Born in Hong Kong, Herman Li (Chinese: 李康敏) is the co-founder, guitarist, and producer of the Grammy-nominated metal act DragonForce.
In the last 18 years, Herman has established himself as one of the most recognised and influential guitarists of his generation. He is a two-time winner of the Metal Hammer’s Golden Gods ‘Best Shredder’ award and has topped four categories in Guitar World’s Readers Poll. Outside of DragonForce, Herman has performed with guitar legends Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Tony MacAlpine, and Paul Gilbert, among others.
Herman believes that to improve as a guitar player, it is important to understand the instrument as much as possible. To that end, Herman has worked to develop innovations for his E-GEN (aka EGEN) signature guitar series, which was released by Ibanez from 2008 to 2019. He is currently working with on a new guitar to fit his evolving view of the instrument. Herman is also interested in inspiring and coaching the next generation of guitar players and has contributed guitar lessons to publications such as Young Guitar (Japan), Total Guitar (UK), and Premier Guitar (USA).
Outside of music, Herman’s interests include computer technology, martial arts and Porsche racing. He is fluent in Chinese, French, and English.
Notable Awards and Achievements
RIAA Certified Platinum Single ‘Through the Fire and Flames”
RIAA Certified Gold Album ‘Inhuman Rampage’
Music Radar/Total Guitar 2017 – Best Metal Guitarists in the World
Metal Hammer Golden Gods 2009 – Best Shredder Award
The Grammy Awards 2008 – “Best Metal Performance” Nomination
Guitar World Reader’s Poll 2007 – Best New Talent
Guitar World Reader’s Poll 2007 – Best Metal
Guitar World Reader’s Poll 2007 – Best Riff
Total Guitar Reader’s Poll 2007 – Best Solo
Terrorizer Reader’s Poll 2006 – Best Band “DragonForce”
Terrorizer Reader’s Poll 2006 – Best Musician “Herman Li”
Terrorizer Reader’s Poll 2006 – Best Live Act “DragonForce”
Metal Hammer Golden Gods 2005 – Best Shredder Award