Yep, everyone’s ‘favourite’ power metal band, the idols of misguided fifteen year-olds everywhere, have resurfaced from the bog of eternal stench clutching a shiny new vocalist, one Marc Hudson from Oxford. The way they announced it (wordy, much?) made it seem like he was the winner of some competition, rather than the victim of some massive scam. Oh well. The aforementioned press release:
UK based metal heroes DRAGONFORCE have announced that their long search for a new vocalist is finally over. After entries from thousands of hopefuls across the globe, the band welcomes 23 year old Marc Hudson to the band to fill the boots left by ZP Theart, who parted ways with the band in March of last year.
“I’m really excited about being a part of the DragonForce family.” Says Marc. “It’s always been my dream to dedicate my life to making music. I’m going to bring all the power and emotion I can to the songs, and help make the killer new record the fans have been waiting for!”
Born in Oxford England, Marc was picked from the thousands of applications via a number of impressive video auditions and live performances, which left the rest of the band in no doubt that they’d found their man. Since the age of 16, Marc has been building his vocal skills gigging with bands in the UK underground scene, developing a powerful style with influences which include Bruce Dickinson, Michael Kiske and Sebastian Bach. Says founding member and guitarist Herman Li:
“After almost a year of searching around the globe, it’s great to be able to finally tell our fans the good news. Marc’s expressive and melodic vocals are sounding phenomenal on the new songs, adding another dimension to the DragonForce sound that I am sure all the fans will love.”
The band has been working on a new album since early 2010, recording in various studios in California, London and the South of France. The follow up to 2008’s hugely successful “Ultra Beatdown” album will be highly anticipated, with top 10 and top 20 chart positions all over the world and a Grammy Nomination in the United States setting the precedent. With Marc brought into the fold, the band is enjoying an injection of enthusiasm and hunger that sees DRAGONFORCE prepared to return more focused and determined than ever before.
“Everyone in the band is extremely excited about how the new material is shaping up.” continues Herman. “We haven’t felt this kind of energy in the band for a long time. We can’t wait to unleash the next DragonForce album later this year.”
The new album is expected to hit the shelves in September, with a full world tour to follow.
I was going to make a joke about the band having no soul and the irony of their new singer being ginger, but I honestly don’t care enough, and it’d be disrespectful to our ginger ninja bros everywhere, so I won’t. There’s a video of Hudson’s apparently impressive auditions after the jump. I honestly haven’t heard it, but that’s only partly because I’m at work right now…
[I've heard it, and it's about as generic as you could probably imagine out of power metal vocals such as these. Also, SO FAR AWAAAAAY - JR]
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