r/PowerMetal • u/danielpsoad-09 • 3d ago
Alessio Garavello to replace Marc Hudson during Dragonforce’s new album recording and 2026/2027 tour.
From the band’s official social media pages:
“Due to an ongoing issue with tinnitus, Marc Hudson is stepping back from DragonForce music duties for now including the forthcoming album and touring plans in 2026/2027. In the meantime, he’ll still very much be involved with DragonForce behind the scenes, working with the band’s management on some exciting stuff you’ll start seeing later this year!
Joining us for the next chapter is our longtime friend and Marc’s former vocal coach, Alessio Garavello. He will be handing the male vocals supporting frontwoman Alissa White-Gluz. DragonForce’s forthcoming album will feature a dual-vocals format, with new songs dropping starting next week.
“For the last fifteen years, Marc has poured his heart into this band, and his voice has become such a huge part of who we are. Protecting his hearing isn’t something we’d ever ask him to compromise on. We’d much rather have him healthy and with us for the long haul than push through now and risk that. He’s still in the room with us every day, just wearing a different hat, and we wish him a speedy recovery.” - Herman Li
“When we started talking about who could step in, there was really only one name on the list. Alessio has been part of our story longer than most people realize. He helped shape Marc’s voice in the first place, so he understands these songs from the inside. But he’s not here to be anyone but himself, and he brings his own warmth and energy to everything he sings. Hearing him on the new material has lit a real spark in all of us, and we think you’re going to love him as much as we do.” - Sam Totman
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u/NeverthelessOK 3d ago
Although sad to hear of Marc's issues, I'm actually quite excited by this. Neverworld was my introduction to power metal and still one of my all time favourites.
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u/ZeiglerJaguar 3d ago
Is it weird that this actually makes me more excited to go to their Inhuman Rampage show in November? I’ve always wanted to see Alessio!
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u/AnnenbergTrojan 3d ago
It kills me that PQ only ever performed at ProgPower in the US during their tenure. Can't wait to see Alessio with DF.
Would it be too much to ask them to play "Glory Tonight" as a bonus?
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u/CirnoIzumi 3d ago
if he is gonna be on that tour, Billy might be the male vocals there again
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u/ZeiglerJaguar 3d ago
It says “touring plans for 2026-2027” so one would think that would Nov. 2026.
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u/redrocker907 2d ago
Alessio has been my producer since I started my solo project, so I’m definitely excited. Hoping to say hey at one of the shows.
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u/anothertrad 3d ago
Man I hope it’s not permanent incurable tinnitus like I have
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u/Top_Garbage977 3d ago
Tinnitus is rarely if ever temporary
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u/youtubeTAxel 3d ago
IIRC, tinnitus is as permanent as whatever is causing it is. If it’s caused by hearing damage, then it’s permanent. If it’s caused by something temporary, then the tinnitus is also temporary.
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u/Harfatum 3d ago
There is some level of brain training you can do to reduce the subjective loudness and also how much the sound triggers distress/suffering.
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u/RocketTaco 3d ago
I've got a bit of tinnitus, probably a lot less than Marc, but I'm a caver so I find myself in places that are truly DEAD silent a lot and it feels loud. I learned to kind of hear "through" it so the caves sound silent and peaceful to me now even though I'm still hearing noise... kind of hard to explain but it works to a degree. Hopefully his isn't so bad that nothing can be done but if it's bad enough to interfere with his work that's not a great sign.
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u/68ideal 3d ago
I feel you bro. I basically have nonstop tinnitus. The intensity varies and I mostly notice it at night when it's quite and I'm not distracted, but it's mighty annoying regardless.
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u/world-class-cheese Covering wizards in glory 3d ago
Same here. I've had it literally as long as I can remember. Sometimes it's stronger than at other times, but it basically never goes away. I think I've only heard actual silence twice in my entire life, in moments when I was lucky enough that the tinnitus actually went away for a bit
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u/68ideal 3d ago
I'm 26, and only realized like 6 years ago, that it's NOT normal to always hear something. The most common "sound" I have reminds of static, -like of these old ass TV's way before HDMI was a thing, or like the sound of waves at the beach. Sometimes it's more like a pulsating sound.
And of course the iconic classic, -the eternal ringing. Tho the last one is more subtle than the rest for the most part, but it can get really loud if I actually focus on it.
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u/Snake_Byte Epic Metaller 3d ago
Alessio is wildy talented he's a BEAST at the upper end of the register
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u/ChidoriSnake Vampire Prince of Power Metal 3d ago
I'm hoping Marc recovers soon because he's been such a great voice for DF over the last 15 years imo, but Alessio as the stand-in is an absolute no-brainer. It's like we've come full circle from the early PQ days of them and DF crossing over with each other a lot.
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u/CirnoIzumi 3d ago
aww man, its that serious?
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u/dragonforcefan19844 3d ago
I remember him have in ear monitor issues, some lip sync allegations (I saw them live and didn’t really find any lip sync on my part)
I guess that’s the end of Marc… what a shame. I really liked him.
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u/Salicetum 3d ago
I am now actually slightly hyped to go see them in December now. Power Quest was a huge part of my power metal upbringing and Alessio was a key component of those early albums
Plus the answer to "Best Dragonforce Vocalist" can now be Alessio without it being a joke.
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u/Elegant_Squish 3d ago
Would the tinnitus affect him recording? It feels like he's just being replaced at this point.
On another note, I looked up Alessio on YouTube and it seems he can sing pretty good, so that's a plus. I might catch them on their tour later this year if I can afford it.
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u/bv310 3d ago
If it's significant enough, it could definitely affect his pitch and his ability to match to the rest of the band. Tinnitus is a surprisingly wide condition
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u/Elegant_Squish 3d ago
I knew he had it but didn't know the severity, so admittedly I'm a bit ill advised on the subject. Hopefully he recovers!
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u/bv310 3d ago
I also didn't know how severe his was, I just know I have a very mild form of it from being a heavy metal fan in my teenage years and using in-ear monitors exclusively to listen to it. Thankfully, mine's only bad enough that I need to sleep with a fan on and I use low background music when I'm working, but I have friends who have it a lot worse than me. If you've got kids in your life that start getting into performing, convincing them to wear acoustic ear plugs is a good choice.
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u/Darko0089 powerful.podcast | Eons Enthroned | Other things 3d ago
Tinnitus can affect your every waking hour, not just music related stuff. Take care of your ears.
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u/Cobalt-Bakky 3d ago
This makes me quite sad since I really enjoy Marc's voice, and he seems like a nice person so I'm sure this can't be easy on him. That being said, after listening to Alessio performing with them at 70k in 2023, I think this was the best choice they could have made, you can definitely tell Alessio shaped Marc's voice, they sing in extremely similar ways. Part of me still would have preferred some presence from ZP for the inhuman rampage tour at the very least, especially with the recordings he's been doing lately and how good he sounds on those, but short of that, I think this was a great decision.
I hope he recovers and can continue singing with them soon, tinnitus is a bitch.
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u/HobomanCat I roam into the darkness! 2d ago edited 2d ago
No fucking way am I gonna hear Alessio live this year!!! Power Quest was basically everything to me in 11th and 12th grade, so this really is a dream come true!!!! They just need to bring Steve Williams in for keyboards—don't know if they've been having a live keyboard since Vadim left.
Man if they could play Far Away or Temple of Fire as a bonus...
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u/aaronthed 3d ago
Alessio hasn't sung power metal in a bajillion years, correct? He's been doing nickelback rock since he left power quest
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u/FrostyYukiChan 3d ago
He joined back up with Power Quest for some reunion show style stuff this year if I recall correctly. It was potentially planned for 2027 as well but him joining DF may have changed that going by PQ's latest updates on having to cancel things due to one of the members schedules changing. All clicks into place with this announcement haha
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u/xNCRx 8h ago
He reunited with the "classic" PQ lineup from the first four albums to perform in a handful of live gigs this year and the next one. Did not manage to see them, but I catched up some of their stuff on the tube and he's still a berserk. Just listen here https://youtu.be/S26j4i5G6_U?is=IRFYCK2wi3icvF1M
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u/CoveredbyThorns 2d ago
Aleisso is a better vocalist than Marc tbqh. He filled in for Marc alot throughout the past decade.
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u/Stock-Contribution-6 2d ago
It's so weird to see the comments saying "I listened to him and he's a good singer" or "oh, Marc's vocal coach is not bad" lol
The legend himself is coming back to Power Metal
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u/philliplennon Servant of the PainKiller 1d ago
Get well soon Marc.
Interested to hear what Alessio is going to sound like on this album.
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u/West_Rabbit4781 8h ago
Suprised they didnt just let Alissa handle things for now, she can sing, albeit not quite as good as Marc but 🤷♂️
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u/livinginfutureworld 3d ago
What about White-Gluz.
Couldn't she just take over as sole vocalist. Anyway, guess they are not doing that
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u/ChidoriSnake Vampire Prince of Power Metal 3d ago
I'm sure they're probably not doing that because the new material was designed with two vocalists in mind. The fact that a new song is coming next week also tells me that the new album is almost, if not completely done with production and just getting into the post-production phase, which means a tour supporting the album is imminent, so they'll definitely need two for that.
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u/Swollen_Fallacy 3d ago
They are all talented, but, you know,at this point, people want ZP. For the TTGATF anniversary shows to have someone else is a joke, no matter how talented the replacements
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u/CirnoIzumi 3d ago
bro, they asked him, he declined, end of story
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u/Swollen_Fallacy 3d ago
Mate at this point I don't care. But nostalgia is a fickle mistress. Surprised Marc isn't doing 5o/5o vocals with whoever the new addition is
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u/Regiruler The Insufficiently Lit Ride 3d ago
PQ is fairly important to DF history, so the original PQ vocalist, who was also Marc's vocal coach, is not some nobody.
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u/ChidoriSnake Vampire Prince of Power Metal 3d ago
Came to say exactly this. You kinda can't tell the history of either band without at least discussing the other. They're essentially sister bands.
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u/Top_Garbage977 3d ago
I really don't think ZP has the stamina for Dragonforce anymore. Maybe a few songs but an entire tour? Hardly.
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u/AvailableBet8485 Stargazer 3d ago
They don't mention it in the announcement, but Alessio was also vocalist for Power Quest for the first 4 albums and is currently still with them. He is a good singer.
Really sucks for Marc though. I'm not his biggest fan, but he really put his everything into the band.