Vadim Pruzhanov — born in Ukraine in 1982 — was the keyboard player of DragonForce's classic line-up, between 2001 and 2018. His seventeen years in the band cover the whole phase that made it known worldwide: Valley of the Damned (2003), Sonic Firestorm (2004), Inhuman Rampage (2006), Ultra Beatdown (2008), The Power Within (2012), Maximum Overload (2014) and Reaching into Infinity (2017). His function is one of the most characteristic in the group's sound. The keyboard in DragonForce does not lay harmonic beds: it shares solos on equal footing with the two guitars, alternating phrases at extreme speed, and deliberately uses timbres recalling video games of the 1980s and 1990s. That device, which other bands would avoid for sounding artificial, is embraced as part of the identity — and it is what makes DragonForce sound like no other power metal band. Performing that at tempos above 200 beats per minute, on equal technical footing with Herman Li and Sam Totman, is what defines his contribution. Few keyboard players in the genre have been treated as a third soloist rather than as accompaniment.
Metalicks is a community-run informational and cultural portal. The information on this page — texts, images, logos, cover art and other materials — is credited to their respective authors, artists, bands, labels and rights holders. Metalicks does not claim ownership over any of the works portrayed here, and all rights remain with their rightful owners. Content is gathered from public sources and community contributions; any inaccuracies can be corrected using the button below. Rights holders who wish to request a correction or removal of any content may do so at any time.
