DragonForce Interview with Herman Li Backstage on 2012 U.S. Tour

For almost 15 years, DragonForce have shredded their way ‘through the fire and flames’ of the music industry to become one of the top metal bands on the planet. Their 2006 album, Inhuman Rampage, produced perhaps their biggest single, “Through The Fire and Flames.” The song garnered heavy rotation on rock radio and Fuse TV. It was also featured on the video game Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock. The song quickly became the most popular song in the history of the game’s series, and a world-wide phenomenon. To date, the band’s music video for the song has gotten over 47-million hits on YouTube. It also spawned infinite cover attempts; YouTube videos of both people playing the song on regular guitar, and trying to get a perfect score on the Guitar Hero video game. The song is one of the fastest and most technically challenging songs in music history. I recently caught up with one of the masterminds behind DragonForce’s lightning-fast riffs – guitarist Herman Li. Herman and I got a chance to talk about the band’s new album, and their 2012 U.S. Tour. Herman said even though the tour is still in its infancy, they guys have already seen some pretty crazy stuff go down! As far as the album goes, he said the band tried to mix some different elements and styles into their music without sacrificing their trademark sound. DragonForce has toured with metal legends W.A.S.P., Halford, Iron Maiden, and more. In 2008, they toured on the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival. The song “Heroes of Our Time” from their last album, Ultra Beatdown, was nominated for a Grammy Award for “Best Metal Performance.” The song came in second in the voting, losing to the almighty Metallica’s “My Apocalypse.” DragonForce  are currently touring in support of their new album, The Power Within, which is out now on Roadrunner Records. Get a copy. Get your tickets. Find the power, and CRANK IT UP!