Dragonforce are a band that are certainly entertaining and feel-good on record, but it’s their live shows that we need to see to truly comprehend this band. Finally the band have released a live DVD to answer all the fan’s questions – ‘can they really do that live’?
[tracklist]
1. Fury Of The Storm
2. Three Hammers
3. Tokyo Party*
4. Black Winter Night
5. Seasons
6. Sam Off Tour*
7. Fred – Life In France*
8. Tomorrow’s Kings
9. Symphony Of The Night
10. Gee’s Drums Journey*
11. Japan Show Day*
12. Cry Thunder
13. Behind The World Tour, Part 1*
14. Marc’s Inspirations*
15. Behind The World Tour, Part 2*
16. Ring Of Fire
17. Through The Fire And Flames
18. The Crew
19. Vadim Back Home*
20. Herman’s Time Off*
21. Valley Of The Damned
Extra:
1. Marc’s Tokyo Adventure
2. Fred Loves Japan
*Bonus Material
[/tracklist]
[details]
[length]1:33:32[/length]
[record_label]earMusic[/record_label]
[release_date]13th July 2015[/release_date]
[/details]
Dragonforce finally have released a long-awaited DVD to prove their worth to doubters who have said time and time again that Dragonforce cannot replicate live what they do on record. Yes, the band suffered a few misfortunes with their sound on their peak ‘Inhuman Rampage‘ tour nearly 10 years ago, but the band have exponentially developed to be one of the most entertaining and energetic live acts in metal. The band decided to record their big stage Japan show at the Loud Park Festival in Saitama last year, whilst intermittently showing the lives of the band off stage in one neat little visual package.
Bands always say that Japan is one of the best places to play live, and one can understand with the immediate impact of ‘Fury of the Storm‘ in the opening of the performance. The fans are responsive, the band are energetic and the sound is perfect – there is really little more one could ask for in a show. However when it comes to DVD’s there is always one thing that can really throw a show off, that being the camera work.
There are too many live performances filmed where the cameramen have missed important aspects of the show such as missed solos or dramatic stage flair, and then edited poorly to compensate for the fact that it was missed. This is not the case with ‘In The Line of Fire‘. Every flying solo from Herman Li and Sam Totman, every sky-high jump from keyboardist Vadim Pruzhanov, and the dramatic stage gestures of vocalist Marc Hudson.
The show is a good set list between new and old with tracks like ‘Black Winter Night‘ and ‘Seasons‘ really taking heed, along with the tracks that diversify the standard Dragonforce sound and pace such as ‘Symphony of the Night‘ and ‘Three Hammers‘. The engaging stage antics such as bassist Fred Leclerq’s actual ability to string together some decent Japanese sentences to the audience proves that the band hold Japan dear, and vice-versa.
‘In The Line of Fire‘, looks good and sounds great, and edited together almost like a musical film with the interludes that dive into each of the band member’s lives, it’s one of those live DVD’s where you can actually sit through and not realise and hour and a half. The band have certainly matured and evolved over their 16 years of existence, and finally we have a solid visual output of one of the power metal greats.
[verdict]Yes[/verdict]
[why]Finally a solid video copy to enjoy the visual feast that is Dragonforce over and over again. A great watch to see what the power metal greats get up to on and off the stage.[/why]
