DRAGONFORCE’s HERMAN LI Reacts to ZP THEART’s Reimagining Of “Through The Fire And Flames”

Iconic power metal vocalist ZP Theart recently celebrated two decades of his legendary track “Through the Fire and Flames” with a 20^th anniversary reimagining.

Far from a straight cover, the new version features a full sonic overhaul by producer and multi-instrumentalist Syndrone, plus dazzling guest solos from Sophie Burrell and Bradley Hall, bringing a fresh technical edge to the fan-favorite classic. The release is available now on all major streaming platforms.

Not surprisingly, the track caught the attention of Dragonforce guitarist Herman Li, who shared his thoughts on the modernized take. Li praised the performances of both Burrell and Hall, calling their solos “shredding, totally cool,” and described Syndrone as “obviously a good player, great player.”

“What do I think about it? I think ZP still sounds great,” said Li, as transcribed by Metal Injection. “The guitar solos by the guests Bradley Hall and Sophie Burrell were shredding, totally cool.

“The artist Synchron – I’m not familiar with him, obviously good player, great player. We wouldn’t play the song that way, so they had to interpret it their own way. What I think about that I mean, no we just wouldn’t play it that way. We just don’t use a drum machine. It sounds like a drum machine to me, so it’s kind of electronic sounding. I think it’s got its own thing, but Dragonforce – we wouldn’t play that way.”

He continued: “Obviously, they’re not doing our solos. And that is totally what they should be doing because it’s a pain to learn someone’s solo from, all note by note. And when you a play guitar solo, you got to express your own way to make it your own. So, that’s how it should be done, which is cool.

“We wouldn’t do it that way. I would say the only thing criticism is it sounded like drum machine to me. So, I wouldn’t use a drum machine on a song like that, you know? That’s it.”

For Theart, the 20^th anniversary reimagining was a heartfelt gift to fans. “This song changed so many lives, along with my own, and I thought it was time to give it a proper re-visit,” he said.

He described the project as a way to honor longtime supporters while modernizing the sound: “Working with Syndrone to modernize the sound while having Sophie and Bradley add their incredible styles was the perfect way to celebrate this 20-year milestone.”