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Deadly combination.

Lord Chimp | Monkey World | 04/07/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Iced Earth's guitarist Jon Schaffer and Blind Guardian's vocalist Hansi Kursch (sorry, no umlauts) have been friends for years. Each being an admirer of the other's musical work, they eventually got together to coalesced their talents. Demons & Wizards is the result.The obvious description for this outcome is that, well, it sounds like Iced Earth guitars with Blind Guardian vocals. More specifically, Iced Earth's monstrous, chugging rhythms with Kursch's unique, minstrel-like voice and epic vocal harmonies. That description, while superficially effective, seems to suggest that Kursch's voice is simply adhered to Iced Earth's style of metal riffery. Instead, the collaboration seems to have drawn out different elements of each man's artistic palette, integrated into something both new and familiar.For one thing, the album is quite...dark. I think so anyway. The moaning intro "Rites of Passage" is a harrowing choral piece with evil, distorted guitar chords. "Winter of Souls" is bloody and unforgiving. Violent lyrics are found throughout, such as "Poor Man's Crusade" (which deals with the Crusades in the Holy Land) and "Fiddler on the Green" (about a murdered girl). The final trilogy of songs -- "Tear Down the Wall" to "My Last Sunrise" -- is about the story of Azrael. Kursch's vocals are styled in the de facto Blind Guardian way, but more vengeful to my ears. Schaffer's bone-crushing riffs, which were always pretty dark with Iced Earth, seem more so here. Kursch's folk stylings manifest intermittently, especially on the powerful "Fiddler on the Green". The first minutes carry Kursch's bardic, elegaic dirge over pastoral acoustic guitar melodies, and in the final minutes the heavy distortion returns, layering an enchanting lead melody. A brief folksy passage appears in the mini-epic "Winter of Souls", which stands out for its tempo shifts, powerfully dark atmosphere, and majestic harmonies. "Blood on My Hands" brings in the driving rhythmic assault of double-bass and chugga-chugga guitars with a Blind Guardian-styled chorus. "Heaven Denies" is the crushing opener, which retreats at the end with an enchanting, quiet passage of acoustic guitar and ethereal vocals. "Tear Down the Wall" throws epic melodies and massive riffs at you, which becomes a clomping, incensed "Gallows Pole," which features some of the tastiest guitar harmonies you're likely to hear on a metal album. "My Last Sunrise" is slow, crushing, and mythic. Mark Prator plays drums, and he does a great job. People rip the guy because he's a session drummer or whatever. He's an awesome metal drummer though, session musician or not. He has a great feel for the songs, inserting a crushing immediacy with the double-bass or a spritely cymbal accompaniment to the quieter moments.Fierce rhythmic power, powerful vocals, good songs...all the ingredients for a good metal album."

Sheer Power Metal Brilliance

Fobbah | Sydney, NSW, Australia | 05/16/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'd have to start off by saying that this is most definitely not just another Iced Earth release with Hansi Kursch on vocals. I'm not quite sure where this somewhat popular opinion sprung from, but this album really seems to borrow more from Blind Guardian's 'theatrical' aspects if anything. The only tracks throughout this album that really support that argument at all are probably Poor Man's Crusade, and Tear Down The Wall, borrowing heavily from Iced Earth's big bag of power chords.I would call myself a stronger fan of Blind Guardian than Iced Earth, but it seems to me that this album has accumulated a pretty bad rap from Blind Guardian fans in that it really has branched in a new direction, and they may feel very tempted to label it as Iced Earth with Hansi on vocals, which is truly unfortunate. Comparing it in this way to Iced Earth, while one of my favourite bands, really doesnt do this album justice.What you ARE getting for your hard earned money with this album is the theatrical brilliance of Blind Guardian that we've all come to know and love, but with a darker and more melodic theme and to some extent a slightly slower tempo, in what i feel is just another evolution of said music further from BG's thrash/speed metal origins. In a time where most power metal bands seem to be following BG's lead and churning out a somewhat slightly inferior level of fairly generic stuff, its great to see said leaders of the genre out there trying something new.The album really gets straight down to business, throwing us right in the deep end with Heaven Denies, a blazing assault of high tempo power that fans of both BG and IE will probably appreciate. Soon you'll encounter the Fiddler on the Green, and at this stage, the melodic brilliance of this album will really begin to shine through. The acoustic first segment of this song is really where Hansi's influence first begins to appear, and Schaffer really outdoes himself here with an incredible solo finish that will remain etched within my memory for decades to come.Its just as well the Fiddler comes to an epic finish, because the album really comes to its peak with the next two tracks, Blood On My Hands, and Path Of Glory. Hansi's influence on the album is probably most evident at this point, although Path Of Glory does come to a finale somewhat reminscent of other Iced Earth releases.Winter of Souls and the Whistler resonate strongly with Blind Guardian's slower and more melodic side, and while excellent songs, i feel they mostly serve to foreshadow the one of the album's most truly awesome tracks, Tear down the Wall.The album comes to a somewhat dark finish with the final two tracks, Gallows Pole and My Last Sunrise. While initially still an interesting and heavy composition, i did eventually grow weary of Gallows Pole, and it would probably be the only track on this album that i ever find myself skipping. My Last Sunrise has had a somewhat opposite effect, for while i didnt really enjoy this track much at first, i can no longer get enough of it! It really grows on you, and is truly the darkest song across the album. Hansi's voice reaches new heights, and each individual word really carries the most incredible emotions that have to be experienced to be believed.Overall, it has to be said that this is probably the one album that has lasted the longest across my vast power metal collection, while other BG and IE albums for example usually leave me blown away at first and slowly wear away with time, this composition truly never grows old, and it's managed almost half a year of damn near constant playtime without losing any of its original flair.The single most worthwhile investment i've made in my life. Go. Find. Enjoy."

Stunning power metal supergroup

Justin Gaines | Northern Virginia | 06/12/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Every once in a while, the stars align and the two musicians with their own distinct styles are brought together to create some truly incredible music. I'm not necessarily likening Iced Earth guitarist Jon Schaffer and Blind Guardian vocalist Hansi Kurisch to Lennon and McCartney, but in the world of progressive power metal, their Demons & Wizards collaboration is a pretty big deal.



Demons & Wizards represents the best elements of both Iced Earth and Blind Guardian, bringing together the blazing guitar riffs of the former and the fantasy elements and signature vocal style of the latter. The result is a sound that is equal parts early (translation: good) Metallica and Uriah Heep. The band's name is even taken from Uriah Heep's legendary Demons and Wizards album. This is a powerful metal album. Toss out the chanting intro and outtro tracks and you're left with 10 great metal songs that are on par with just about anything either Blind Guardian or Iced Earth has recorded. Schaffer is riffing like mad here, and Kurisch's vocals are emotional when they need to be ("Fiddler on the Green") and always powerful (every other song).



Demons & Wizards is an instantly memorable album, and one you'll want to revisit time after time. It deserves a spot near the top of anyone's list of the best modern power metal albums, and is an absolute must-have for all fans of Blind Guardian, Iced Earth, Tad Morose, Brainstorm, Gamma Ray, or any other modern power metal band.



Edition Notes: The limited edition version of Demons & Wizards comes in a nice digipack and features one bonus track, a blistering cover of Cream's "White Room". If you don't already own this album, you should definitely try to find this version. If you own the standard version, you might want to consider upgrading (I did), especially if you're a fan of interesting cover songs."