Before there was Dragonforce, both Herman Li and Sam Totman were the guitarists of a New Zealand black metal band named Demoniac. In January 1999 Demoniac headed into the studio with Cradle of Filth producer Mags to record The Fire and the Wind. The original cover featured a black and white photograph of one of the band members drinking while having sex and was subsequently banned. The final release artwork was heavily censored, although depicted the same image.