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The Lowdown: Interview with Herman Li of Dragonforce

"Most of our fans have really hot girlfriends, ask Sam, he is totally jealous!"

by AdamTogether, October 24th, 2012 and has been Read 1135 times.
Last Edited by: Chris MUG5 Maguire October 28th, 2012.

When it comes to fast as fuck, gloriously melodic, shamelessly bombastic and shred-tastic power metal, it doesn't come any better than DragonForce. Since their formation in 1999 the Brits have been blazing a trail for power metal, taking the imprints laid down by European bands like Helloweeen and Stratovarious and injecting them with a modern sensibility. Due to its fantastical lyrical themes, power metal has long been sniggered at by those who see it merely as music for nerds and World of Warcraft fanatics. The fact is, however, that computer geeks spend money and once they find something they like, they latch onto it. This fact, combined with DragonForce's guitar heroics, (their song ‘Through the Fire and Flames’ even appeared on Guitar Hero III) and their ability to write memorable melodies, has led them to sell bucket loads of albums and sell out huge venues the world over. Many people never thought it possible, but DragonForce have almost made power metal mainstream!

DragonForce's future looked to teeter on the edge of uncertainty last year, when their long time vocalist ZP Heart announced he was leaving the band. But showing the determination and will to survive that forms the basis of many of their songs, DragonForce quickly recruited a relative unknown, Marc Hudson. After giving Marc a baptism of fire supporting by Iron Maiden (he had previously never sang in a venue larger than his local pub) the group got together and recorded their first album with the new singer, and their fifth all together, The Power Within, which was released to much critical acclaim in April of this year. AltSounds caught up with their charismatic shred lord Herman Li to talk about their upcoming European tour and all things DragonForce.

AltSounds: Hi Herman, how’s it going and where in the world are you right now?

Herman Li: I am in Hannover Germany right now. Tonight we are kicking off the first of nine shows in Germany, which is part of the biggest European tour in the band's history.

AltSounds: How is the tour going so far?

Herman Li: It's great be back on tour in Europe, we haven't done a European tour since 2009. We just finished the UK part and that was really good!

AltSounds: What does a typical day involve for you while on tour?

Herman Li: Pretty much, get up and get to work [laughs]! A few hours on press, sound check, guitar practice and warm up then it's show time. It's crazy how time passes so quickly, I pretty much have no time to myself to do anything but I still enjoy it. I spend a few hours on the guitar playing each day outside of the show.

AltSounds: Looking at your current tour schedule it seems pretty gruelling. What is the secret to staying sane on a tour of that length?

Herman Li: Well, I am not quite sure if I will be sane at the end of it! I have never done a tour this long and intense before [laughs]. I guess we will find out at the end of it. I am pretty much busy constantly on tour, I am not sure if that is a good thing or not. Let's say there is no time for me to be bored ever on tour.

AltSounds: How have fans been responding to your new record The Power Within?

Herman Li: The response has been extremely positive and the new songs have been going down well on stage. Some nights people knew the new songs as well as the old ones and "Cry Thunder" is as well known as "Through the Fire and Flames".

AltSounds: What sets The Power Within apart from your previous records?

Herman Li: Its dynamic is very different from all our previous albums and is definitely our most diverse album yet. There are a good variety of musical ideas and tempos to the songs instead of only going full out, like on the previous albums. We even have a full acoustic song!

AltSounds: How is Marc Hudson settling into DragonForce?

Herman Li: Marc is doing great and looking at the fans feedback from the UK tour, this is the best DragonForce has ever played before.

AltSounds: Are you still into your martial arts and what would be your ‘move’ to use when defending yourself against an attacker?

Herman Li: Yeah absolutely, I still train when I have the time. I guess when it comes to self defence, I would either strike to the groin, slash to the throat or jab to the eyes after a making a distraction move to set it up

AltSounds: You are obviously renowned for your guitar wizardry. Just how much practice does it take to play the way you do?

Herman Li: It comes from years and years of dedicated practice, studying as much different material as possible. On show days I usually practice about 1 to 2 hours separately from the performance.

AltSounds: Do you still manage to surprise yourself and learn new things on the guitar? If so what was the latest ‘trick’ you learned?

Herman Li: I have to constantly try to learn new things in order to evolve. I picked up some interesting jazz guitars lick recently.

AltSounds: Do you think you’ll ever manage to play ALL the note combinations and guitar techniques?

Herman Li: I don't believe anyone can because it is limitless.

AltSounds: When you set out did you ever imagine you’d bring so much pleasure to so many single men?

Herman Li: Come on, are you serious? Most of our fans have really hot girlfriends, ask Sam, he is totally jealous [laughs].

AltSounds: I remember hearing you say in an interview years ago that you’re not a guitarist, you’re just a computer nerd who plays guitar. What’s your current favourite game/piece of software/hardware etc?

Herman Li: Haha yeah I did say that once. I guess my favourite is my overclocked i7 system with Eyefinity Crossfire setup, although that machine is getting old now.

DragonForce are on tour now. Full tour dates can be found at www.dragonforce.com. The Power Within is out now on Essential Music