DragonForce announce the departure of bassist Frédéric Leclercq with the following message: "We are sad to announce that Frédéric Leclercq is leaving DragonForce to pursue other projects. We want to thank Fred for all the musical contributions and good times over the years."

Frédéric states: “I had an amazing opportunity that will be announced soon. There is no bad blood and I wish the band all the best. I want to thank the fans for their support throughout the years.”

Says Herman Li: “As sad as we are to lose him, we are excited that he is going to continue playing the music he loves. He will always be a friend and a member of the DragonForce family.”

The band's message continues: "Fred’s last show with DragonForce will be this weekend at Elb-Riot in Hamburg, Germany. We are going to have a massive celebration for Fred, please come out and send him off!"

On September 27th, DragonForce will unleash their eigth full-length album, Extreme Power Metal, worldwide. Produced in Los Angeles, California by Damien Rainaud at Mix Unlimited, Extreme Power Metal was also recorded, in part, on guitarist Herman Li's livestream channel on Twitch.tv with participation from the fans.

For a first preview of the album, a video for the new single, "Highway To Oblivion", can be found below.

"Highway To Oblivion" also appears as a playable level in AUDICA, a virtual reality "rhythm shooter" from Harmonix, the makers of Rock Band and Dance Central. Armed with a pair of rhythm blasters, players will be able to step into a cosmic arena and smash targets to the beat of the song. A standard edit of the song will be available as well as the intensely challenging full-length version. Clocking in at just under 7 minutes, the full-length version of "Highway To Oblivion" on Expert will be the most difficult song on the soundtrack to date. A flawless run with precise accuracy, timing, and form will earn players one of the coveted top spots on AUDICA's global leaderboards. For a preview of gameplay, follow Harmonix’s Twitter and Facebook pages.

Pre-order Extreme Power Metal in the US and Canada here, where the record is available in the following formats:

- digipak-CD
- transparent purple w/ black/red/blue smoke vinyl (limited to 700 copies)
- transparent orange / red haze vinyl (limited to 300 copies)

* exclusive bundles with shirts, plus digital options are also available.

See below to pre-order the album in other territories:

- Europe & South America
- Japan

Extreme Power Metal tracklisting:

"Highway To Oblivion"
"Cosmic Power Of The Infinite Shred Machine"
"The Last Dragonborn
"Heart Demolition""
"Troopers Of The Stars"
"Razorblade Meltdown"
"Strangers"
"In A Skyforged Dream"
"Remembrance Day"
"My Heart Will Go On"

"Highway To Oblivion" video:

Tour dates:

August
16 - Summer Breeze Open Air - Wittelshofen, Germany
17 - Elb-Riot - Hamburg, Germany

October (with Dance With The Dead, Starkill)
1 - Encore - Tucson, AZ
2 - Sunshine Theater - Albuquerque, NM
3 - Vinyl @ Hard Rock - Las Vegas, NV
4 - Strummers - Fresno, CA
5 - Cargo - Reno, NV
6 - Hawthorne Theater - Portland, OR
7 - The Red Room - Vancouver, BC
8 - El Corazon - Seattle, WA
11 - August Hall - San Francisco, CA
12 - Ventura Theater - Ventura, CA
13 - Megacruise - Los Angeles, CA, USA *

* DragonForce only

November (with special guest TBA + McRocklin & Hutch)
2 - Liquid Rooms - Edinburgh, UK
3 - Welly - Hull, UK
4 - Stylus - Leeds, UK
5 - Academy 2 - Manchester, UK
6 - Institute - Birmingham, UK
8 - Forum - London, UK
9 - The Waterfront - Norwich, UK
11 - Engine Rooms - Southampton, UK
12 - Tramshed - Cardiff, UK
13 - Roadmember - Northampton, UK
14 - Northumbria Institute - Newcastle, UK

February
5 - 013 - Tilburg, Holland
6 - TBC - Belgium
7 - Le Forum - Charleville-Mezieres, France
8 - La Laiterie - Strasbourgh, France
9 - CCO - Lyon, France
11 - La Machine du Moulin Rouge - Paris, France
12 - Krakatoa Club - Bordeaux, France
13 - Metronum - Toulouse, France
14 - L'Usine - Istres (Marseille), France
15 - Konzertfabrick Z7 - Pratteln, Switzerland
16 - Les Docks - Lausanne, Switzerland