Watch Dragonforce guitarist Herman Li nail the notoriously hard Through The Fire And Flames solo...while underwater

News
By ( Metal Hammer ) published

In 2015, DragonForce’s Herman Li made metal’s hardest solo even harder by playing it in a swimming pool. And he smashed it

Herman Li soloing underwater, surrounded by fans
(Image credit: YouTube (Dragonforce))

The guitar solo on Through The Fire And Flames is already impossible enough as it is. As anybody who grew up playing Guitar Hero can attest, the minutes-long trade-off between guitarists Herman Li and Sam Totman is a marathon of athletics that’ll scorch your fingers and quickly have steam billowing out your ears. Herman’s just built different, though. Not only have nearly 20 years of practice meant he can probably play DraganForce’s signature song in his sleep by now, but, as demonstrated in the 2015 clip below, he can even do that shit underwater.

The scene takes place on the 2015 Full Metal Cruise, an annual European festival held at sea aboard a cruise ship. For reasons known only to Herman Li, the guitarist had his instrument customised so it could be played in the swimming pool directly in front of the ship’s stage. It’s an adjustment that requires lots of tape, rubber and condoms (yes, really).

After the brief rundown of how what we’re about to see is actually possible, we’re shown the actual stunt. Herman eases his way into it, first simply playing at poolside, among the fans in attendance. Then he perches at the edge of the water, where someone going for a swim puts him on their shoulders and then wades laps of the pool. All this while the guitarist is effortlessly blasting out one of the hardest solos in heavy metal history.

Then, the grand finale. During the closing section, Herman fully slips into the pool and pulls himself underwater, with just his hands up in the air and out of the water, still playing the song. According to the video, this was “the world’s first underwater live guitar solo” – and you know what? We believe it.

Matt Mills
Matt Mills
Online Editor, Metal Hammer

Louder’s resident Gojira obsessive was still at uni when he joined the team in 2017. Since then, Matt’s become a regular in Metal Hammer and Prog, at his happiest when interviewing the most forward-thinking artists heavy music can muster. He’s got bylines in The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, NME and many others, too. When he’s not writing, you’ll probably find him skydiving, scuba diving or coasteering.