Dragonforce is one of the bands that has achieved a great career in the industry, in addition to having such emblematic songs for speed and power metal how 'Through The Fire And The Flames', and have its distinctive fast-playing guitar. We had a call with Herman Li, guitarist and leader of the band, who told us about the new album and his next visit to Mexico.
Dragonforce will be twenty years old, it's been a long way, how do you feel about it?
(laughs) I am not a person celebrating their birthdays but we are very happy about this, but we have no plans to celebrate this anniversary other than with the release of a new album, it is the best reason to celebrate.
Have you not thought about making a special merch for your anniversary?
Notice we haven't talked about that, but it seems like a good idea, it could be, uh, we just finished the album a few days ago, I haven't had a mind on that kind of thing, I'm going to ask the fans, it's a very good idea .
We have seen many Twitch streams where you are working on the composition of the new album. What can we expect from this material?
Well, the people who have seen my stream already have an idea of what is happening in terms of the composition of the album, we even ask them how they like it best, we give them options and I show them how I am doing this process. It is an incredible album that will surprise everyone.
What is your creative process for creating riffs and solos?
To be honest we just do the music and see what happens, obviously we had the big hit we had with 'Through The Fire and The Flames' which has a hundred million views, I think that is the best we have achieved, but I think that What the solos and riffs on the new album are even better than what we've released previously, we always try to do something special with the riffs and solos, show energy in the notes.
Is there a collaboration with an artist on this new album?
I can not tell you much about this, but we have some surprises that will soon know, soon they will know who / s will be participating, even those who see my streams already have an idea of who they could collaborate with (laughs).
Tell me more about the main theme of this new album, what will you talk about this time?
I can't tell you a lot about the new album because we haven't announced details, but the lyrics are sometimes a bit random, although I assure you it will be the most incredible Dragonforce album, I promise, you will stay 'woaah', look right now I'm in the car doing this interview with you (laughs) I've heard the new music we're doing here, in the studio, at home, everywhere, and it sounds great, I can't wait to show fans what we've created , You're going to love it!
What are your plans with Twitch? Do you think this social network has made artists and fans have a better relationship?
The entire Twitch experience has been incredible! And I love it because we get the fans involved with the band, when I play the guitar and I can interact with them and know their opinion, and now that we have finished recording we want to give them the best tour experience, and Twitch certainly inspires the other musicians to use this type of dynamic, with broadcasts up to your daily life, and it's incredible, sometimes it scares a little because you don't know what can happen in that stream (laughs). I can't wait for everyone's reaction when the album comes out.
What was your main reason for becoming a streamer? Do you also consider yourself a gamer?
I have always been a fan of playing video games on the computer, even before being a professional musician I was dedicated to everything that had to do with computers, I am not a super fan of using social networks like Facebook, and I really liked the experience provided by Twitch , even the interaction I have with the fans there, I even do a dynamic with them called 'What would you call this song' and more great things, and of course the main theme of Twitch is video games, but it is certainly a platform that musicians can exploit.
You last played in Mexico three years ago, how do you feel about coming back and being part of a mixed martial arts event?
I love martial arts, I have practiced them for many years and now that we are going to play in a show where martial arts competitions will be presented it is incredible, I competed jiu jitsu and well it will be incredible to see this show, it also excites me a lot Going back to Mexico City because when we went it was one of our best shows.
Don't miss the Dragonforce show on July 13 in Fronton Mexico! Tickets available here.
