DRAGONFORCE To Kick Off North American Tour At NEW ENGLAND METAL & HARDCORE FESTIVAL

British epic power metallers DRAGONFORCE will kick off their North American tour at the 14th annual New England Metal & Hardcore Festival on Saturday, April 21 at the Palladium in Worcester, Massachusetts.

DRAGONFORCE will release their fifth studio album, "The Power Within", in the U.K. on April 16 via the band's own Electric Generation Recordings, distributed by Essential Music. The ten-track monster, which will be made available in North America on April 17 through Roadrunner, is the band's first with new singer Marc Hudson in the fold.

"We are really excited to be playing the New England Metal & Hardcore Festival again, especially as it's the North American launch show for the new album," said DRAGONFORCE guitarist Sam Totman. "Anyone who hasn't had a chance to see new singer Marc Hudson in action will witness what a great singer he is! It's been a long time since we last played the festival and are looking forward to seeing old friends again and giving everyone a great show."

DRAGONFORCE guitarist Herman Li recently stated about "The Power Within", "The last two years have been the most fun we ever had making an album. Through writing, jamming and touring together, we have built this incredible energy and it has been fully captured on the new album.

"This time around we've really brought our metal side to the surface and made some of the best music of our career. From the fastest song we've ever recorded ['Fallen World'] to the slower songs, and some things you would never expect from us, this is by far the most diverse DRAGONFORCE album yet."

Li added, "This is an exciting new era for DRAGONFORCE with Marc joining the band, so we figured this was an ideal time to take full control of our own destiny and establish our own record label for Europe. It's all hands on deck running it, but a great buzz!"

"The Power Within" track listing:

01. Holding On
02. Fallen World
03. Cry Thunder
04. Give Me The Night
05. Wings of Liberty
06. Seasons
07. Heart Of The Storm
08. Die By The Sword
09. Last Man Stands
10. Seasons (acoustic version)

There will also be a digital and vinyl version featuring bonus tracks "Cry Thunder (Live Rehearsal)", "Heart of the Storm (Alternative Chorus Version)" and "Avant La Tempête (Instrumental)", plus an exclusive box set featuring:

* CD Version
* Access Code for Bonus Material plus
* DRAGONFORCE Flag,
* DF Flashlight/Bottle Opener,
* Set of 6 DF Beer Mats featuring band cartoons by bassist Frédéric Leclercq.

A small number of very lucky fans will have their first chance to hear new songs from the album at an exclusive sold-out show at London, England's 100 Club on February 16.

Performance footage of the new DRAGONFORCE songs "Fallen World" and "Cry Thunder", recorded on October 21, 2011 in New York City can be seen below.

After entries from thousands of hopefuls across the globe, DRAGONFORCE in March 2011 welcomed Hudson to the band to fill the boots left by ZP Theart, who parted ways with the group in March 2010.

Born in Oxford England, Marc was picked from the thousands of applications via a number of impressive video auditions and live performances, which left the rest of the band in no doubt that they'd found their man. Since the age of 16, Marc has been building his vocal skills gigging with bands in the U.K. underground scene, developing a powerful style with influences which include Bruce Dickinson, Michael Kiske and Sebastian Bach.

Kaaos TV conducted an interview with Li and Hudson during the the Spinefeast At Sea cruise, which which set sail on January 19 aboard the Tallink Baltic Princess from Helsinki, Finland and returned the following day. You can now watch the chat below.