DragonForce

With a predilection for video game-inspired themes and blazingly fast-tempo solos, the British speed-metalheads of DragonForce proved a quick fit for hyperactive techno junkies who first encountered the group through unregulated online MP3 sharing back in 1999. After the initial exposure, the band’s fan base remained moderate until 2007, when the single “Through The Fire And Flames” was featured in the mega-popular Guitar Hero III and catapulted the group into the mainstream. With that success, some longtime fans worried that the group’s musical trajectory would be muddled. However, the brand-new The Power Within—the band’s first album with new singer Marc Hudson—should lay those worries to rest. The change shouldn’t ruffle the Force’s true believers, who have always been in it for the extended, entwined guitar-solo acrobatics.

Updated 04/17/2012