This is an archive of the band profile for Chasing Dragons.

Careering into view like a raging typhoon, hard rock four-piece Chasing Dragons are lining up their ranks of fans with their fresh, energetic performances proving their ability to capture the audience. Combining a mix of hard-hitting riffs with raw, powerful vocals, catchy hooks and chemistry second to none, they have been described as a female-fronted mix of the likes of Avenged Sevenfold, AFI & Aiden, with an onstage energy and presence of bands far more established than themselves. With their chunky headbangers, sweeping guitar licks and influences taken from the likes of Brody Dalle, Jettblack, Halestorm, Reckless Love, Heaven's Basement and many more, the band is steadily building their army.

Since forming in 2011 the band have shared stages with many different bands, at as many venues and festivals as they can sink their fingers into including Pendulum, InMe, Death Angel, The Sweet, Fearless Vampire Killers, The Dead Lay Waiting and more. They have been seen rocking out at Rock and Bike Festival, Highway To Hell, Leeds Fringe Fest and many of the LGBT Prides around the UK. Chasing Dragons have shown their ability to adapt their performance to whatever comes their way.

"Every now and then you listen to a piece of music that makes you sit up and take note, and that's exactly what happened when I got my first taste of 'For the Sake of Murder', from Leeds-based Chasing Dragons' new album Checkmate. Its crushing riffs, bone-shuddering drums and snarling vocals hit me like a sonic boom - I was immediately hooked. Luckily, a quick email to my buddies at 9PR and the rest of the album was soon in my inbox - I just hoped that it lived up to my now very high expectations. Thankfully, after a teasing 'Prelude', it was clear from the powerhouse Maiden-esque riffs of 'Throw Down Your King' that I wasn't going to be left disappointed. I've thus far resisted the using the terms femme metal or female-fronted metal in this review because I feel they unfairly pigeonhole bands - especially Chasing Dragons, whose frontwoman Laurie 'Tank' Carnan is absolutely no ordinary female metal singer. Eschewing the operatic tendencies of her peers, she prefers to sing in a thrillingly raw style - the line "The ace of fucking spades!" from 'Throw Down Your King' the perfect example of her aggressive approach to vocals. But then what else would you expect from someone with the nickname 'Tank'? The same can be said of Katie Bullock on drums, who is easily the most kick-ass female drummer I've ever heard. As for the two boys of the band, Mitch Sadler on guitars and Ant Varenne on bass, they are of an equally high musical standard - Chasing Dragons are quite a quartet indeed. The second full track off the new record, 'That's Not Love', recalls Dragonforce with its upbeat feel, soaring vocals and screaming guitar solo, while the syncopated riffs and fast and furious guitar fills on the aforementioned 'For the Sake of Murder' that follows have a Symphony X feel - which is obviously no bad thing at all. Chasing Dragons slow the pace on the penultimate tune 'The Last Defence', a moody piano ballad, before cranking up the pace one last time for an anthemic, punky finish with upcoming single 'Broken Jaws'. Aside from the quality of the musicianship, one of the most striking things about Checkmate is that, unlike a lot of recordings released by up-and-coming bands that sound rather underwhelming, its production value is absolutely flawless - crisp, punchy and beautifully balanced. A lot like the music itself."

~ Rich Ward, 11 Is Louder Than 10

The band released their debut EP "Take Flight For A Firefight" in Jan '12, with production from Graeme Atkinson (Fightstar, Take The Seven) and Carl Bown (While She Sleeps, Trivium). Their single "Hindsight's A Bitch" (Jan '13) is also available to view on Youtube alongside acoustic track, "It's Bravery, Honestly".

"...it's rare that you come across a band with so much commercial potential as Chasing Dragons; I really can see them hitting the dizzying heights of Kerrang! magazine front covers and top 20 album sales.."
~ Ashley Battye, Leeds Music Scene

"Shit a brick! This new single from Leeds quartet Chasing Dragons starts like a kick in the face only to find that the foot belongs to [insert your sexual fantasy here] and they're wearing nothing but a smile and whipped cream. 'Broken Jaws' starts with an ominous drum riff before guitarist Mitch breaks out the mother of all chops and suddenly I want to be wearing a lot of denim and leather with improbably angled hair. This is powerful, relentless stuff drawing on classics like Iron Maiden but giving it a modern, US inspired twist as vocalist Tank shows off her impressive vocals skills which go from sweet and melodic to screeching and wailing. Proceedings finish up with a reprise of THAT riff which is fricking awesome and then you realise it was all a dream and you have just been nuzzling a chair leg and muttering "oh Uma....". Awesome, awesome stuff."

~ Roland Monger, Listen With Monger


Chasing Dragons will be releasing their new record "Checkmate" on June 2nd 2014.

The band will be touring the UK and beyond, be sure to catch them at a city near you....