When you step into a DragonForce concert, you’re signing up for more than just a metal show. It’s a full sensory experience with speed, fantasy, video game nostalgia, pyrotechnics, and crowd interaction, all wrapped up in a package that feels perfectly crafted. That’s the exact energy they brought when they rolled through Anthology in Rochester on Wednesday, September 16.
It started like every great metal night does with anticipation crackling in the air and the scent of spilled beer already seeping into the floorboards. The venue lights were dimmed just enough to make you forget the outside world. Fans shuffled in with band shirts older than some of the audience. There was this shared, quiet understanding among the crowd that everyone was about to be hurled through time, space, and speed. There was no slow intro, just a dramatic, blinding flash of light, and the unmistakable first notes of “Ashes.”
The guitars were already flying at a tempo that felt impossible. Herman Li was locked in, fingers dancing across the fretboard like his life depended on it. Every note struck like a spell being cast; precise, sharp, and unreal. From the start, fans were greeted to a whirlwind of color, noise, and motion. Crowd surfers and mosh pits formed almost immediately as the energy was dialed up to 11 from the start. It was apparent that the fans already knew what was in store, and DragonForce delivered more than expected.
The visual design leaned heavily into retro video gaming. Arcade machines, neon lights, giant screens flashing gameplay and fantasy imagery, fog, and CO2 blasts made for a wild night for fans, keeping them intrigued through all the mayhem. It was theatrical in a way that matches their musical identity, not a stripped down rock gig, but fantasy meets metal meets gamer culture. The crowd’s excitement was over the top, and the band seemed to use that to push things further.
Lead singer Marc Hudson’s vocals soared above the madness, clean and sharp. He held the crowd in the palm of his hand with the sheer force of his presence. At one point during the night Marc launched a giant inflatable chicken into the crowd, while cracking a few jokes and calling out some fans in the front row. Fans were having fun throughout, cheering, shouting, playing along with the bands antics. Between songs the band kept the mood light, thanking the fans for showing up on a weeknight, and acknowledging the insanity of their own tempo.
Fans seemed to know every word as they sang along to each song throughout the night. During the guitar solo of “Doomsday Party,” the crowd went crazy. Everyone was jumping up and down, circle pits were forming, and requests for crowd surfing were coming from the pit area. The speed and melody felt like the soundtrack to a final boss fight that you’re not sure you’ll win, and through it all, the band kept climbing with faster solos, bigger screams, more fire and chaos.
After they finished their song “A Draco Tale,” anticipation filled the air and ear piercing screams filled the venue. You could feel when it was coming. That one song that even non-fans knew from the classic video game Guitar Hero. The crowd inched forward before the first note even rang out. Then it hit. “Through The Fire and Flames” unleashed like a powerful storm. Fans were jumping so hard that the floor was shaking. Phones in the air, arms flailing, hair flying, it was beautiful madness. Fans followed along with air guitar as Herman Li unleashed the famous riff. Strangers high-fived, danced together, and jumped high in the air.
By the end of the night, no one looked the same as the they did walking in. Faces were flushed, shirts soaked, and ears ringing. The band stood shoulder to shoulder, waving like warriors who had just conquered something, and in a way, they had. DragonForce didn’t just play a show, they unleashed a world, and for nearly two hours everyone lived in it. When the house lights finally came back on it was like waking up from a dream. A ridiculous, loud, blazing dream where everything moved faster and meant more. What makes a DragonForce show special isn’t just the speed, or the technicality, or the overwhelming wall of sound, it’s the fantasy of it all, and the way they turned the venue into a battlefield, a crowd into warriors, and music into something bigger than itself.
The band gears up for for their next show in Toronto, Ontario on Thursday, September 17, followed by performances in Michigan and Kentucky.
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