017’s excellent Reaching into Infinity release, rocked the room. There were some very interesting and bizarre parts of the show as well. Such as when the band invited some local friends, guitarists Kiki Wong and Scott Carstairs, to come out and jam on a country-themed Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs song, which also featured Sam Totman, dressed in overalls, and a straw hat- on the banjo!
After a rousing “Valley of The Damned”, the band left the stage, returning for an encore of their amped-up version of the Celine Dion ballad “My Heart Will Go On” that is on Extreme Power Metal. As wacky as that may sound, they truly make it into a worthy DRAGONFORCE number, complete with soaring choruses and blindingly fast guitar arpeggios throughout. Naturally, the crowd sang along to every word. DRAGONFORCE ended their set with their first big hit, 2005’s “Through The Fire And Flames” and punctuating it with streamers flying through the air. The band members appeared onstage, grinning and exhausted, thoroughly pleased with their output and their fans were equally happy, screaming for more. DRAGONFORCE’s connection with their audience has always been solid, and their self-deprecating humor has always been part of the act.
DRAGONFORCE Set List:
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Recent Reviews |
![]() |
![]() |