In a new interview with Australia’s Metal Roos, guitarist Herman Li spoke about DRAGONFORCE‘s decision to cover Taylor Swift‘s “Wildest Dreams”, which is included as a bonus track on select editions of the band’s upcoming album, “Warp Speed Warriors”, due out on March 15 via Napalm Records. The Grammy-nominated unit has transformed the current reigning pop superstar’s huge hit into a lightning-fast power metal anthem, featuring incredible guitar solos and sky-high vocals. DRAGONFORCE‘s version first caused a wave of buzz in the press and on social media after the band performed it live on their most recent North American tour.
The DRAGONFORCE guitarist said: “On the last album, [2019’s] ‘Extreme Power Metal’, [‘My Heart Will Go On’ by] Céline Dion, that was all Sam [Totman, DRAGONFORCE guitarist]. He really wanted to do Céline Dion. I said, fine — Céline Dion is cool. I can’t argue about that. And for this album, I wanted to do Taylor Swift because I had to listen to — I’d listened to so much Taylor Swift the last four years, like a lot. I didn’t expect that to happen in my life, but it happened because I had a kid — I had a daughter. My daughter was born four years ago, so I was using music for her to listen to stop the baby crying or keep her busy. So I heard a lot of Taylor Swift, and I really got into it. The songs are really catchy, and I really found the production to be pretty incredible, how the production is done. So I said to Sam, I said, ‘I think we should do this cover of ‘Wildest Dreams’ by Taylor Swift.’ He [went], ‘No. Come on. You serious?’ He didn’t know Taylor Swift, to be honest. Living in England, he had not really heard it — he never even heard that song before. And I was able to convince him, and I thought, ‘This is gonna work.’ We played it live on the last tour, and people were just going insane for that song. So, it’s fun. It just adds that extra-fun element to the album and on stage as well.”
Asked what his daughter thinks of DRAGONFORCE‘s cover of “Wildest Dreams”, Herman replied: “She hasn’t heard it, actually. I haven’t played it to her, for some reason. I don’t have that album on my phone, and every time I go in the car right now, I’m listening to ‘Cars 2’ motion picture soundtrack or ‘Cars 3’. So we’re in a ‘Cars’ phase at the moment. So we’ll get back to that when it’s time.”
ARCH ENEMY singer Alissa White-Gluz joined DRAGONFORCE on stage on November 5, 2023 at MTelus in Montreal, Quebec, Canada to perform “Wildest Dreams (Dragonforce’s Version)”.
“Warp Speed Warriors” was produced, mixed and mastered by Damien Rainaud at Mix Unlimited in Los Angeles, California with DRAGONFORCE guitarists Sam Totman and Herman Li.
On “Warp Speed Warriors”, DRAGONFORCE — composed of of guitar virtuosos and founding members Li and Totman, singer Marc Hudson, bassist Alicia Vigil and drummer Gee Anzalone — explore a wider range of varying musical styles than ever before, evolving their sound throughout the exciting musical journey while still staying true to their roots.
Herman stated about “Warp Speed Warriors”: “After four years of creative incubation, we are beyond excited to release what we believe to be our most ambitious and grandiose record yet. This album showcases multiple facets of our artistic abilities, and we invite metal aficionados from every corner of the genre to discover something captivating within its layers. We can’t wait to share this chapter of our musical journey with you, it’s going to be EPIC!”
“Power Of The Triforce” keeps the volume high before DRAGONFORCE temporarily slows it down for the ballad “Kingdom Of Steel”. Rapid drum patterns and thrilling guitars carry the catchy “Burning Heart”, while chanting “Space Marine Corp” features a strong and uplifting chorus. Electronic influences on grandiose power metal anthem “The Killer Queen” hypnotize, as singer Marc Hudson‘s vocals reach for the skies. On “Doomsday Party”, 1980s rock influences meet captivating retro video game soundscapes and epic guitar solos in true DRAGONFORCE manner.
“Warp Speed Warriors” track listing:
01. Astro Warrior Anthem
02. Power Of The Triforce
03. Kingdom Of Steel
04. Burning Heart
05. Space Marine Corp
06. Doomsday Party
07. Prelude To Darkness
08. The Killer Queen
09. Pixel Prison
DRAGONFORCE‘s platinum-selling single “Through The Fire And Flames” brought the London-based Grammy-nominated extreme power metal group international acclaim and was featured as the most challenging song on “Guitar Hero III”.
In March 2019, the “Through The Fire And Flames” music video reached a new milestone: it surpassed one hundred million views on YouTube — DRAGONFORCE‘s first music video to do so.
“Through The Fire And Flames” is the leadoff track from 2006’s “Inhuman Rampage” album, which was officially certified gold in July 2017 by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) for sales in excess of half a million copies.
In August 2019, DRAGONFORCE parted ways with longtime bassist Frédéric Leclercq. He has since joined German thrashers KREATOR.
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