Kicking off a mammoth UK/European tour with a relatively low-key warm up gig at the Oxford Zodiac, Dragonforce are still able to sell the place out despite limited publicity. I first heard stirs about the band not so long ago, but with their third album just out on Roadrunner Records, it looks like things could really take off for the UK power-metallers. Could they be this year’s Trivium? Who knows, but on performances like this, maybe…

Often I’ve seen bands I think should or will play larger venues, simply because they make good music that deserves to be heard by more people. Well, Dragonforce will play larger venues of this tour, and they certainly look like they belong there. On such a small stage, they seem somehow larger than life, but certainly create the illusion that the Zodiac’s a much larger arena just from their stage presence.

It’s not just the three guitarists who stand imposingly over the barrier, even keyboardist Vadim has a keyboard on guitar-style strap, allowing him to join in the posturing. Between them, they can provide both some amazingly fast technical playing, and on-stage theatrics at the same time – even if the fans down the front do make them all look like some kind of shampoo commercial!

Playing both old and new songs, the fans are lapping it up with polite enthusiasm. This isn’t the place for circle pits and such – if only because there isn’t room – frontman ZP Theart has the crowd in his hands, encouraging singing and shows of hands. Predictably power-ballad ‘Trail of Broken Hearts’ – which sounds far more convincing tonight that on record – brings out the lighters. After that, the band cut a surprise early exit, leaving the crowd somewhat bewildered and even disappointed – since the lack of support band means they’ve had barely 45 minutes music.

It turns out, however, to be a mere interlude – filled by Vadim playing a bizarre techno keyboard solo – before the band return and storm into the remaining half of their set, which if anything goes down even better, with spontaneous outbreaks of crowd-surfing and more audience interaction.

We were warned things could go wrong in the band’s first show of the year, and a few things did – they even forgot which song they were supposed to be playing in the encore – but these minor slips didn’t stop the momentum. That’s the point of warm up shows, to banish mistakes in time for the tour proper, and if this is anything to go by it’ll be amazing. By the time the band finally left the stage, in one giant group wave, they received a reception like legends, and it was fully deserved for the best gig I’ve seen in ages.

(5/5)

Check for Live Dates