DRAGONFORCE - PARIS - FEBRUARY 2020

For the promotion of their latest album "Extreme Power Metal" with a cover straight out of an arcade terminal reminiscent of 80's retro gaming visuals, Dragonforce is back on tour in Europe with many dates announced sold out like tonight's one at the Moulin Rouge machine in Paris. For this tour, Herman Li's band surrounded themselves with Athanasia and Frozen Crown. 
 

ATHANASIA

The room is already full in front of the Athanasia show. The Swedish trio does its best with its heavy and modern sound but with only one singer-guitarist the show remains static. The audience remains attentive but the lack of accuracy of the singer will soon be penalizing to really captivate the audience.
 





FROZEN CROWN

The next band comes straight from Italy - from Milan to be precise - to offer us power speed metal with a female singer. Frozen Crown has a small local fame but it remains little known in our country. The first very speedy track will very quickly put forward the two guitarists who are quite gifted rhythmically with the beautiful Thalia Bellazecca, and Frederico Mondelli who also proves to be an excellent singer and keyboardist on occasion. 





The sound is very good and the band's stage presence is well established. On her side, the singer Giada "Jade" Etro easily bewitches the audience with her charm and her accessible vocals because it is quite calm and clear without being lyrical or powerful. The audience seems delighted to discover these Italians who are playing tonight in front of a crowded hall. Square and efficient performance. 








DRAGONFORCE






After the set is finalized, the Dragonforce concert starts directly without intro; the overexcited audience is very quickly in the atmosphere they came for. The stage -finally the visuals- is just incredible, as rarely seen in this small room: a huge led screen in the background but also a gigantic dragon head (the one on the album cover) and especially on each side of the stage two huge video game arcade terminals made in his garage by Hermann Li himself. With this visual with the codes of the geek of the 80/90s, we can't do more in the theme. 
 


The set starts with 'Highway to Oblivion' from the latest album "Extreme Power Metal". The two guitarists are perched above each of the arcade pillars. Great atmosphere tonight! This concert is also the occasion to discover Frédéric Leclercq's replacement on bass, namely Alicia Vigil who seems to have quickly found her marks.
 




The rest of the group is obviously not outdone. Hermann Li delivers the faster and faster solos with his colleague Sam Totman, the second guitarist.  



It's also the birthday of frontman Marc Hudson who gratifies us with a guitar solo by playing familiar video game themes from the 80/90s. We stay in the theme: original in any case and unexpected! 
 


The set list is full of surprises and even a wink at Farming Simulator in country mode with Sam Totman dressed as a fisherman playing a banjo and inviting the two Frozen Crown guitarists. But also billboards on SEGA's Master System and so on. 



Humor at Dragonforce is part of the show. Older songs are also not forgotten like 'Valley of the Damned' in the encore. 





But you understood it's difficult to transcribe a Dragonforce concert where there's even a romantic circle pit at the request of Herman Li on Celine Dion's cover of 'My Heart Will Go On'. The concert closes with 'Through The Fire and The Flames' where we find Herman Li playing on the bar of the hall. Demented to the end in an atmosphere rarely seen at the Moulin Rouge Machine. 
 






Nothing to say, we've had some great Dragonforce tonight, who pushes the limits at each tour by playing in front of regularly sold out venues. They've definitely got it all figured out!