"Through the Fire and Flames" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | ||||
Single by DragonForce | ||||
from the album Inhuman Rampage | ||||
Released | 3 August 2006 | |||
Recorded | 2005 | |||
Genre | Power metal, speed metal | |||
Length |
| |||
Label |
| |||
Songwriter(s) | Sam Totman, ZP Theart | |||
Producer(s) | Sam Totman, Herman Li, Vadim Pruzhanov | |||
DragonForce singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Music video | ||||
Through the Fire and Flames on YouTube |
"Through the Fire and Flames", often abbreviated as TTFAF, is a song by British power metal band DragonForce. The song is acclaimed as the most successful song by the band. The song was the lead single and opening track from DragonForce's third album, Inhuman Rampage . It is known primarily for its rapid twin guitar solos by Herman Li and Sam Totman.
The song peaked at #86 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #61 on the Canadian Hot 100 in 2008, making it the band's only single to reach either chart. [1] It also enjoyed briefly renewed popularity in March 2015 when a cover version (Tina S.) uploaded to YouTube became popular, sending the song to number 13 on the Rock Songs chart. It has sold 1.1 million copies in the United States alone and has been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. [2] [3]
While the song had appeared as a background track in several video games, the inclusion of a playable version of "Through the Fire and Flames" in the rhythm game Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock as one of the most difficult songs in the game helped to raise the popularity of the song, and it has appeared in numerous rhythm games since.
This song is written in the key of C minor (but in standard E tuning), and like most other DragonForce songs it is written in a fast tempo of 200 beats per minute with a common time signature (170bpm in the first half of the guitar solo). Near the end of the recording, guitarist Herman Li broke one of his guitar strings. [4] Despite this, the band decided to keep this recording and left it on the final album version. [4]
The track was used in the first music video by DragonForce. For the video, a shortened version of the song was used, lasting only five minutes.
The simple video primarily shows the band performing the song in a dark room illuminated by amber lights. After the rapid intro riff, guitarist Herman Li holds onto his Ibanez S series guitar with just the whammy bar. During the guitar solos, the camera focuses on Li and Sam Totman alone, with an inset shot of the current player's fretboard. During Li's solos, Totman stands to Li's left drinking. At the start of the solo, a Pac-Man sound is played by Li, after which he throws the whammy bar he used to make this sound into the air.
The music video circulated through YouTube and various music video channels, including MTV2, and was shown on the monitor screens during the band's performances at Ozzfest 2006.
Chart (2008–2015) | Peak position |
---|---|
Canada (Canadian Hot 100) [5] | 61 |
UK Rock & Metal (OCC) [6] | 13 |
US Billboard Hot 100 [7] | 86 |
US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs ( Billboard ) [8] | 13 |
US Mainstream Rock ( Billboard ) [9] | 34 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom (BPI) [10] | Silver | 200,000![]() |
United States (RIAA) [11] | Platinum | 1,000,000![]() |
|
The song appears on two compilation albums: The short version of the song, misnamed as "Through the Fire and the Flames", appears on MTV2 Headbanger's Ball: The Revenge, released on 11 April 2006. [12] The full version of the song appears on Salvation, Vol. 1, released on 23 October 2007. [13]
Through the Fire and Flames has also appeared in several video games, first appearing in ATV Offroad Fury Pro around the time of the song's release. In the Guitar Hero rhythm game series, the song first featured in Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock as an unlockable bonus song, and later appeared in Guitar Hero Smash Hits and Guitar Hero Live . In a 2022 interview, Li stated that the band only saw about $3,000 from royalties for the inclusion in Guitar Hero, despite the series having revenues in the hundreds of millions of dollars. [14] The song also featured in Rocksmith 2014 . [15] It is a playable song in Konami's band session arcade games GuitarFreaks and DrumMania V6, and part of the soundtrack for Brütal Legend . It is also one of the most popular songs used by Audiosurf players. [16] The song was also made available for download for Rock Band 3 on 29 March 2011 for both Basic rhythm, and PRO mode which can utilize real musical instruments.
DragonForce are a British power metal band from London, England. The band was formed in 1999 by guitarists Herman Li and Sam Totman, and are known for their long and fast guitar solos, fantasy-themed lyrics and retro video game-influenced sound. DragonForce's current lineup comprises Li, Totman, vocalist Marc Hudson, drummer Gee Anzalone and bassist Alicia Vigil. The band have been through several lineup changes throughout their career; longtime members in vocalist ZP Theart, keyboardist Vadim Pruzhanov, drummer Dave Mackintosh and bassist Frédéric Leclercq are among the former members of the band.
Sonic Firestorm is the second studio album by British power metal band DragonForce, released through Noise Records on 11 May 2004. It is the first album to feature bassist Adrian Lambert and drummer Dave Mackintosh. The reissue of this album was released on 22 February 2010, along with a remixed and remastered version of the band's first album, Valley of the Damned. The re-release also came with the bonus track "Cry of the Brave", which was a Japanese bonus track on the original release.
Valley of the Damned is the debut studio album by British power metal band DragonForce. In 2000, while the band was still known as DragonHeart, a demo of the same name was recorded and sent to Noise Records, subsequently gaining the band a deal with the label. It was then re-recorded in late 2002 and released as a full-length studio album on 25 February 2003, following the band's obtainance of the deal with Noise and change in name to DragonForce. The album was set to be remastered and released with a bonus DVD on 24 September 2007, but was subsequently delayed and eventually released on 22 February 2010, along with the re-release of the band's second album, Sonic Firestorm.
Herman Li is a Hong Kong-born British musician who is one of two lead guitarists for the power metal band DragonForce. Li has played with the band based in England since it was formed in 1999 by Li along with Sam Totman, both of whom are also the remaining original members of the band. Before DragonForce he was in the black metal band Demoniac.
Inhuman Rampage is the third studio album by British power metal band DragonForce, released first on 28 December 2005 in Japan, and 9 January 2006 elsewhere, through Victor Entertainment and Roadrunner Records, respectively. Its first single, "Through the Fire and Flames", has received rock radio and Fuse TV airplay, and has appeared as a playable track on the video games Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock and Rocksmith 2014 Edition – Remastered. It is the band's first album to feature harsh vocals, which were recorded by Demoniac vocalist Lindsay Dawson; the album is also the last to feature bassist Adrian Lambert, who left the band in 2005 and was replaced by Frédéric Leclercq before the album's release.
"Livin' on a Prayer" is a song by the American rock band Bon Jovi, and is the band's second chart-topping single from their third album Slippery When Wet. Written by Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora and Desmond Child, the single, released in late 1986, was well received at both rock and pop radio and its music video was given heavy rotation at MTV, giving the band their first No. 1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart and their second consecutive No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 hit.
"Rock of Ages" is a song by Def Leppard from their 1983 album Pyromania. When issued as a single in the United States, the song reached #16 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and #19 on the Cash Box Top 100. It also hit #1 on the Top Tracks Rock chart.
Demoniac were a heavy metal band from New Zealand formed in Wellington in 1993 by singer and bass player Lindsay Dawson, guitarist Sam Totman and Drummer Steve Francis. They later moved to London, UK. Three of the members went on to form DragonForce. Their rather unusual musical style has often been labeled as "blackened power metal".
"Operation Ground and Pound" is a song by British power metal band DragonForce. It is the fourth track of the band's third album, Inhuman Rampage. The track was the second music video to be released by the band, although as with their previous single, "Through the Fire and Flames", the song is edited to reduce the running time to around 5 minutes compared to the album version of nearly 8 minutes.
"Almost Easy" is a song by American heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold. It is the second song as well as lead single from their self-titled fourth album. The song is one of the band's most popular tracks, and has been certified Platinum by the RIAA.
The discography of DragonForce, a British power metal band, currently consists of eight studio albums, two live albums, one demo album and seven singles.
Ultra Beatdown is the fourth studio album by British power metal band DragonForce, released on 20 August 2008 in Japan through JVC and on 26 August 2008 worldwide through Roadrunner Records and Spinefarm Records. Ultra Beatdown is the last studio album to feature ZP Theart on vocals and the first one to feature Frédéric Leclercq on the bass guitar.
"Revolution Deathsquad" is a song by British power metal band DragonForce. The song was released as the third and final single from their first major label album and third album overall Inhuman Rampage. It was first released via web streaming on their official MySpace profile in late 2006. A music video for the song was never made. The single was released for download on iTunes. The song is available as a download to play on Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock alongside "Heroes of Our Time" and "Operation Ground and Pound". It is one of the band's heaviest songs, with screaming backing vocals, under a keyboard solo, a chugging, extreme-metal-oriented guitar, and a powerful, yet dark scream from vocalist ZP Theart toward the end.
"Half-Truism" is a song by the American punk rock band The Offspring. The song is featured as the opening track on the band's eighth studio album, Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace (2008), and was released as its fourth and final single on May 12, 2009. It impacted radio on the same day.
The Power Within is the fifth studio album by British power metal band DragonForce, released in April 2012. It is the first DragonForce album to feature vocalist Marc Hudson. "Cry Thunder" was released as downloadable content for Rock Band 3.
Maximum Overload is the sixth studio album by British power metal band DragonForce, which was released in Europe on 18 August 2014, and in North America the next day. Trivium vocalist Matt Heafy contributed backing vocals on three songs, including the album's first single, "The Game". The album was produced by Jens Bogren, marking the first time the band decided not to record in their own studio and with an outside producer. The album was released in three versions: standard physical or digital CD, special edition physical or digital CD, and vinyl.
"Road of Resistance" is a song by the Japanese Kawaii metal band Babymetal. The song was released worldwide as a digital single on February 1, 2015 by Toy's Factory, serving as the lead single off the international re-release of the album Babymetal, as well the opening track from Metal Resistance. The official live music video gaining over 33 million views on YouTube.
Reaching into Infinity is the seventh studio album by British power metal band DragonForce, released on 19 May 2017. It is the band's first studio album to feature drummer Gee Anzalone and the last to feature longtime keyboardist Vadim Pruzhanov.
In the Line of Fire... Larger than Live is the second live album by British power metal band DragonForce released in 2015 and recorded on 18 October 2014 at Loud Park Festival.
Extreme Power Metal is the eighth studio album by British power metal band DragonForce, released on 27 September 2019. It is the band's last studio album to feature longtime bassist Frédéric Leclercq and the first not to feature longtime keyboardist Vadim Pruzhanov, who left the band in 2018; Epica keyboardist Coen Janssen recorded keyboards for the album while the band searched for a permanent replacement. The lead single "Highway to Oblivion" was released on 30 July 2019. The band embarked on a world tour in support of the album following its release. Music videos for "Troopers of the Stars" and "Strangers" were filmed, but not released until two years later, on 27 August 2021 and 25 October 2021, respectively. In 2022, the band continued touring the album after their last tour's cancelation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On 29 November 2022, the music video for "The Last Dragonborn" was released, being the first music video with new bassist Alicia Vigil.
...at the end of the song we actually break the string. I broke the string and in the album we left it there