The second installment of “Power Shred” focuses on sweeps and tapping is available here.
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April29th
11 Comments -
April18th
DragonForce guitarist Herman Li and drummer Dave Mackintosh will return to China for a guitar and drum clinic tour with special dates added in Indonesia and India. At each clinic, Herman and Dave will be performing a number of DragonForce tracks, answering questions from fans and demonstrating techniques followed by an autograph/photo session.
There has been overwhelming demand for DragonForce to return to China since their sold out Beijing show in 2009. The clinic tour is sponsored by Ibanez guitars and Tama drums, with Herman kicking it off in Kunming in southern China, making its way north and back finishing in Guangzhou. Dave’s drum clinics will start two days earlier in Indonesia before joining Herman in Chengdu China, pairing up for the rest of the Chinese tour.
Apart from individual dates, Herman and Dave will also be performing at the PALM Expo 2011, China’s largest and most established event for music and technology, the 2nd largest event of its kind in the world. After China, Herman will complete the tour on his own with his first-ever appearances in India.
DragonForce will be one of the first international bands to do a full scale clinic tour in China.
Herman Li says, “We are really excited to be touring in China. We had an amazing time two years ago and really appreciate the loyal support from so many fans and friends there. It’s gonna be a blast, we can’t wait to get out there!”
The band and Herman have also launched their new official social networking sites for the Chinese speaking fans. Add them at the following links:
DragonForce – Sina Weibo / Tudou / Youku
Herman Li (in Chinese) - Sina WeiboTOUR SCHEDULE
Updated 13/05/2011 – Extra show added in Beijing due to demand!Dave Macintosh Solo MAY 21 SAT WTC Surabaya Indonesia 
MAY 22 SUN Grand Preanger Hotel Bandung Indonesia Herman Li Solo MAY 23 MON Camel Café 骆驼咖啡厅 Kunming, Yunnan China 
Herman & Dave Duo MAY 24 TUE Music House 音乐房子 Wuhou District, Chengdu China MAY 26 THU PALM Expo Chao Yang District, Beijing China MAY 26 THU Star Live *NEW* Dongcheng District, Beijing China MAY 27 FRI PALM Expo Chao Yang District, Beijing China MAY 28 SAT PALM Expo Chao Yang District, Beijing China MAY 30 MON Super Fish Club 大鱼酒吧 Shen He District, Shenyang China MAY 31 TUE TU Union TU凸空间 Yue Xiu District, Guangzhou China Herman Li Solo – Updated
JUNE 3 FRI St. Andrews Auditorium Maharashtra India 
JUNE 4 SAT PALM EXPO India Goregaon East, Mumbai India JUNE 5 SUN Cafe Morrison Delhi India -
April16th
SAM TOTMAN NOW ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER
Posted in: News
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March11th
MESSAGE TO OUR FANS AND FRIENDS IN JAPAN
Posted in: News
“DragonForce sends our deepest condolences to all the people of Japan. Our hearts go out to all our fans and friends, especially to the victims and families of this disaster.”
- Herman, Sam, Marc, Fred, Vadim and Dave
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March2nd
DRAGONFORCE REVEAL NEW SINGER
Posted in: News
UK based metal heroes DRAGONFORCE have announced that their long search for a new vocalist is finally over. After entries from thousands of hopefuls across the globe, the band welcomes 23 year old Marc Hudson to the band to fill the boots left by ZP Theart, who parted ways with the band in March of last year.
“I’m really excited about being a part of the DragonForce family.” Says Marc. “It’s always been my dream to dedicate my life to making music. I’m going to bring all the power and emotion I can to the songs, and help make the killer new record the fans have been waiting for!”
Born in Oxford England, Marc was picked from the thousands of applications via a number of impressive video auditions and live performances, which left the rest of the band in no doubt that they’d found their man. Since the age of 16, Marc has been building his vocal skills gigging with bands in the UK underground scene, developing a powerful style with influences which include Bruce Dickinson, Michael Kiske and Sebastian Bach. Says founding member and guitarist Herman Li:
“After almost a year of searching around the globe, it’s great to be able to finally tell our fans the good news. Marc’s expressive and melodic vocals are sounding phenomenal on the new songs, adding another dimension to the DragonForce sound that I am sure all the fans will love.”
The band has been working on a new album since early 2010, recording in various studios in California, London and the South of France. The follow up to 2008’s hugely successful “Ultra Beatdown” album will be highly anticipated, with top 10 and top 20 chart positions all over the world and a Grammy Nomination in the United States setting the precedent. With Marc brought into the fold, the band is enjoying an injection of enthusiasm and hunger that sees DRAGONFORCE prepared to return more focused and determined than ever before.
“Everyone in the band is extremely excited about how the new material is shaping up.” continues Herman. “We haven’t felt this kind of energy in the band for a long time. We can’t wait to unleash the next DragonForce album later this year.”
The new album is expected to hit the shelves in September, with a full world tour to follow.
Check out this video clip of Marc Hudson’s Audition Demos:
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March2nd
Kerrang! Podcast has the first exclusive video interview with DragonForce’s new singer Marc Hudson and guitarist Herman Li.
You can also see it and download it at the Kerrang! Podcast page at:
http://www.kerrang.com/blog/2011/03/kerrang_podcast_dragonforce.html -
March1st
PREMIER GUITAR COLUMN WITH HERMAN LI
Posted in: News
DragonForce guitarist Herman Li has begun writing a monthly guitar lesson column entitled “Power Shred” for Premier Guitar. Each lesson will be available for free on www.premierguitar.com and include tab and audio of Li himself demonstrating each technique. “I’ve been looking forward to writing a column where I can really share my love for the guitar with all of you, as well some of my favorite techniques.” Li says. “These lessons are going to look at some different ideas to help spice up your leads, rhythms and explore some new territory with your playing.”
The first installment of “Power Shred” focuses on diminished sweeps and is available here.
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February18th
DRAGONFORCE ANNOUNCED AS SPECIAL GUESTS FOR IRON MAIDEN ‘THE FINAL FRONTIER WORLD TOUR’ FOR BELFAST AND LONDON SHOW
Posted in: News
DragonForce will make their long awaited return on the live stage as special guests of Iron Maiden at the Belfast Odyssey Arena on Wednesday August 3rd and also the London O2 Arena on Friday 5th August 2011.
The UK shows will be the culmination of Iron Maiden’s The Final Frontier World Tour. The first leg of the 2011 tour started last week in Moscow and sees the band travelling “Around The World In 66 Days”, a 50 thousand mile odyssey aboard Ed Force One, their specially customized Boeing 757, piloted by airline captain and lead singer Bruce Dickinson. The plane will carry band, crew and many tons of equipment across 5 continents to thirteen countries, visiting 26 cities for 29 shows. After the Round The World dates, the tour continues into Europe before returning to the UK in July for an extensive 10 city arena tour covering the length and breadth of the UK. By the time The Final Frontier World Tour finishes in London at the O2 in early August, Maiden will have played 101 shows, in 40 countries, to over 2 million fans since the Tour began in June 2010.
The Final Frontier World Tour is in conjunction with the band’s 15th studio album released in August 2010 which went straight to #1 in the album charts in 28 countries worldwide. This week the band received a Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance for the song El Dorado, from The Final Frontier album.
DragonForce’s Herman Li comments
“We are so excited to be playing with the greatest heavy metal band of all time again! We had some of the best times of our careers touring with Maiden back in 2005. Iron Maiden have inspired us tremendously throughout the years and we can’t wait to get back on stage to support them in Belfast on August 3rd and for their hometown show on August 5th. Here we go, Up the Irons!”
See the full press release at ironmaiden.com
Tickets for the UK shows are on sale now and are available from www.livenation.co.uk
Tickets for the Belfast show available from www.ticketmaster.ie
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January19th
Ibanez has unveiled a new Sam Totman signature guitar model; the STM2 SPB at NAMM 2011. The STM2 model features a mahogany body with a sapphire blue flamed maple top, neck-through construction and a pair of DiMarzio Evolution pickups.
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January10th
DRAGONFORCE NAMM 2011 SIGNING TIMES
Posted in: News
DragonForce guitarists Herman Li and Sam Totman will take part in a number of all-star signing sessions at this year’s Winter NAMM Show at the following times:Friday 14th January 2011
Samson: 1:30pm – 2:30pm
- with Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers/Chickenfoot), George Lynch (Lynch Mob), Scott Ian + Charlie Benante (Anthrax), Jason Bittner (Shadows Fall), Jordan Rudess (Dream Theater).Saturday 15th January 2011
Ibanez: 11:00am – 12:00pm
- with Matt Bachand (Shadows Fall).D’Addario: 1:00pm – 2:00pm
- with Alex Skolnick (Tran-Siberian Orchestra, Testament), Andy McKee.Samson: 3:30pm – 4:30pm
- with Mike Inez (Alice and Chains), John 5 (Rob Zombie/Solo), Jason Bittner (Shadows Fall), Jordan Rudess (Dream Theater), Tim ‘Ripper’ Owens (Yngwie Malmsteen).The NAMM Show is one of the largest music product trade shows in the world. It is held every January in Anaheim, California, USA at the Anaheim Convention Center.
