 | Tracklist:
Rites of Passage (intro)
Heaven Denies
Poor Man's Crusade
Fiddler on the Green
Blood on My Hands
Path of Glory
Winter of Souls
The Whistler
Tear Down the Wall
Gallows Pole
My Last Sunrise
Chant (outro)
Release Date: | |
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| Summary: Demons and Wizards' self titled debut is essentially an Iced Earth album with Hansi Kursch on vocals, but the flawless intertwining of 'good and evil' make this album great. |
2 of 2 thought this review was well written
Good and Evil; Darkness and Light; Fire and Water...They are all natural opponents of one another, natural opposites. So what happens when you take the evil riffs of one band and add the heavenly vocals of another? Demons and Wizards happens. Formed by guitarist Jon Schaffer of Iced Earth and vocalist Hansi Kursch of Blind Guardian, Demons and Wizards combines two opposite elements to create a sound like no other.
The band started in 1997, and was soon named by Jon's wife. She thought that Jon was like a demon, and Hansi was like a wizard, thus the band was named Demons and Wizards. They recorded their self-titled debut through 1999, and released it in 2000 to a mass of hopeful fans.
Demons and Wizards lineup is:
Vocals- Hansi Kursch
Guitar- Jon Schaffer
Bass- Rubin Drake
Drums- Bobby Jarzombek
Guitar Solos- Jim Morris
Fairly reviewing this CD is very hard for me. Being an avid fan of both Blind Guardian and Iced Earth, it's a challenge not to be biased about this release. I'll pretend that Demons and Wizards is just another regular band, not a supergroup, and I'll see what happens.
Right off the bat, we hear the evil Iced Earth sound in the first crushing guitar riff of Heaven Denies. Hansi comes in with his agressive-style vocals, which he uses during a good portion of the CD. Then, in typical Blind Guardian fashion, the song builds into an epic chorus. Three fourths through the song, the electric guitar drops out into a soft, clean riff. Hansi makes use of his lighter vocal style in this passage, which ends out the song.
At times, though, the CD starts to drag as we sometimes hear the same thing over and over. Thrashy opening riffs lead into chugging verses, and then a chorus Blind Guardian style. Sometimes they pay off, sometimes they don't. And when they don't, it ultimately dooms the song. But then we see light, because the next track is Fiddler On The Green.
This is a ballad, and Demons and Wizards do ballads very well. Combining Jon's great guitar melodies and Hansi's powerful voice,. this band can pull off ballads like no one else. After the first verse, we hear an emotional solo-type riff that leads into an acoustic harmonized solo. Then, possibly the best moment on the album comes, at least vocally. Starting at a little before the 3 minute mark, Hansi repeatedly belts out soaring shouts that test his range. He pulls them off perfectly, and with a small drum fill this ballad goes into a metal assault. Hansi emotionally sings on top of layered guitar harmonies and powerchords.
On of the amazing things about this band is how neither Jon nor Hansi changed their styles at all; Jon's guitarwork is Iced Earth all the way, and Hansi's vocals are the same as they have always been for Blind Guardian. Yet they intertwine the two styles flawlessly, making a sort of epic evilness. Blood on My Hands is a good example of both the styles. Starting out with an guitar lick that might trick you into thinking you are listening to an Iced Earth album, this song progresses into a combination of what I like best about Blind Guardian while still displaying the obvious Jon Schaffer influence. Hansi's voice soars throughout the entire song, while the guitar compliment Hansi's vocals perfectly.
I'll tell future listeners something right now: If you expect to listen to this band and hear a unique, new sound, you will be dissapointed. This CD just takes Iced Earth style music and Hansi style vocals and intertwine them. It is a great CD for fans of Blind Guardian and Iced Earth, but if you are looking for a new and original sound, then stop here. It has great melodies and heavenly vocals, but at the end of the day this is an Iced Earth album with Hansi on vocals.
4/5
Standout Tracks:
Fiddler On The Green
Blood On My Hands
The Whistler
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| Recent reviews by this author | | | |
Album Rating: 4
ugh... it keeps showing up on this duplicate CD page. I guess I'll hold off posting this review for a while until I figure it out.
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
When you add the review, are you typing out the album name out, or choosing it from the drop down album bar?
Digging: Animal Collective - Spirit They've Gone, Spirit They've Vanished | | | Album Rating: 4
I did it from the drop down menu the first time. The second time, I went to the correct CD page, clicked Give Your Opinion, and clicked Write A Full Review.
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
I think we had this problem before: the "&" in the album translates strangely on sputnik, and thus whenever someone makes/reviews an album with "&" in the name it gets all screwy, regardless of the drop down menu. Ask in the forums for this to be moved to the other album.
| | | Album Rating: 4
Alright, thanks.
| | | Album Rating: 3
Mediocre album.
Digging: A Forest of Stars - The Corpse of Rebirth | | |
This could very well become my favourite band if I manage to lay hands on a copy of this. Iced Earth riffs with Blind Guardian vocals? Man oh man. I would find that eargasmic seeing as I love both of these.
Not to mention Fiddler On The Green is just killer.This Message Edited On 04.03.07
Digging: Katatonia - Night Is The New Day
| | | Album Rating: 3
Fiddler is just killer, I only have a few tracks left cause I didn't think it was anything special aside from them, but I'm thinkin' I should go back and grab the rest of this one for a re-listen. Nice review, btw.
Digging: Nightrage - Wearing a Martyrs Crown | | |
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