The latest edition to the DragonForce clan would be lead vocalist, three times removed, Marc Hudson. When I say ‘latest’, I mean since 2011. You could tell the culture shock had infected his brain when he riled up the crowd by announcing, “I’m gonna say something Australian. How’re you going, you bunch of c*nts?” He gets some lamington points for trying.
DragonForce are a power metal band who have been loitering on the scene since 1999. They have unleashed seven studio albums and toured this continent on a myriad of occasions. In 2017 they were here to fling around their latest discography, Reaching into Infinity. Herman Li is the founding guitarist, principle song writer and central driving force of the band, but Hudson has also enhanced their sound by saluting to traditional metal with his deafening tones.
They invaded the dank and dingy venue of The Basement with their power metal prowess and continued to charge up the already electrified atmosphere. Their support act was none other than Immorium. Founded in 2007, the local melodic death metal outfit belted out some tunes from their debut album Universum. They seem to favour words ending in ‘um’. The theoretician within me resonated with their lyrics, which explore philosophical ideologies with just a dash of conspiracy. Immorium are a quality act and their warm-up antics were a thrashing success.
DragonForce emerged around 10pm as the stage transformed into a foggy red-light district. There was a penetrative energy in their showmanship, and they didn’t take themselves too seriously. Herman performed cunnilingus on his guitar and it was a wholesome viewing experience for all. Frédéric Leclercq on bass and Gee Anzalone on drums, were impossibly energetic and carried the band impeccably throughout the performance. The new material was received extremely well by the crowd members. ‘Curse of the Darkness’, the opener ‘Ashes of the Dawn’, and the impressive ‘The Edge of the World’ were the most memorable and well executed songs of the evening.
