“Hi Swifties! Let us know what you think”: DragonForce drop outrageously shreddy Taylor Swift cover

Taken from forthcoming album, Warp Speed Warriors, the extreme power metal band have put their spin on Wildest Dreams, and – shock horror – Herman Li isn’t holding anything back

DragonForce have added extra chaos to everyone’s 2024 bingo cards by dropping an outrageous cover of Taylor Swift’s Wildest Dreams.

After Taylor Swift’s boyfriend achieved his wildest dream at Superbowl LVIII, it’s now time for Swift’s dreams to come as her favorite nerdy metal band (unconfirmed) have made her 2014 hit distinctly their own.

The cover is taken from the extreme power metal band’s ninth album, Warp Speed Warriors, which releases on March 15. It features as the record’s bonus track and it’s been given the full DragonForce treatment, with shredding and blast beats galore.

If, when Taylor’s song dropped eight years ago, you thought it was lacking in some Pac-Man-inspired guitar solos, then today is your lucky day. Guitarist and founding member, Herman Li’s penchant for whammy bar tricks and videogame-inspired soloing is there for all to see as his blurred fingers execute a whirlwind of lead lines which hurtle across the track’s high-octane undercurrent.

Li and co-guitarist Sam Totman both deliver solos that are a little bit on the quick side and lavish them with more harmonies than Mötley Crüe have had greatest hits albums.

The band have invited Taylor Swift fans to share their thoughts, writing in the video description, “Hi Swifties! Let us know what you think of our cover”. The comments section for the track’s video, which captures the band in chaotic glory on stage, is full of praise for an artist pairing that no-one at Guitar World saw coming, but should have predicted… in hindsight.

@IcyLucario says: “When DragonForce does a cover, they make it sound like that song was always made by them,” whilst @synnova3225 has called the cover “Fantastical and otherworldly” adding that the “The melody fits a power metal style so well!”

The band, made famous by the sheer ridiculousness of Guitar Hero boss battle, Through the Fire and Flames, performed the track on a recent North American tour, much to the entertainment of social media. The band embarks on a European run with Amaranthe next week, kicking off in Hamburg on February 21. Their ‘Forcified version of Wildest Dreams will no doubt feature then, too.

“We are beyond excited to release what we believe to be our most ambitious and grandiose record yet,” says an ecstatic Li of Warp Speed Warriors. “This album showcases multiple facets of our artistic abilities, and we invite metal aficionados from every corner of the genre to discover something captivating within its layers.”

Warp Speed Warriors releases March 15 via Napalm Records.

A freelance writer with a penchant for music that gets weird, Phil is a regular contributor to Prog, Guitar World, and Total Guitar magazines and is especially keen on shining a light on unknown artists. Outside of the journalism realm, you can find him writing angular riffs in progressive metal band, Prognosis, in which he slings an 8-string Strandberg Boden Original, churning that low string through a variety of tunings. He’s also a published author and is currently penning his debut novel which chucks fantasy, mythology and humanity into a great big melting pot.