Vid of me playing a DragonForce solo on bass

[Lokire]

Me playing one of the mini-solos from the Dragonforce song "Operation Ground and Pound", on bass:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwf3mIvRvaM


I just figured this part out yesterday, so be nice


Dragonforce kicks ass!

[Grimlock]

Your technique was killer, but I wouldn't mind a little help in understand the appeal of DragonForce. To me, it sounds like musical scores of 4-bit Nintendo games, played in fast forward.

Sort of like Iron Maiden, crossed with Happy Hardcore; with comic book lyrics.

Am I being mean? I'm not trying to be, I just honestly don't understand WHY it's great.

[Twistad]

AWESOME! Dragonforce is one of my favorite band in metal, it's happy/feel-good music, and the solos are crazy.

It still needs a bit of work like you said but you did a pretty good job nonetheless.

[Lokire]

Nah, it's cool. I think you've pretty much got it there actually

They're heavily influenced by video game music, and model a lot (if not most) of their stuff after that style. Then it has the cheesy epic metal kinda fantasy lyrics.

I guess the real appeal, for me, is just the crazy awesome guitar playing. And it's not just mindless shredding for the sake of playing fast, like a lot of metal stuff is. It's melodic and continues to be fun and interesting as the solo goes on. Check out this vid, and tell me that's not freaking cool to see / hear

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KL78ufx2Yw

[lateralus423]

Man, your bass is so freaking awesome i want it soooooooo bad! Nice playing too.

[Lokire]

Originally Posted by Twistad

AWESOME! Dragonforce is one of my favorite band in metal, it's happy/feel-good music, and the solos are crazy.

It still needs a bit of work like you said but you did a pretty good job nonetheless.

Thanks! They're currently my favorite metal band. One of the few metal bands that I truly enjoy listening to.

I'll definitely keep working on it. Especially that first tapping part, I can't play correctly up to speed yet.

Once I get my midi enabled 6-string Stambaugh, I'm gonna work out a bunch of other Dragonforce stuff. Run it through some distortion and hit the octave up switch on the midi dealie....yeah, we'll really be in business then

[Cerb]

Awesome. I've not heard much from this band, though it doesn't really seem my kinda thing. Very cool, nonetheless.

Your right hand technique is almost identical to mine, too... right down to the oddly bent little finger o_O.

... except I can't do two handed tapping.

[Lokire]

Originally Posted by lateralus423

Man, your bass is so freaking awesome i want it soooooooo bad! Nice playing too.

Thanks. I'm pretty fond of it too!






Yeah, my pinky finger is out of control. Unconcious flailings at all times (while playing). Maybe it has tourettes or something

[Cerb]

So, that's where your avatar is from. That's a very beatiful top. Who am I kidding? That's a very beautiful bass.

[Lokire]

Yep. I got my avatar from this picture I think:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...N010333333.jpg

I've got a million pictures of her. Just cruise around my photobucket...

[Baryonyx]

Nice vid, and a very nice bass!

However, I'll probably never understand what people see in Dragonforce.

However, I did get wind of this video, and the somewhat embarassing display contained within...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2qY_...%20play%20this

One thing that does trouble me about them is that I was reading something, I think it was the preface to an interview, by a guy who had been interviewing guitarists in the 80's. He'd met them all. He recalled how speaking to Herman Li was like talking to Yngwie back in the 80's. Both guitarists knew that they had talent (although Yngwie being the far greater talent of the two, imo) and both let it go to their heads. He talked about how he told Yngwie his attitutde would hinder his career until he learned to control himself (admittedly, Yngwie did manage to get himself mostly under control), and that he feared Herman Li was going the same way, and he could see this "I'm great" attitude arising as Herman boasted about being the best player in Dragonforce. According to this guy, he needs to nip this in the bud before it develops into a hinderance, because perhaps somewhat unfortunatley, especially from the metal press, he has nothing but people rolling over for him...

[dannoman]

That was very cool.

When are you gonna show some of your And Justice for Jason stuff???

[God of Rapture]

Originally Posted by Chris2112

However, I did get wind of this video, and the somewhat embarassing display contained within...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2qY_...%20play%20this

DragonForce use Midi boxes for studio and live to control to sloppiness.

[Lokire]

Ok, ok. Yes they use midi stuff to some extent, but I don't think that really controls sloppiness. It might eliminate fret buzz, but if anything it would do more to amplify your sloppiness. Since (from my understanding), if you're note isn't played pretty cleanly, the midi box will have trouble undertanding what note it is.

Another BIG point about Dragonforce is that when they play live, they're almost always very drunk. From what I've heard anyways, and that affects their playing of course. It's more about running around, having fun, and putting on a good show than playing each note perfectly. If you watch videos of them in the studio, you can see how cleanly they are capable of playing, crazy fast solos and such. Check out these vids:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=So04BzqZoR0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dU5BfLzHvA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuTp2TOPAC4



And then, I highly doubt Herman or Sam have a real big ego (like Yngwie). In interviews or whatever, you hear Herman say "I'm the better guitar player of the two" and then Sam says, "He likes to think that, but I'm actually better". Seriously, they're just joking around, you can tell. They're all about having fun.

And I've heard a bunch of times from people who have met Herman and Sam at shows that they're the nicest people.


"Justice for Jason" was the title of someone else's project. I did a simmilar project called "Justice Remastered", where I played bass over the whole album. When am I going to show it? I never recorded any videos for that. What do you want to see?

[Thursday]

Dragonfocre Freakin rocks!!!

[Lokire]

This one too:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNyudex-zoo

I loved Dragonforce when I first heard them. These days, they're alright, better than some of the junk out there, but they don't move me like they used to. Put this way, Symphony X may not be as much of a fireworks display as Dragonforce is, but their overall songwriting is better in my sole opinion, and they've matured as they've gone on without leaving behind their roots. The main reason I still like Dragonforce is that for once, a popular band has a high level of collective talent. I hate to draw superiority over anyone, but would you put MTVallica on the same level as Dragonforce musically? (no offense Major Metal )


One thing about Dragonforce, the bass lines are low in the mix, but there's some pretty damn daunting bass lines in their songs that one has to be together on to play.

[dannoman]

Originally Posted by Lokire

"Justice for Jason" was the title of someone else's project. I did a simmilar project called "Justice Remastered", where I played bass over the whole album. When am I going to show it? I never recorded any videos for that. What do you want to see?

Sorry for the mix up, i could have sworn that it was you playing on that....

anything from that would be great... Blackend, AJFA, you pick....

[bassist 4 life]

Wow, your bass sounds just like how I thought it would... I rock, teehee....


Awesome playing/tone/technique, everything

[NOLA Bass]

I've been driving around for the last few days listening to "Inhuman Rampage". It's kind of a guilty pleasure I guess!!!! My wife says they're showoffs, but I must admit I've been enjoying the cd.