ZP Theart and Dragonforce part ways

[Metal_Camden]

SavaVIDude - I think you missed my point.
I saw him live with Iced Earth and thought he did a great job.
I have Priest - Live Meltdown, and he does some songs a HELL of a lot better than Halford does these days (IE - Beyond The Realms Of Death)

My point is that he keeps getting "hired" instead of trying to go out on his own.
I am sure Blaze must have gotten offers after his time in Maiden was up.
I mean, I don't know this for a fact by any means, but I would guess that some bands must have hit him up.

He made a name for himself on his own following Maiden.

Can't say the same for Ripper. I mean, Yngwie, seriously???????

i think ripper dosent really want to put the effort in to building "his own" band from the ground up, but rather an instant paycheck to sing for some other already established bands. i could be wrong LOL

just my thoughts, i love ripper, one of my favorite vocalists of all time

 

[Jasonic]

Russell Allen would never go to Dragonforce instead of continuing with Symphony X. That's absurd.

You're probably right given that SymX is about as big as Dragonforce these days.

:zombie:You seriously think Symphony X are as popular as DragonForce?

 

[Jasonic]

i think ripper dosent really want to put the effort in to building "his own" band from the ground up, but rather an instant paycheck to sing for some other already established bands. i could be wrong LOL

Yes, exactly my point indeed.
Therefore, how can you lose respect for a musician who makes it very clear they are in it for the paycheck?

 

[Metal_Camden]

Yes, exactly my point indeed.
Therefore, how can you lose respect for a musician who makes it very clear they are in it for the paycheck?

for sure, I remember i got to meet matt barlow and he was a complete dick. he looked like he wanted to hit every person that wanted to take a picture with him. I dont care if you have h1n1, if you feel that bad dont come out into public where your fans are.

 

[Metalmilitia2000]

for sure, I remember i got to meet matt barlow and he was a complete dick. he looked like he wanted to hit every person that wanted to take a picture with him. I dont care if you have h1n1, if you feel that bad dont come out into public where your fans are.

He was beyond nice to all of us, hell, the entire band was. That might be though because we took them all out to see Quantum of Solace at the theatre, haha, for a private showing.

 

[Claus / Intromental]

You're probably right given that SymX is about as big as Dragonforce these days.

Which World would that be in?

SX's highest charting album in the US is the last one (Paradise Lost) which went to #123 on Billboards chart. Dragonforce's last two discs went to #54 and #50 (it went #1 on the Heatseekers Chart), and had one of their singles go "gold" in the US.

 

[nomisofsiman]

Guitar Hero did it.

No it was not. It helped, but Ozzfest is what did it. If it wasn't for Ozzfest they never would have gotten the album sales or their name on Guitar Hero. I don't dislike DF, as I said in a previous thread in the fall, I just don't like it that of all the great power metal bands that they got picked. I just think there are much more deserving bands.

Russell Allen would never go to Dragonforce instead of continuing with Symphony X. That's absurd.

You're probably right given that SymX is about as big as Dragonforce these days.

You're nuts. Far from it. Dragonforce is pretty well known worldwide. Symphony X, while they are getting more popular are still underground. The reason I said he would never jump ship is because Russel Allen has artistic integrity.

 

[AngraRULES]

You're probably right given that SymX is about as big as Dragonforce these days.

Sure, and in that same whacky world, Glenn allowed videotaping at ProgPower, booked Avantasia, Ayreon, Nevermore and Helloween (with Kiske on vocals).

The things we hear around here....

 

[eppst1]

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say Adaher's comment was tongue in cheek. Possibly that Allen *would* consider going into a bigger, more popular band.

 

[Stingray11214]

Sure, and in that same whacky world, Glenn allowed videotaping at ProgPower, booked Avantasia, Ayreon, Nevermore and Helloween (with Kiske on vocals).

The things we hear around here....

You also need to add Glenn allowing stage diving, also booking Ihsahn, Seraphim, Galneryus, with Dream Evil as the headliner.

 

[Rev. Clayton]

OK, so which singer from this board is going to audition? Met-Al? Rev. Clayton? Anyone?

I'm thinkin bout it...but I think I'd be a bit too far of a stretch for their style. I"m entertaining the idea though...maybe If I do record a video I'll post it.

 

[adaher]

The reason I said he would never jump ship is because Russel Allen has artistic integrity.

First, how is Dragonforce lacking artistic integrity? They had a vision, they played underground, they got big, and they didn't change their sound. The music industry had to accept them on their turns. If anything, SymX is going more commercial these days. Paradise Lost was their least complex album ever. It sure sounded like they were trying to win some modern rock fans with that one.

Second, how do you explain Allen/Lande?

 

[ratanda]

I remember when I first heard Dragonforce when their first album came out I got it, and thought sounds like nothing special to me like every run through the mill power metal band.

The first one I heard was Sonic Firestorm and I liked it. I like power metal and I like blast beats. Bam.

 

[nomisofsiman]

The reason I said he would never jump ship is because Russel Allen has artistic integrity.

First, how is Dragonforce lacking artistic integrity? They had a vision, they played underground, they got big, and they didn't change their sound. The music industry had to accept them on their turns. If anything, SymX is going more commercial these days. Paradise Lost was their least complex album ever. It sure sounded like they were trying to win some modern rock fans with that one.

Second, how do you explain Allen/Lande?

Personally, while I like some DF, their songwriting isn't the best. You're right about Paradise Lost though, it was the most commercial from them, but by no means as commercial as Dragonforce is. Symphony X will bounce back though I think and the Allen/Lande thing is just a fun side project for him. That's it. I just don't see Russel Allen the type to do it just for the money, which would be about the only reason for him to jump to DF.

 

[TychoCelchu]

My favorite track on each Dragonforce album is the ballad. Weird eh? It's true though.

 

[dcowboys311]

Personally, while I like some DF, their songwriting isn't the best. You're right about Paradise Lost though, it was the most commercial from them, but by no means as commercial as Dragonforce is. Symphony X will bounce back though I think and the Allen/Lande thing is just a fun side project for him. That's it. I just don't see Russel Allen the type to do it just for the money, which would be about the only reason for him to jump to DF.

Out of curiosity...how exactly is Dragonforce's music "commercial"? Even by metal standards?

No breakdowns.
No brees.
No spinkicks.
No harsh/clean tradeoff.

 

[mad_taffer]

To me it's like this...
There were bands in the 80's that would put out records (Dokken, Skid Row) and and they would always have the fast songs (Tooth & Nail) or the macho song (Piece of Me), but I always liked the more melodic stuff. So the best tracks on the CD for me were always in the minority. For Dokken it's Unchain the Night no if's ands or buts. Off of Whitesnake's self titled I liked "Straight for the Heart" best. I loved Run Riot off of Hysteria. The point is, that is the kind of music that appealed to me. And of course I'm a huge Boston fan because of the melodies.

So when I heard a Dragonforce album, I was actually shocked that every song was "happy" or uplifting. To me it was like taking the 80's CD's with those few songs that I liked and churning out whole albums with those kinds of harmonies. Also, even though it's formula they didn't do the standard 4x4 timing. Every chorus from DF has a pre-chorus which you were hard pressed to find in any 80's stuff, but I always liked. So in short, I think that DF had some of the most catchy, amazing melodies i've ever heard. Sure the lyrics are crap, but I was continually amazed that they somehow would come up with choruses that were just different enough from each other to make them not become the AC/DC of power metal. I just think for catchy melodies and for being inventive in creating so many choruses that never veered off into "dark" territory, it was almost impossible for me to believe it could be done...yet they did it over and over somehow. So, that's why I liked them with ZP. He did at times remind me of Steve Perry when hitting really high notes, and another thing...the singing was really fast and very frequent. That's hard to do, you have to breathe sometime...most of the DF's songs he is hitting higher notes which makes it even more difficult to do. Good luck finding another singer that can do that. I saw them in Atlanta and thought he did a very good job live. By the end of the show he could still hit those high notes, how did he do that?

MT

 

[adaher]

That's the same reason I like Dragonforce. Their songwriting may not be diverse, but they write great melodies consistently. Call them the power metal version of White Lion.

 

[mad_taffer]

Without changing the subject entirely I love love love Tell Me...ok I love the entire Pride CD. I knew those guys were going to at least be successful with that album.

My fav Dragonforce songs are Revelations and Under the Winter Moonlight.

 

[nomisofsiman]

Out of curiosity...how exactly is Dragonforce's music "commercial"? Even by metal standards?

No breakdowns.
No brees.
No spinkicks.
No harsh/clean tradeoff.

Taking it the wrong way, dude. I said DF was more commercial than Symphony X. By metal standards they are. Vocal melody wise they are much more commercial, but by no means do I find them a commercial band in terms of the mainstream public.

To me it's like this...
There were bands in the 80's that would put out records (Dokken, Skid Row) and and they would always have the fast songs (Tooth & Nail) or the macho song (Piece of Me), but I always liked the more melodic stuff. So the best tracks on the CD for me were always in the minority. For Dokken it's Unchain the Night no if's ands or buts. Off of Whitesnake's self titled I liked "Straight for the Heart" best. I loved Run Riot off of Hysteria. The point is, that is the kind of music that appealed to me. And of course I'm a huge Boston fan because of the melodies.

So when I heard a Dragonforce album, I was actually shocked that every song was "happy" or uplifting. To me it was like taking the 80's CD's with those few songs that I liked and churning out whole albums with those kinds of harmonies. Also, even though it's formula they didn't do the standard 4x4 timing. Every chorus from DF has a pre-chorus which you were hard pressed to find in any 80's stuff, but I always liked. So in short, I think that DF had some of the most catchy, amazing melodies i've ever heard. Sure the lyrics are crap, but I was continually amazed that they somehow would come up with choruses that were just different enough from each other to make them not become the AC/DC of power metal. I just think for catchy melodies and for being inventive in creating so many choruses that never veered off into "dark" territory, it was almost impossible for me to believe it could be done...yet they did it over and over somehow. So, that's why I liked them with ZP. He did at times remind me of Steve Perry when hitting really high notes, and another thing...the singing was really fast and very frequent. That's hard to do, you have to breathe sometime...most of the DF's songs he is hitting higher notes which makes it even more difficult to do. Good luck finding another singer that can do that. I saw them in Atlanta and thought he did a very good job live. By the end of the show he could still hit those high notes, how did he do that?

MT

And also this.