“Paul Reed Smith wanted to do something, but I had to explain it was my dream as a kid to have an Ibanez signature. Paul said he’d do anything to make it happen”: Herman Li on his switch to PRS – and the perils of shredding on waterslides

A portrait of Herman Li of DragonForce with his new PRS custom build.

It takes a certain kind of band to get away with naming an album Warp Speed Warriors. In the case of DragonForce, the title of their ninth full-length is most apt indeed, encapsulating their steely dedication to lightning-fast musical ideas that seem almost humanly impossible.

But they also know how to keep it light-hearted, as guitarist Herman Li explains…