Marc Hudson of Dragonforce released his first solo album titled Starbound Stories on August 25th, 2023 through Napalm Records and it is just as perfect as you think it would be. I was immediately transported into a fantasy world by the first few notes of the first track. There is something very magical about how he accomplishes this with no effort on my part. I quickly was so immersed in the album, I felt like I was not in my room anymore and never wanted to leave this other realm I had found myself in.
One of my favorite parts about this project in general, is the ability to hear Hudson’s guitar playing. We don’t get that with Dragonforce, so that was a pleasant surprise. There is also the last track, “One More Sight of the Sun with You”, where Hudson sings the entire song in Japanese, I can only imagine how difficult that was, so we talked about it in the interview! The track, “Swansong”, takes on a completely different feel from the rest of the album, as it dives into a more emotional soundscape and damn near breaks your heart. It quickly shifts back into the brighter feel with, “Call of the Martyrs”, which also features Stevie T. the Youtube star and guitar favorite of many. This album also features incredible musicians; Shaz D (keyboards), Frédéric Leclercq (guitars, bass), and Rich Smith (drums).
The whole album is a breath of fresh, exciting, fanatical, and action-ridden air. While I went into a fantasy world, you very well might be driven into more of a gaming world. Wherever you go, it won’t be where you started when you pushed play.
Marc was polite enough to sit down with Metal Nation and discuss this release. (If you are viewing from your phone, scroll to the bottom of the page and click on “View Desktop Version” to gain video and interview access).