"Through the Fire and Flames" | ||||
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Single by DragonForce | ||||
from the album Inhuman Rampage | ||||
Released | 3 August 2006 | |||
Recorded | 2005 | |||
Genre | Power metal, speed metal | |||
Length |
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Label |
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Songwriter(s) | Sam Totman, ZP Theart | |||
Producer(s) | Sam Totman, Herman Li, Vadim Pruzhanov | |||
DragonForce singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
Through the Fire and Flames on YouTube |
"Through the Fire and Flames" ("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]
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.
Although Frédéric Leclercq appears in the music video as the bassist, he did not play it on the studio recording of the song.
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 |
---|---|---|
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil) [10] | Gold | 30,000‡ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [11] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
United States (RIAA) [12] | Platinum | 1,000,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
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. [13] The full version of the song appears on Salvation, Vol. 1, released on 23 October 2007. [14]
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. [15] The song also featured in Rocksmith 2014 . [16] 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. [17] 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.
On a Twitch livestream, Li expressed interest in the song appearing in Fortnite Festival, going on to state that he is willing to rerecord the song for its inclusion in the game. [18]
While the song had appeared as a background track in several video games, the inclusion and notoriety 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, resulting in appearances in pop culture, such as in the Regular Show episode "No Train No Gain" and the 2024 film Despicable Me 4 .
DragonForce are a British power metal band from London. 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. The band themselves refer to their music as "extreme power metal".
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, Rock Band 3, 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.
"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 New Zealand heavy metal band, 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. Their unusual musical style has been labelled "blackened power metal". Three of the members went on to form DragonForce.
"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.
The discography of DragonForce, a British power metal band, currently consists of nine 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 was the band's last studio album to feature vocalist ZP Theart and their first to feature bassist Frédéric Leclercq.
"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.
Twilight Dementia is the first live album by British power metal band DragonForce, released in Japan on 8 September 2010, the United Kingdom on 13 September and in the United States on September 14. The album was recorded in November and December 2009 during the United Kingdom leg of the Ultra Beatdown world tour, across nineteen different shows. The album features songs from all the band's previous albums. It is the last overall release to feature ZP Theart as the lead vocalist.
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.
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"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 34 million views on YouTube.
"The Game" is a song by British power metal band DragonForce. It was released as the second single from their sixth album Maximum Overload. "The Game" mixes DragonForce's renowned power metal sound with harsh vocals and features Trivium frontman Matt Heafy as guest vocalist. At 240 BPM it is the fastest DragonForce song to date.
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.
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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 as a session member. 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.
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...at the end of the song we actually break the string. I broke the string and in the album we left it there