London-based Power Metal band DragonForce has launched a new video for “Strangers”, one of their songs from their 2019 album Extreme Power Metal. The video has been devised as “a tribute to everything 80s”. It features Steve Vai’s Whitesnake/David Lee Roth–era guitars and was filmed before the pandemic with director Roboshobo, in Los Angeles.
Guitarist Herman Li comment extensively on the making of the video:
“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.”
DragonForce are also releasing extremely limited merch created in collaboration with the artist Teenage Stepdad via their shop which they feel “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.
