Strap in, power metal fanatics — the world’s fastest band just shifted into an even higher gear. DragonForce have officially announced Alissa White-Gluz as their newest member and first-ever frontwoman, uniting two of heavy music’s most formidable forces under one banner. It’s the kind of lineup move that feels less like a press release and more like a tectonic plate shift inside the metal world.

The announcement arrives alongside a brand-new music video for “Burning Heart,” giving fans their first taste of what this electrified era of DragonForce sounds like. Watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0Th1P3ef5o

White-Gluz, known for her boundary-pushing work with Arch Enemy, The Agonist, Kamelot, and her newly-launched project Blue Medusa, brings a career’s worth of ferocity and melodic range to a band that has never exactly been shy about technical extremity. With 15+ hours of recorded music, 60+ music videos, 40+ collaborations, and more than 2,000 concerts under her belt, she’s spent two decades raising the bar for vocalists across heavy music — and now she’s joining Marc Hudson on the mic for a dual-vocal attack that should make Guitar Hero veterans break a sweat just thinking about it.

“Alissa joining the band is an expansion of everything we’ve done up to this point,” guitarist Herman Li shared in the announcement. “Twenty years is a long time to do anything, let alone survive the music industry and still be so inspired to continue doing what we love. Having Alissa in the room changes everything. She doesn’t just sing, she makes all aspects of our music better. And she sounds incredible live!”

For White-Gluz, the move is a chance to flex every shade of her vocal arsenal. “I am beyond excited to be bringing such iconic music to life with these amazingly skilled musicians in such a fun and inspiring environment,” she said. “It feels great to showcase all the colors of my voice and utilize all my singing styles in technically challenging, deeply energizing, highly addictive songs.”

The timing couldn’t be more fitting. 2026 marks the 20th anniversary of Inhuman Rampage, the Platinum-selling, Billboard 200-conquering album that gave the world “Through the Fire and Flames” — the song that ended more Guitar Hero III careers than carpal tunnel ever could. DragonForce will celebrate two decades of that landmark record while writing the next chapter, with a 10th studio album already in the works and extensive touring plans set to roll out throughout the year.

The new lineup makes its live debut at Welcome To Rockville on May 9, followed by Sonic Temple on May 17, before a wider tour reveal arrives later in 2026. Founded in 1999 and based between Los Angeles and London, DragonForce — Herman Li, Sam Totman, Marc Hudson, Alissa White-Gluz, Alicia Vigil, and Gee Anzalone — have rewritten the rules of heavy metal more than once. With this lineup, they’re poised to do it again.

Press play on “Burning Heart,” turn it up to a volume your neighbors will absolutely have opinions about, and get ready: the fastest band in the world just got faster.