With their recent release 'Inhuman Remains', Dragonforce are bringing their melodic rock and ever so fast fretwork to venues up and down the UK. Guitarist Herman Li (HL) took time out to chat to Room Thirteen about the album, the tour and what could be worse than a plastic axe at a gig?
R13: How's the tour going?
HL: It's been good and cool. Last night was the best night so far. (Mon 30th in Leeds.)
R13: Is the new material going down well with the crowd?
HL: It's been great, some of the people still don't know it that well compared with our older songs which is normal. But it's getting better and we are still getting some massive explosions from the crowd, so it's good.
R13: We are half an hour away from the doors opening, the crowd are already snaked around the building and getting noisy. I take it the fans have been excited this tour?
HL: Well, we are in Glasgow now, so it's going to be crazy. They're completely insane, I think this one is going to be wooffft, it should be mental tonight.
R13: For those who know your sound but haven't heard your new record, how would you define your new album, 'Inhuman Rampage'?
HL: I think it's more intense, more melodic and more all around every single thing that you can think of. It takes the best of our last albums and makes it bigger. I think this new one may take a bit longer to get into; it's not that easy listening right away.
R13: The albums riding high in the UK Rock Album charts, did you expect it to remain in the top 3?
HL: No, not really. People told us we would be charting when the album came out but I thought "Yeah right" but it's amazing to still be riding high.
R13: Album closer 'Trail Of Broken Hearts' has been called your equivalent of 'Stairway To Heaven'. Do you see this as a compliment?
HL: It's not a worry. Any sort of comparison is good and some people can hear it but we really like the song, so we're cool, as long as people check it out.
R13: You are sharing a lot of UK and then European tours with Edguy. What do you make of them?
HL: We like Edguy, they're a good band. Their style is very different and much slower, hard rock harmonies but it's a great bill.
R13: Any other bands you hope to tour with?
HL: It's hard, obviously headlining is the thing we like to do. We've already played with bands like Iron Maiden so maybe the thing would be to try with different bands and different types. Perhaps Bullet For My Valentine or Trivium could be cool.
R13: How do you feel about signing for RoadRunner records?
HL: Yeah, especially for the style of music we do. It's never really been that big anywhere in the world, so it's great for us to be on a label like that. It's a big step.
R13: Who would be your favourite RoadRunner act?
HL: I'm really into Trivium at the moment, I think they're cool.
R13: Any festival plans for the summer yet?
HL: We are doing some in Europe of course and as for the UK, we are working on it.
R13: How do you feel about your fans coming along with plastic swords and axes?
HL: Yeah, I think it's cool. Unfortunately tonight, I've seen signs saying they wont be letting the fans in with them.
R13: Well, it's in Glasgow, it's not wise to let people in with swords, plastic or otherwise!
HL: (As the rest of the band laugh in the background) Yeah, it would be brutal. I also saw a NO PUSHING sign up, wow, how mental is this place? How hard is a Glasgow push?
R13: Have you ever heard of the term a "Glasgow kiss"?
HL: No.
R13: It means to head butt somebody, so perhaps you don't want to know what a Glasgow push is.
HL: Haha, great. This is going to be a good night.
R13: Do you feel there any other acts around today that are making music similar to yourselves?
HL: Not like us, not really. There are melodic hard rock bands but not with the intensity that we have.
R13: Are there any plans for further UK tour later this year?
HL: We'll definitely be back. We are only playing around half the new album tonight so we will definitely be back in the year to rock out again and play the rest of the new material.
R13: Any final messages to your UK fans?
HL: See you in the pit.
And with that Dragonforce went off to prepare themselves for the night and later on they did indeed meet many of their fans in the pit. With a busy year ahead promoting their new record, Dragonforce look to be keeping their intensity as high as possible.