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Wednesday, February 4, 2009

DragonForce: Are These Guys Human?

Some judge humanity by deeds and heart, while others prefer a more scientific approach. Some believe it is our relationships to others that make us truly human, while some would prefer to classify us as mammals with certain traits common to others of our species. It is this latter version that I would really like to talk about here in relation to a particular band that I occasionally listen to (every time it crops up on my iPod). This band is called DragonForce.

DragonForce is classified under power metal or even better, speed metal due to their methodology of musical delivery. The metal designation simply means that their style has an emphasis on drums and guitars while the speed means they play very, very fast. But of the bands that like to play fast, these characters are about the fastest and most persistent in their neverending rapid tempos. 

If you have or know someone who has Guitar Hero III, then you have probably heard of DragonForce. They have the notorious reputation of having the most difficult song across all of the released Guitar Hero franchise, both before and after III -- a song called Through the Fire And Flames. I was actually kind of happy when I heard that DragonForce was going to have a song on the game, and only slightly bummed when I learned it was dead last in the lineup (meaning you have to finish the game to unlock it).

Well, I found out why it was dead last about as quick as everyone else did. It's insanely fast and difficult. The GH games usually have a quip of some kind before each song, and it changes at random. But if you select Through the Fire and Flames on expert, it only says "Good Luck." Consistently. Every time. 

So let's think about these guys behind the music. Are they human? I have my doubts. The drummer is a freaking metronome behind them, and I was surprised to find out there was just one guy back there pounding away because his beat was so consistent and so fast that I still have trouble believing it (but those live videos do show him going after it by himself). And the guitar players -- holy cow! I've seen them on videos as well, and the way they zip up and down those strings is unreal.

And the singer...meh. Ok, that's conceivable.

So these players, if they aren't human, what else could they be? I'm left with only two choices if they aren't aliens. They could be robots. Robots would be capable of speed and consistent, untiring rhythm such as they demonstrate. That's sort of plausible (more plausible than the idea that they exist in this realm of reality). 

The other possibility is that they're vampires. Consider that their profession takes them out at night. They are impossibly fast. They would need to retain their creativity. It makes perfect sense. Now I'm not sure on what kind of vampire they are since fiction messes with reality, and let's face it, we really don't know how dramatised the vampire element is. But if there's any truth to it, then DragonForce must be vampires. That's the only explanation for the inhuman precision in impossibly fast tempos that they play in.

Now, I don't know much about aliens, but if they could get here, maybe they took on human forms and are playing for the populace hoping to woo them into submission before a large scale global attack. I think that's as plausible as everything else, don't you?

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