[1] 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.

Their third album, Inhuman Rampage (2005), was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the British Phonographic Industry (BPI); its lead single, "Through the Fire and Flames", is their best-known song, and was featured in several video games, including Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock.

Their song "Valley of the Damned" was released as their debut single shortly after they changed their name permanently to DragonForce in 2002 (after finding out another power metal band already had the name DragonHeart).

[4] The title track, re-released in promotion of the album, is one of the best-known DragonForce songs to date and is a staple of their live performances to this day.

When Mackintosh entered the band in 2004, they began referring to their style of music as "extreme power metal" due to his fast blast beats and double bass rhythms.

DragonForce toured with Disturbed and Slipknot during the inaugural Mayhem Festival in 2008; the band then returned in autumn with the release of their fourth studio album, Ultra Beatdown.

The album's lead single, "Heroes of Our Time", was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance on 3 December 2008, eventually losing out to Metallica with their song "My Apocalypse".

They then travelled to South America to perform in Curitiba, Porto Alegre, São Paulo, Mexico City, Santiago, Buenos Aires and Bogotá from 6–14 November.

Li stated in late 2009 that DragonForce would stop touring in December and spend Christmas at home before beginning to write and record their next studio album in January.

However, due to the overwhelmingly positive feedback from fans on the Ultra Beatdown world tour, we decided to finally put some real thought into it...

His first show with DragonForce was the band's opening for Iron Maiden in August 2011, where they debuted a new song titled "Cry Thunder".

[20] Starting from late September 2012, the band embarked on a UK and Ireland tour, and were supported by The Defiled, Cavorts and Alestorm.

On 3 June 2014, DragonForce announced that they had parted ways with Mackintosh and had enlisted former Braindamage and Kill Ritual drummer Gee Anzalone.

To promote the album, the band embarked on their second world tour, beginning in Edinburgh on 17 September and ending in Brussels, Belgium, on 1 February 2015.

On 12 February, DragonForce announced that they would release their first live DVD, a recording of their performance at Loud Park Festival 2014 titled In the Line of Fire...

[30] In July 2016 DragonForce issued a statement on the health status of Marc Hudson revealing he had been signed off by doctors and was unable to perform at the Metal Days Festival in Slovenia and the Benatska!

[33] During an interview with Alto Music at the 2017 NAMM Show, Li revealed that the band were putting the "finishing touches" on their upcoming seventh album.

In a video published on his official YouTube channel, he explained he wanted to have more time for his daughter and that he had to choose between performing in all or none of the shows due to contractual limitations.

[40] On 15 October, they were announced to appear as a headlining band at Vagos Open Air in 2018, however on 20 January 2018, they issued a statement saying that they will not be attending due to "circumstances beyond their control".

[46] On 10 June 2019, after more than two years of not being involved with DragonForce, Pruzhanov posted on his Facebook page stating that he had officially left the band in May 2018.

[50][51] Terreberry eventually pulled out of the tour before playing a show due to his anxiety, and he released a video on his YouTube channel explaining his decision.

[55] In April, Li said that the band had decided to use the lockdown time to write new music for "a new album which isn't going to be out for ages", while also saying that they were considering recruiting Vigil as their next permanent bassist.

[56] While in quarantine, DragonForce have written and recorded parody songs in the style of bands like Rammstein, Amon Amarth, Blink-182, and Nightwish, along with a collaboration with Jaret Reddick from Bowling For Soup.

In March 2022, Li revealed that the band had written "a lot of music" for their next album, but were currently in search of a new record deal.

"[58][59] The band went on to re-tour their album Extreme Power Metal in North America in early 2022 with Firewind, Visions of Atlantis, and Seven Spires.

[64] Much of DragonForce's idiosyncratic style comes from the high-speed dual guitar sounds of Herman Li and Sam Totman.

By playing at a high tempo within the upper registers of their instruments, their sound becomes similar to the "bleepy" arpeggios and quick pitch-bends normally associated with chiptune, usually heard in the third generation of video game music.