Dragonforce - Cry of the Brave

I don’t consider myself an avid concert-goer, but have gone out of my way to catch specific bands play.  One of the most vivid memories I have of going to a concert is the Dragonforce show that I caught in Toronto.  Screaming to a raging crowd, Dragonforce went full force with what seemed an endless stream of guitar solos and high pitched declarations.  To this day, I wear their band tee proudly.

Though not a super fan, the London-based power metal band is an outlier in my music library that has very little metal.  Still, bands like Dragonforce and the Darkness hold a certain respect from me, playing up their image and rocking out without taking themselves too seriously.  Dragonforce plays into this particularly well.  When Dragonforce takes the stage, drums pound incredibly fast under wails about epic quests across desolate wastelands and clashing steel on an honorable battlefield.  With different members coming in and out, the band’s through-lines are the two guitar solo specialists Herman Li and Sam Totman that back and forth with incredible skill.  The result is a blood pumping rock session in the tone of a 12 year old boy who just watched the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Though Dragonforce hit great success with their song ‘Through the Fire and the Flames’ after it hit Guitar Hero 3, I find that I queue up bonus track ‘Cry of the Brave’ first.  Much like the rest of Dragonforce’s music, both songs are hard hitting and solo-laden battle ballads but I feel ‘Cry of the Brave’ plays to the fantasy element better.