Through the Fire and Flames
Encyclopedia
"Through the Fire and Flames" is a song by English power metal
band DragonForce
. The song is acclaimed as the most successful song by the band. The song is a single as well as the opening track from DragonForce's third album, Inhuman Rampage
, and features 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
. The song has appeared on two compilation albums.
"Through the Fire and Flames" has also appeared in several video games. It is considered one of the most difficult songs to appear in the Guitar Hero rhythm game series, first appearing as an unlockable bonus song in Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
, then again with full band support in the main setlist of Guitar Hero: Smash Hits. It is also one of the most popular songs used by Audiosurf
players, is a playable song in Konami's band session arcade games, GuitarFreaks
and DrumMania
V6, and part of the soundtrack for Brütal Legend
. The song was also made available for download for Rock Band 3
.
broke one of his guitar strings. Despite this, the band decided to keep this recording and left it on the final album version.
During the guitar solos, the camera focuses on Herman Li
and Sam Totman
, with an inset shot of whoever is currently playing. During Herman Li's solos, Totman stands to Herman's left drinking. At the start of the solo, a Pac-Man
sound is played by Herman, after which the whammy bar that was used to make this sound is thrown in the air.
The music video circulated through YouTube
and various music video channels, including MTV2
, and was shown on monitor screens during the band's performances at Ozzfest
2006.
as a playable bonus track in Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
. The song is unlocked and played automatically during the credits after the player finishes the game on any difficulty level. Several reviews at the time of the game's release listed the song as the most difficult in the Guitar Hero series, a title supported by Guinness World Records
. The song was also listed as #4 on GameInformer's "Top Ten Villains of '07" list. When challenging the song on the Expert difficulty level (the highest level in the game), the loading screen for the Wii and PlayStation 2 versions of the game will display the message "Good Luck", while completing the song on Expert difficulty on the Xbox 360 earns "The Inhuman achievement," a reference to the title of the DragonForce album.
Following the inclusion of "Through the Fire and Flames" in Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, sales of DragonForce CDs increased in one week by 126%. Digital sales of the song, recorded by Nielsen SoundScan
, increased from 2,000 per week to 10,000 per week almost immediately after the game's release, and almost reached 40,000 per week by the end of 2007.
The song was also included in the main setlist of Guitar Hero: Smash Hits, which featured popular songs from previous games in the series and updated them with support for the full band introduced by Guitar Hero World Tour
and the "Expert+" introduced in Guitar Hero: Metallica
.
Power metal
Power metal is a style of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. The term refers to two different but related styles: the first pioneered and largely practiced in North America with a harder sound similar to speed metal, and a...
band DragonForce
DragonForce
DragonForce are an English power metal band from London. Formed in 1999, the group is known for its long and fast guitar solos, fantasy-based lyrics, and electronic sounds in their music to add to their retro video game-influenced sound. Guitarists Herman Li and Sam Totman are the only two...
. The song is acclaimed as the most successful song by the band. The song is a single as well as the opening track from DragonForce's third album, Inhuman Rampage
Inhuman Rampage
-Personnel:DragonForce*ZP Theart – lead vocals, backing vocals*Herman Li – lead guitar, backing vocals, mixing, engineering, artwork*Sam Totman – rhythm guitar, backing vocals, mixing*Vadim Pruzhanov – keyboards, piano, backing vocals, mixing...
, and features rapid twin guitar solos by Herman Li
Herman Li
Herman Li is a British Chinese musician, best known as a guitarist for the power metal band DragonForce.-Playing style:Li draws influences from rock, all sub-genres of metal as well as video game music and often mimics sounds from popular retro games from the late 80s, early-90s arcade, and PC games...
and Sam Totman
Sam Totman
Ian Samuel "Sam" Totman is a guitarist and main songwriter for the power metal band DragonForce. Totman was born in England, but moved to New Zealand at an early age...
.
The song peaked at #86 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
and #61 on the Canadian Hot 100
Canadian Hot 100
The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007...
. The song has appeared on two compilation albums.
"Through the Fire and Flames" has also appeared in several video games. It is considered one of the most difficult songs to appear in the Guitar Hero rhythm game series, first appearing as an unlockable bonus song in Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock is a music video game, the third main installment in the Guitar Hero series, and the fourth title overall...
, then again with full band support in the main setlist of Guitar Hero: Smash Hits. It is also one of the most popular songs used by Audiosurf
Audiosurf
Audiosurf is a puzzle/rhythm hybrid game created by Invisible Handlebar, a personal company created by Dylan Fitterer. Its track-like stages visually mimic the music the player chooses, while the player races across several lanes collecting colored blocks that appear in sync with the music...
players, is a playable song in Konami's band session arcade games, GuitarFreaks
GuitarFreaks
is a music video game series produced by Konami. The player uses a controller to simulate the playing of an electric guitar. The game consists of music predominantly from rock and roll and J-Pop genres, and is now in its 19th version, GuitarFreaks V8, which was released in March 28, 2011...
and DrumMania
DrumMania
is a music video game series produced by Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc., where colored notes travel down the screen which correspond with color coded parts of an electronic drum set...
V6, and part of the soundtrack for Brütal Legend
Brütal Legend
Brütal Legend is an action-adventure/real-time strategy game created by Double Fine Productions and published by Electronic Arts for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The game was released during October 2009 in North America and Europe...
. The song was also made available for download for Rock Band 3
Rock Band 3
Rock Band 3 is a music video game, developed by Harmonix Music Systems. The game was initially published and distributed by MTV Games and Electronic Arts, respectively, with Mad Catz taking over both roles a year later. It is the third main game in the Rock Band series...
.
Composing and recording
During the recording of the song, guitarist Herman LiHerman Li
Herman Li is a British Chinese musician, best known as a guitarist for the power metal band DragonForce.-Playing style:Li draws influences from rock, all sub-genres of metal as well as video game music and often mimics sounds from popular retro games from the late 80s, early-90s arcade, and PC games...
broke one of his guitar strings. Despite this, the band decided to keep this recording and left it on the final album version.
Music video
The track was used in the first music video by DragonForce. For the video, a shortened version of the song was used, lasting just over five minutes.During the guitar solos, the camera focuses on Herman Li
Herman Li
Herman Li is a British Chinese musician, best known as a guitarist for the power metal band DragonForce.-Playing style:Li draws influences from rock, all sub-genres of metal as well as video game music and often mimics sounds from popular retro games from the late 80s, early-90s arcade, and PC games...
and Sam Totman
Sam Totman
Ian Samuel "Sam" Totman is a guitarist and main songwriter for the power metal band DragonForce. Totman was born in England, but moved to New Zealand at an early age...
, with an inset shot of whoever is currently playing. During Herman Li's solos, Totman stands to Herman's left drinking. At the start of the solo, a Pac-Man
Pac-Man
is an arcade game developed by Namco and licensed for distribution in the United States by Midway, first released in Japan on May 22, 1980. Immensely popular from its original release to the present day, Pac-Man is considered one of the classics of the medium, virtually synonymous with video games,...
sound is played by Herman, after which the whammy bar that was used to make this sound is thrown in the air.
The music video circulated through YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
and various music video channels, including MTV2
MTV2
MTV2 is a cable network that is widely available in the United States on digital cable and satellite television, and is progressively being added to analogue cable lineups across the nation...
, and was shown on monitor screens during the band's performances at Ozzfest
Ozzfest
Ozzfest is an annual festival tour of the United States featuring performances by many heavy metal and hard rock musical groups. It was founded by Ozzy Osbourne and his wife Sharon Osbourne, both of whom also organize each yearly tour with their son Jack Osbourne...
2006.
Compilation appearances
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 April 11, 2006. The full version of the song appears on Salvation, Vol. 1, released on October 23, 2007.Guitar Hero series
"Through the Fire and Flames" first appeared in the Guitar Hero series of rhythm video gamesRhythm game
Rhythm game or rhythm action is a genre of music-themed action video game that challenges a player's sense of rhythm. Games in the genre typically focus on dance or the simulated performance of musical instruments, and require players to press buttons in a sequence dictated on the screen...
as a playable bonus track in Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock is a music video game, the third main installment in the Guitar Hero series, and the fourth title overall...
. The song is unlocked and played automatically during the credits after the player finishes the game on any difficulty level. Several reviews at the time of the game's release listed the song as the most difficult in the Guitar Hero series, a title supported by Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...
. The song was also listed as #4 on GameInformer's "Top Ten Villains of '07" list. When challenging the song on the Expert difficulty level (the highest level in the game), the loading screen for the Wii and PlayStation 2 versions of the game will display the message "Good Luck", while completing the song on Expert difficulty on the Xbox 360 earns "The Inhuman achievement," a reference to the title of the DragonForce album.
Following the inclusion of "Through the Fire and Flames" in Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, sales of DragonForce CDs increased in one week by 126%. Digital sales of the song, recorded by Nielsen SoundScan
Nielsen SoundScan
Nielsen SoundScan is an information and sales tracking system created by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett. Soundscan is the official method of tracking sales of music and music video products throughout the United States and Canada...
, increased from 2,000 per week to 10,000 per week almost immediately after the game's release, and almost reached 40,000 per week by the end of 2007.
The song was also included in the main setlist of Guitar Hero: Smash Hits, which featured popular songs from previous games in the series and updated them with support for the full band introduced by Guitar Hero World Tour
Guitar Hero World Tour
Guitar Hero World Tour is a music video game developed by Neversoft and published by RedOctane and Activision. It is the fourth main entry in the Guitar Hero series...
and the "Expert+" introduced in Guitar Hero: Metallica
Guitar Hero: Metallica
Guitar Hero: Metallica is a music video game developed by Neversoft and distributed by Activision. The game was released in North America on the PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360 on March 29, 2009 and on PlayStation 2 on April 14, 2009, with a European release in May 2009...
.
Other appearances
"Through the Fire and Flames" has also appeared in the following video games:- AudiosurfAudiosurfAudiosurf is a puzzle/rhythm hybrid game created by Invisible Handlebar, a personal company created by Dylan Fitterer. Its track-like stages visually mimic the music the player chooses, while the player races across several lanes collecting colored blocks that appear in sync with the music...
, where the song is a playable track.Most Played Songs
1 12 - still alive: jonathan coulton and glados
2 audiosurf overture: pedro macedo camacho
3 through the fire and flames: dragonforce }} - DrumMania V6DrumManiais a music video game series produced by Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc., where colored notes travel down the screen which correspond with color coded parts of an electronic drum set...
and GuitarFreaks V6GuitarFreaksis a music video game series produced by Konami. The player uses a controller to simulate the playing of an electric guitar. The game consists of music predominantly from rock and roll and J-Pop genres, and is now in its 19th version, GuitarFreaks V8, which was released in March 28, 2011...
, where the song is a playable track. - Brütal LegendBrütal LegendBrütal Legend is an action-adventure/real-time strategy game created by Double Fine Productions and published by Electronic Arts for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The game was released during October 2009 in North America and Europe...
, as the soundtrack to a key scene. - Rock Band 3Rock Band 3Rock Band 3 is a music video game, developed by Harmonix Music Systems. The game was initially published and distributed by MTV Games and Electronic Arts, respectively, with Mad Catz taking over both roles a year later. It is the third main game in the Rock Band series...
, as downloadable content for the week of March 29, 2011.