DRAGONFORCE and pop culture have always gone hand in hand — so frontman Marc Hudson‘s latest collaboration with the hit anime TV show “Dan Da Dan” is total perfection! The charismatic singer lends his voice to Hayashi in the English dub of the Netflix show, delivering an impressively commanding exorcism through the power of heavy metal music. Episode six of season two of “Dan Da Dan” — episode 18 overall — will be released on Netflix and Crunchyroll on August 7.
Hudson comments on the collaboration: “I’m beyond thrilled to announce that I had the incredible opportunity to be a voice actor in ‘Dan Da Dan’ — one of my all-time favorite anime series! I play the role of the vocalist for Hayashi in Season 2, Episode 6, and getting to perform the exorcism song as part of the character was an absolute blast.
“After making ‘Starbound Stories’, an album deeply inspired by anime, I was so happy to be invited to actually sing on an anime — it felt like everything had come full circle. This show is wild, creative, and full of heart, and it was a real privilege to be a part of it.
“As the vocalist of DRAGONFORCE, I’ve had the chance to perform on some amazing songs and albums, but this was a whole new and exciting experience. I can’t wait for everyone to see the episode!”
Last year, Hudson and his DRAGONFORCE bandmates released the “Warp Speed Warriors” album via Napalm Records. The LP stands as the legendary band’s most ambitious and innovative release to date. On it, founding guitarists Herman Li and Sam Totman, Hudson, bassist Alicia Vigil and drummer Gee Anzalone explore a wider range of varying musical styles than ever before, evolving their sound throughout the exciting musical journey while still staying true to their roots.
Hudson‘s debut solo album, the aforementioned “Starbound Stories”, came out in 2023 via Napalm Records. The LP was an outstanding musical adventure balanced between power metal, video game soundtracks, Japanese music and even pop influences, showcasing virtuosity throughout all of its grand instrumentation. For the album, Hudson again worked with ex-DRAGONFORCE bassist Frédéric Leclercq, who has since moved on as a member of thrash legends KREATOR and extreme metal supergroup SINSAENUM.
This past June, DRAGONFORCE unleashed a new official music video for an alternate version of its recent album track “Burning Heart”, featuring ARCH ENEMY frontwoman Alissa White-Gluz. Originally released as a bonus track on select editions of DRAGONFORCE‘s celebrated 2024 album “Warp Speed Warriors”, the special version supported by White-Gluz‘s distinctive vocals is now out as its own single.
Formed in 1999, DRAGONFORCE has earned their reputation as the world’s fastest band via its power metal anthems filled with spectacular guitar solos, including the iconic platinum-selling hit “Through The Fire And Flames”. Several of the songs on “Warp Speed Warriors” have already gained over a million streams on Spotify.
In May 2024, DRAGONFORCE teamed up with “Brawl Stars”, a hit multiplayer mobile game with over one billion downloads, to celebrate a brand new character entering the game with a new song, “A Draco Tale”, and music video.
DRAGONFORCE‘s platinum-selling single “Through The Fire And Flames” brought the London-based Grammy-nominated extreme power metal group international acclaim and was featured as the most challenging song on “Guitar Hero III”.
In March 2019, the “Through The Fire And Flames” music video reached a new milestone: it surpassed one hundred million views on YouTube — DRAGONFORCE‘s first music video to do so.
“Through The Fire And Flames” is the leadoff track from 2006’s “Inhuman Rampage” album, which was officially certified gold in July 2017 by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) for sales in excess of half a million copies.
Photo credit: Vincent Grundke
