Born in Hong Kong, Herman Li (Chinese: 李康敏) is the guitarist, songwriter, producer, and content creator of the Grammy-nominated metal act DragonForce.

In the last 20 years, Herman has established himself as one of the most recognised and influential guitarists of his generation. He is a two-time winner of Metal Hammer’s Golden Gods ‘Best Shredder’ award and won the prestigious ‘God of Riffs’ award in 2024. Herman has also 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 is also a prominent figure in the digital space, with a significant presence on YouTube, TikTok, and Twitch. He interacts with fans through livestreams and creates a wide range of content, from entertaining performances to educational videos that inspire and teach guitar enthusiasts. His reach extends beyond music; Herman has collaborated with leading tech and gaming companies, including Nvidia, Meta, Activision Blizzard, Epic Games Harmonix, Asus ROG, Razer, Logitech MEVO, Supercell, among many others.

Herman believes that to improve as a guitar player, it is essential to deeply understand the instrument. To that end, he contributed to the development of the Ibanez EGEN signature guitar series, released from 2008 to 2019, and is currently working on a groundbreaking new design with Paul Reed Smith Guitars. 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 enjoys computer technology, martial arts, and Porsche racing. He is fluent in English, French and Cantonese.

Notable Achievements:

RIAA Certified Platinum Record ‘Through the Fire and Flames”
RIAA Certified Gold Record ‘Inhuman Rampage’
UK Certified Silver Record ‘Inhuman Rampage’
Metal Hammer Awards 2024 – God of Riffs Award
Music Radar/Total Guitar 2017 – Best Metal Guitarists in the World
Metal Hammer Golden Gods 2009 – Best Shredder Award
Grammy Awards 2009 – Best Metal Performance “DragonForce” Nomination
Guitar World Reader’s Poll 2007 – Best New Talent (winning by 70%)
Guitar World Reader’s Poll 2007 – Best Metal
Guitar World Reader’s Poll 2007 – Best Riff
Total Guitar Reader’s Poll 2007 – Best Solo “Through the Fire and Flames”
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
Guitar World Magazine – 50 fastest guitarists