DRAGONFORCE Guitarist: 'Some People Think We're The Best Band In The World'

May 10, 2009

Kristen Dunleavy of myYearbook.com recently conducted an interview with guitarist Herman Li of British extreme epic power metallers DRAGONFORCE. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

myYearbook.com: What was your reaction when you found out your song "Heroes of Our Time" was nominated for a Grammy?

Herman: It was actually kind of strange. Someone called me up about it and I didn't know what they were talking about. I was really confused. That was a big surprise. The music we play and the way we are is very different from what's out there and to get recognized, it's a good thing. When we first started, everyone said we'd never tour in the U.S.; we'd never sell any records there. That's what they told us then.

myYearbook.com: You've won a variety of awards yourself, is there any award or record you're looking to break that you have yet to achieve?

Herman: Not really, to be honest. Awards are cool because you know people care about you, but it's not about that. If we're not nominated, if we haven't won anything, it's OK; we still have to make the best music that we can.

myYearbook.com: How do you feel you've progressed on "Ultra Beatdown" as a guitarist?

Herman: I feel I've gotten better as a player, not just on the album but also live on tour. But I think as a producer, as someone who has worked on the record from the beginning stage to the mastering process, I'm learning a lot about how to record and how to get a mix to sound good. You need that, just playing guitar is not enough. You have to put the music on a record for people to hear.

myYearbook.com: What's the weirdest way someone has described your music?

Herman: We've had all kinds of descriptions from Nintendo-metal to SLAYER-meets-JOURNEY to rubbish. Some people think we're the best band in the world, some people think we're the worst. It's up to them to listen and decide.

myYearbook.com: How did you learn to play guitar with your tongue?

Herman: That just kind of came about randomly from touring. I'll just be on stage, trying to even do stuff with my hair, making harmonics and throwing my hair into different frets like, [makes high-pitched guitar sound] It sounds cool to pick the strings with your tongue and all that.

Read the entire interview from myYearbook.com.

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