syear at Download and didn’t do too well. The heat just completely killed me. So this year I started afterwards.”

But more from Herman in a moment. First, let’s spend a little time with Fred. After all, he may be sleepy and slightly drunk, but he also holds the position of bassist with one of the fastest, most technically demanding metal bands on the planet. How on earth does he keep up when he’s just sunk half a bottle of whisky? What was it like the first he tried it?

“Uuhhh…” he mutters, thinking back. “Well, I can’t remember! But since I’m playing bass I don’t have to concentrate that much.” Really, we ask? But surely the level of musicianship in DragonForce must be incredibly demanding? Fred seems to think differently. “I’m not going to say we’re amazing,” he replies. “We’re just playing what we’re playing and we’re used to it.”

But surely, we gently point out, most of the world does think that you’re amazing. That’s the point. And you’re an incredible guitarist too. “Well that’s my main instrument. That’s why I joined the band,” he enthuses. “I’ve known Herman for seven years and he said since I play guitar I might be able to play bass too. Because, you know, I am amazing.” He laughs before adding that prior to joining DragonForce he had only really played bass once in a studio. “It hurts!” he wails, “it’s a different  way of playing. I don’t play with my fingers; I can’t slap – that’s why I tell you I’m shit!

“It’s different from guitar which is sort of, you know, gay! When you play guitar it’s all soft and about finesse. Bass is all big strings and it hurts.”

If playing virtuoso guitar is all about finesse then Fred’s bandmate and lead guitarist Herman is the embodiment of what it takes to become a guitar great. Having released three albums with DragonForce, it was 2006’ Inhuman Rampage that propelled the silken-haired shredder to the levels of hero-worship usually associated with the likes of Steve Vai and Joe Satriani. But to his credit, he has yet to let the adulation dim his enthusiasm for improving.

“You can always get better,” he declares, refuting the idea that at any given festival he must feel like the best guitarist on the site. He insists it isn’t so. “Honestly, I’m not really. Maybe someone’s better than me at other things. The guitar world is so wide now, there are so many things you can do. I’m a rubbish funk player, you know? I can’t do that. It doesn’t make me a better guitar player just because I can play solos. There are so many dimensions to guitar playing.”

Herman’s enthusiasm for continued learning extends to the acquisition of new equipment. Despite having the pick of every guitar, amp and effects brand in the world, he still gets excited when something new arrives at chez Li.

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