Having recently released their fourth album Ultra Beatdown, the Grammy nominated metal act DragonForce is currently bouncing around the globe on a World Headline Tour. Guitarist Herman Li uses Rocktron gear on stage and in the studio. He is currently touring with the Prophesy II preamp, Hush Pro, Patch Mate Loop 8 and the All Access MIDI controller. Bassist Frédéric Leclercq is using the Blue Thunder preamp for his thundering tone.
One thing DragonForce have always been good at delivering are songs with a tremendous melodic depth. Whatever other qualities they have – and there are plenty – it’s this trait that long ago marked them out as a class apart from many of their peers. Name any giant of the genre over the past 40 years or so, and they’ve always possessed the ability to compose a cunning tune or several. The same applies here. “There have been people who believe all we do is play fast. But to me, the most important part of any song is the melody. We’re proud of what we’ve achieved so far, but also feel this time it’s on a new level. Merely being fast isn’t enough to get you noticed and respected.”
The process in creating the new album began an amazing 2 years ago, when the first ideas were thought through. Studio work began to get into the groove October 2007, with a brief break at the end of that year for The Black Crusade European Tour. “We didn’t ever feel as if there was a time scale involved here. We just did whatever it took to make this the best album of our career to date. The way we’ve always done things means that what is written and demoed in the first place is rarely what we end up with in the studio. Our songs develop, evolve and change as we go along. It makes the studio an interesting place, because we’ll come up with new ideas all the time. Lyrically, we’re taking a look at life and what goes on in the world, but doing this in the usual DragonForce way!”
The new record is once again produced by the tried and trusted team of Li, Totman and Karl Groom of British prog metalheads Threshold, basing themselves at both Li’s studio and Thin Ice Studios in Surrey, where Groom does much of his work. The two guitarists have been involved with all production since the first album along with Groom since their first demo. “Our attitude is: why change what works for us? No producer could know better than the team of Herman Li, Sam Totman and Karl Groom what this band should sound like. If we had someone else as producer, then all we’d do is argue constantly, and then ignore them anyway! So, it would be a waste of everyone’s time. The day we bring in another producer will be the day that we have no ideas at all, and need help…actually, when that day arrives we’d split up! What would be point of continuing when we’re past our peak?”
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| Album: |
Ultra Beatdown |
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2008 |
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| Album: |
InHuman Rampage |
| Year: |
2006 |
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| 3 |
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| Album: |
Sonic Firestorm |
| Year: |
2004 |
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