ALISSA WHITE-GLUZ Explains How She Ended Up Joining DRAGONFORCE

In a new interview with Local Band Smokeout, former ARCH ENEMY singer Alissa White-Gluz was asked if her 2025 collaboration with extreme power metallers DRAGONFORCE on an alternate version of their track "Burning Heart" was what ultimately led to her joining the latter band as a full-fledged member. She responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Kind of. I think we all kind of agreed that we got a really good vibe from working together, and that the music could be really cool to combine everything that DRAGONFORCE is known for and what I'm known for, and play on our strengths. And I think we just weren't sure if we could really do it. And I think in life you're never really ready to do something; you just have to do it and then figure it out. And so we were, like, 'You know what? It's now or never. Let's just do it. Let's just jump into this and make it happen.' And so we did. And so we've been working, yeah, for a while, actually, just to get prepared to be able to perform these shows together, and also working on new music."

Regarding what the experience has been like of working on new music with DRAGONFORCE, Alissa said: "[It's been] really good. You never know... 'Cause you can practice your stuff on your own and write independently and it could be fine, but when we actually started playing together in the same room, playing properly, rehearsing, writing, working on lyrics, working on chord structures, parts, arrangements, concepts, titles and stuff like that, we worked on stuff and then we listened back and we were, like, 'This sounds really good.' I think we were... We were pretty confident, but then listening back to it, we were, like, 'Ooh, okay. We're really on to something here.' So it was great."

Alissa was also asked for an update on the health of longtime DRAGONFORCE singer Marc Hudson, who was forced to sit out the last couple of the band's festival gigs due to ongoing hearing loss and tinnitus issues. She said: "Yeah, I talk to Marc pretty frequently, actually. He's great. He's an amazing singer. His technique is so interesting to me 'cause it's so different than my technique. He sings in what appears to be a head-dominant mix, and I sing in a chest-dominant mix. But, yeah, I know that it's really insanely frustrating to try to sing when you can't hear, and tinnitus is... I mean, there's no cure for tinnitus, as far as I know. I know a lot of musicians with tinnitus, so I do hope that he starts to feel better soon. I think it's a struggle, but he's a professional and he's working through it, and he's still able to get some singing done. So I just hope that it goes away for his sake so he doesn't have to be so frustrated trying to hear himself."

On the topic of what fans can expect from the upcoming follow-up to DRAGONFORCE's ninth studio album, "Warp Speed Warriors", which came out in March 2024, Alissa said: "I wish I could [share some information about it, but] I cannot, but I can tell you that we're having a lot of fun working on it, and it's a pleasure to work with everyone in this camp. So it's a lot of fun."

Alissa also talked about DRAGONFORCE's recently announced tour celebrating the 20th anniversary of the band's monumental album "Inhuman Rampage" — the record that birthed the platinum-selling global phenomenon of "Through The Fire And Flames" and spent 23 consecutive weeks on the Billboard 200. Asked if there is a particular song from that LP that she is looking forward to performing, Alissa said: "Obviously I'm looking forward to all of it. Obviously I'm looking forward to 'Through The Fire And Flames', 'cause the room just ignites when you start that song. But interestingly, in the set that we just did for the past two shows, we included 'Storming The Burning Fields', and that one is super fun to sing. Something about that song is very satisfying to sing. So I'm glad that we started incorporating that one. And I didn't really realize that that would be a favorite. 'Fury Of The Storm' [from 2004's 'Sonic Firestorm'] is also really fun to sing. I think that there's gonna be some favorites that pop up as we go through the tour, and it's kind of hard to predict which ones they would be right now, 'cause there's so many factors that lean into that. I like to perform songs that are challenging, but also satisfying, but also that the audience likes. So it's like a fine balance. 'Cause sometimes if a song is too easy, it becomes a little boring to perform night after night, and if a song is too hard, you can't enjoy it because you're just, like, freaking out the whole time. And also, usually if it's a super-complex song, the audience might not totally grasp it, 'cause it's a live performance, a live environment where things sound crazy. So I think there's that fine balance. And I have a feeling 'Storming The Burning Fields' will probably be in the top."

DRAGONFORCE's largest North American tour in more than two decades will bring the world's fastest band to 22 cities this November and December, with support from ENSIFERUM and RHAPSODY OF FIRE. Beginning at San Diego's Observatory on Friday, November 13, dates will stretch from New York City's Palladium Times Square to Chicago's Riviera Theatre, Los Angeles's Wiltern and beyond, further marking 2026 as the start of DRAGONFORCE's biggest, boldest and most electrifying era yet.

DRAGONFORCE previewed the forthcoming tour with two festival performances at Welcome To Rockville and Sonic Temple, which were "riotously received" (Metal Hammer) and "epic" (Metal Injection). But with White-Gluz at the helm, this fall will see sets that are as exhilarating as they are technically breathtaking, filled with even more time-warping precision, spectacular set design, hits from "Inhuman Rampage" and an early taste of their impending studio album.

As the preeminent pioneers of extreme power metal, now joined by one of metal's legendary vocalists, DRAGONFORCE have welcomed tens of millions of listeners into the fold through the seismic history of "Inhuman Rampage" and their eternally joyous, adrenaline-filled music. Founded in 1999 and based between Los Angeles and London, they have rewritten the rules of heavy metal, while redefining the possibilities of their respective instruments.

Since the release of "Inhuman Rampage" and its signature anthem "Through The Fire And Flames" — the notoriously unbeatable final boss of "Guitar Hero III: Legends Of Rock" — the Grammy-nominated band have continued to blow the minds of musicians and gamers everywhere. They have been heard in "Despicable Me 4", "Fortnite Festival", "Brawl Stars", "Asphalt Legends" and beyond, and seen on the covers of dozens of magazines. They have shared stages with IRON MAIDEN, Ozzy Osbourne, SLIPKNOT, METALLICA and many more.

Photo by Travis Shinn