Herman Li
Herman Li ( Chinese 李康敏 ; born October 3, 1976 in Hong Kong ) is co-founder, guitarist and producer of the power metal band DragonForce .
Life
Herman Li taught himself to play the guitar. After playing with various metal bands in London, including Demoniac , he founded the band DragonForce (initially known as DragonHeart) in the summer of 1999 with Sam Totman and other band members.
Herman was voted "Best Shredder" at the Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards 2005. Together with his bandmate Sam Totman, he won four categories in the Guitar World's Readers Poll 2007, "Best New Talent", "Best Metal", "Best Riff" and "Best Shredders". For the song Through the Fire and Flames they received the “Best Guitar Solo” award.
He has now published columns and lessons on guitar playing in several international magazines, partly together with his colleague Sam Totman.
Aside from music, Li is interested in computer technology , martial arts and Porsche car racing . He is fluent in Chinese , English and French .
music
Herman Li plays fast, melodic Power Metal. Both his alternate picking and his legato runs reach enormous speeds. In his complex solos he uses typical shred techniques such as sweep picking and tapping , but also new effects with the Whammy Bar . Many of these effects and melodies are reminiscent of arcade and computer games from the 1980s and 1990s, for example Pac-Man in Through the Fire and Flames or Double Dragon in Black Fire .
In addition, Li often includes the DigiTech Whammy Pedal and a wah-wah in his solos and uses the Hot Hand in some songs - a ring that can be attached to the hand and which can be used to control effects wirelessly.
On stage, Li stands out for his mostly great joy in playing. Known his showpiece, where he is a Harmonic Squeal (a modulated, screaming harmonics , originally by players like Dimebag Darrell has become known) combined with the fact that he tears his guitar on the whammy bar into the air. The entire weight of the instrument rests on the lever for the duration of the maneuver, which can lead to damage or at least a break in the string in the case of insufficiently stable systems ; the latter also happened to Li at the end of the recording of Through the Fire and Flames .
Herman Li had several signature models made in collaboration with Ibanez . In these, an imprint of his hand is worked into the wood on the upper edge of the body.
Although Herman Li is left-handed , he plays his guitars right-handed . According to his own statement, he also uses improvisation when writing guitar solos, while Sam Totman always composes his solos out.
Guitars
- Ibanez E-Gen - EGEN18 Herman Li Signature Model (Transparent Violet Flat, Platinum Blonde, Dragon's Blood)
- Ibanez EGEN Custom 7 String (Chameleon Purple)
- Ibanez Acoustics
- DiMarzio pickups (HLM - neck (humbucker), middle (single coil), bridge (humbucker))
- D'Addario strings (NYXL .009 - .046 for six strings, NYXL .009 - .059 for seven strings)
Discography
- With Demoniac
- 1999: The Fire And The Wind
- 1999: Demons of the Night (EP)
- With DragonForce
- Guest Posts
- 2015: Road of Resistance ( Babymetal ) (with Sam Totman)
Web links
- DragonForce - Wikipedia: Fact or Fiction? Loudwire interview from September 6, 2017
- DragonForce Homepage - Herman Li
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Li, Herman |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British guitarist and producer of Chinese descent |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 3rd October 1976 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Hong Kong |