Quick Facts
Biography
Frédéric Leclercq (born June 23, 1978 in France) is the guitarist for death metal supergroup Sinsaenum, the bassist and backing vocalist for power metal band DragonForce, and the guitarist/vocalist in Maladaptive (band). He is a session musician for various other bands, including George Lynch's Souls of We. He is also an ex-member of the French power metal band Heavenly and played several shows with Carnival in Coal in 2006.
According to his profile on Dragonforce.com, Leclercq can speak "French, English, German, and some dirty words in almost every language," and his signature stage move is "Black metal whiskey sculling." He was asked by Herman Li to help DragonForce on a few shows in North America and Japan as they needed a bassist. At first, he was only supposed to play on a sessional basis, but he played with so much skill and professionalism that he was offered the position permanently. He has since gone on to become a creative force in DragonForce, writing and co-writing music and lyrics for the band since 2012's The Power Within.
Leclercq played sessional rhythm guitar for Swedish power metal band Sabaton on their European tour in 2011, as regular guitarist Rikard Sundén had just become a father.
After years in the making, Leclercq's project Sinsaenum is finally announced in 2016.
Playing influences
Leclercq is influenced by various guitarists such as Uli Jon Roth, Adrian Smith, Trey Azagthoth, and Marty Friedman.
Equipment
Leclerq uses ESP basses, has a signature model, the LTD FL-600, with 5 other bassists (the others being Gabe Crisp, Frank Bello, Pancho Tomaselli, Tom Araya and Henkka Seppälä), and uses ESP ARROW FL SIN-6B and ANTELOPE custom baritone scale models for Sinsaenum. He used an ESP horizon electric guitar whilst performing in Sabaton. For amplification he uses Peavey Tour 700 bass amps and 8x10 bass cabinets, along with a Samson UHF Wireless System.
Former bands and projects
- Hors Normes (fusion) 1994-1996; 2000
- Memoria (heavy-black metal) 1997-1999; 2000–2001
- Heavenly (power metal) 2000-2004
- Egoine (hard rock) 2003-
- Sudel's Project (progressive rock) 2005-