Dragonforce guitarist Herman Li is featured a in a fan-fuelled Q&A session for Guitar World. Following is an excerpt:

Q: What’s your favorite Eddie Van Halen guitar solo? 

Li: ""I like the one on 'Dreams'. It’s not complicated but it is memorable. There are millions of great ones. The ones on For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge are his best work, I think. People don’t think as highly of that album as others so they might give me shit for saying it, but I still believe it features his best playing."

Q: What made you want to play Ibanez guitars over other brands? 

Li: "When I was growing up, I saw that Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, John Petrucci and most of my other favorite guitar players were playing Ibanez. That’s what drew me to the brand, and I’ve played them ever since - but I’m not limited to just the one brand. In my house right now, I’ve got a John Petrucci Ernie Ball Music Man, a few PRS guitars, even a Fender Strat."

Q: What were your initial intentions when you began writing and producing (new album) Extreme Power Metal?

Li: "Just like all the albums - to go full-out, no limitations with no one telling us what to do. That means full-out on every level, including artwork, songs, touring, production and promotion from top to bottom. It’s the first time for many years that we made an album with no one telling us anything that they wanted us to do. It was Sam and I making all the decisions on how this one would go."

Check out the complete Q&A here.

Dragonforce recently announced that drummer Gee Anzalone will not be performing on the upcoming US tour. According to the band, "Gee has been hospitalised for Myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle. Virtuoso drummer Aquiles Priester (Angra, Tony MacAlpine) will perform on the upcoming Dragonforce US Tour while Gee recovers."

Guitarist Herman Li said, "We will miss our brother Gee on the upcoming US tour, but health is most important. We wish Gee a speedy recovery and we know he will be back on tour with us soon. We want to thank our friend Aquiles for stepping up and helping us out on short notice."

Fan-filmed video of the band performing their first show of the tour,  in Phoenox, with Priester behind the kit can be viewed below.

Catch Dragonforce live in concert at the following shows:

March
10 - Salt Lake City, UT - Metro Music Hall
11 - Denver, CO - Oriental Theater
13 - Minneapolis, MN - Fine Line
14 - St. Louis, MO - Red Flag
15 - Chicago, IL - House Of Blues
17 - Cleveland, OH - The Agora
18 - Detroit, MI - St. Andrews Hall
19 - Pittsburgh, PA - Roxian Theatre
20 - Worcester, MA - The Palladium
21 - Brooklyn, NY - Warsaw