DragonForce goes full 80s-glam in new video, “Strangers”

DragonForce has launched a new video for “Strangers” – a song from 2019′s Extreme Power Metal, and a tribute to everything 80s! Featuring Steve Vai‘s Whitesnake/David Lee Roth-era guitars, the band spared no expense in making this clip authentic, delivering the ultimate glam metal cheese. Filmed before the pandemic with a large-scale production, “Strangers” was directed by Roboshobo, in Los Angeles, CA, and can be seen here: youtu.be/eZH1tnWyrRY

Guitarist Herman Li comments: “This video takes place in the same ’80s world as our last video (‘Troopers of the Stars’), with the same cast and the same director. When Roboshobo pitched the concept, I was immediately into it. I’m a huge fan of the glam rock-era of music – I love the showmanship, the guitar solos, and the endearing cheesiness. And the players of that time were amazing, like Steve Vai, Warren Di Martini, and Reb Beach; I think sometimes the playing gets lost, and people just remember the crazy outfits. So, this video is a loving tribute to that era – while also being authentic…

Roboshobo told us to get some cool-looking guitars to fit the theme of the video, and the night before the shoot, I was panicking because we still hadn’t found any. So, I texted Steve Vai and told him we were doing a glam rock video. He said, ‘come on over’, and when I got there, he had pulled out THE guitars he used with Whitesnake and David Lee Roth. I remember seeing these guitars in magazines as a kid, so it was incredible to get to use them on set – I almost cried when he handed them to me!

Besides the guitars, I think we all looked really hunky in our costumes, especially our hair! For a minute, I was even considering getting a perm…I know people may think we’re not taking ourselves seriously enough, but I think given the state of the world, sometimes it’s just nice to kick back and have a laugh with your mates. That was definitely the vibe on set – we could barely keep a straight face watching the playback.

We’re also releasing super-limited merch we did in collaboration with the artist, Teenage Stepdad, at: dragonforce.com/shop. It definitely captures the feeling of the era!“

To coincide with this video launch, DragonForce has announced a headlining North American tour for 2022, featuring Battle Beast and Seven Spires as support.