Dragonforce Announces 20th Anniversary Tour for Inhuman Rampage
Alissa White-Gluz left Arch Enemy, Blue Medusa was supposed to be the next chapter, and somehow — a few months later — she’s the co-lead vocalist of DragonForce. The Guitar Hero band.
DragonForce officially announced White-Gluz as their first-ever frontwoman on May 6, with her live debut at Welcome to Rockville on May 9. Today the band announced a 22-city North American fall tour celebrating the 20th anniversary of Inhuman Rampage — the record that made “Through the Fire and Flames” a cultural phenomenon and spent 23 straight weeks on the Billboard 200. In a first, the band will play Inhuman Rampage front-to-back live in full, alongside fan favorites and new material. White-Gluz shares lead duties with existing vocalist Marc Hudson. Ensiferum and Rhapsody of Fire support throughout. Tickets on sale May 29 at 10am local; artist presale code: DFIR26.
Don’t get me wrong — DragonForce is a talented band. Herman Li is a monster guitar player. But I haven’t actually put on DragonForce as a casual listen in years, and I don’t think I’m alone there. The Guitar Hero era turned them into a meme as much as a band, and that’s been a hard thing to shake.
Alissa White-Gluz changes the calculus somewhat. Her run with Arch Enemy was excellent and she commands a stage. But I can’t shake the feeling this happened on a whim. Blue Medusa — the all-female supergroup she seemed to be building toward after leaving Arch Enemy — hasn’t materialized into much yet. And now she’s the face of a 20th anniversary nostalgia tour. The pieces don’t entirely add up. Or maybe they do and I just can’t see it yet.
That said: two SoCal dates opening the run — San Diego on the 13th and House of Blues Anaheim on the 14th — and The Wiltern closing it out on December 13th. That’s a genuinely fun night out. I’ll probably end up going.
Maybe she’s been a DragonForce fan her whole life and this is exactly where she wanted to be. Either way, the tour’s happening and the dates look good.
Tour Dates — Inhuman Rampage 20th Anniversary North American Tour
- 11/13 — San Diego, CA @ The Observatory North Park
- 11/14 — Anaheim, CA @ House of Blues
- 11/15 — Phoenix, AZ @ The Van Buren
- 11/17 — Dallas, TX @ House of Blues
- 11/18 — Houston, TX @ House of Blues
- 11/20 — Lake Buena Vista, FL @ House of Blues
- 11/21 — Tampa, FL @ The Ritz Ybor
- 11/22 — Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade (Heaven)
- 11/24 — Charlotte, NC @ The Fillmore Charlotte
- 11/25 — Silver Spring, MD @ The Fillmore Silver Spring
- 11/27 — Worcester, MA @ Palladium
- 11/28 — Philadelphia, PA @ The Fillmore Philadelphia
- 11/29 — New York, NY @ Palladium Times Square
- 12/01 — Montreal, QC @ MTELUS
- 12/02 — Toronto, ON @ HISTORY
- 12/04 — Chicago, IL @ The Riviera Theatre
- 12/06 — Minneapolis, MN @ The Fillmore Minneapolis
- 12/08 — Denver, CO @ Fillmore Auditorium
- 12/09 — Salt Lake City, UT @ The Depot
- 12/11 — Sacramento, CA @ Ace of Spades
- 12/12 — Berkeley, CA @ The UC Theatre
- 12/13 — Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern
Tickets on sale May 29 at 10am local — Ticketmaster
Source: DragonForce Official