Simon Rushworth
Metal heroes Dragonforce may have slayed Download this year but Herman Li and his mates aren’t about to slow the pace anytime soon. Still touring the brilliant Ultra Beatdown across the world, one of the craziest bands on the planet plan to bring a full UK headline tour our way again this winter.
Fresh from more awards glory at the 2009 Metal Hammer Golden Gods gig this week, the Grammy-nominated shredsters roll out their Hearts & Minds Tour from November through to mid-December with axe maestro Li promising the usual fret-burning fireworks.
Ultra Beatdown gatecrashed the Top 20 in the UK, USA, Canada, Australia and Far East and hit the Top 10 in Japan on its release. Monday saw Dragonforce’s twin guitar wizards, Li and Sam Totman pick up The Dimebag Darryl Shredder gong at the Golden Gods.
And the boys have just been confirmed as a headline act at next month’s Kerrang! Awards week of live shows, playing London’s Kentish Town HMV Forum on July 29. Support comes from Brit rockers and rushonrock faves Stone Gods with Glamour Of The Kill opening up. Tickets go on sale from 9am tomorrow, Friday June 19, from www.aloud.com / 0844 848 8888 or www.hmv.com, and are priced at £20 adv.
“We really wanna give fans a special show, as it’s been a while since we played in London,” said Li. “I think we’re going to mix our set up, maybe play some bonus tracks that we wouldn’t usually play live and do something interesting for our fans.
“We also really like playing diverse bills. We love variety. People listen to different music at home, when they are growing up, it’s great to have live shows like that too. Perhaps we will make some new fans at Download, who will then come along to the headline show!”
The full ‘Force dates are as follows:
Wed 29 Jul – London Kentish Town Forum
Thu 19 Nov – Folkestone Leas Cliff Hall
Fri 20 Nov – Reading Hexagon
Sat 21 Nov – Southend Cliffs Pavilion
Mon 23 Nov – Southampton Guildhall
Tue 24 Nov – Truro Hall For Cornwall
Wed 25 Nov – Bristol University
Thu 26 Nov – Wolverhampton Wulfrun Hall
Sat 28 Nov – Preston 53 Degrees
Sun 29 Nov – Bradford St Georges Hall
Mon 30 Nov – Sheffield Academy
Tue 1st Dec – Hanley Victoria Hall
Thu 3 Dec – Glasgow Barrowlands
Fri 4 Dec – Dundee Fat Sam’s
Sat 5 Dec – Inverness Ironworks
Mon 7 Dec – Middlesbrough Empire
Tue 8 Dec – Cambridge Corn Exchange
Thu 10 Dec – Lincoln Engine Shed
Fri 11 Dec – Manchester Academy
Sat 12 Dec – Liverpool Academy
Tickets are on sale now, priced £16 and are available from box offices and all usual agents. Buy online at www.seetickets.com/dragonforce