Demons & Wizards

Often with a highly anticipated new metal release, along with the expectations pushed to heights the album can't possibly reach, a big question mark is hung over the whole thing. How will it turn out? Will it be any good or perhaps a complete and total failure causing the listeners to lose faith in not only the band - but in this case, the member's themselves? Demons & Wizards could easily be a candidate for extreme disappointment. Taking a core member from American power heavyweights Iced Earth and the German 'classic' power metal band, Blind Guardian, and both of them coming together to create a single album could be disaster or else a blockbuster of the likes we haven't seen in quite awhile. Is Iced axeslinging Jon Schaffer and vocalist Hansi Kursch from Blind able to pass the test and come out the clear winners in this rare type of a high profile collaboration? The answer is a resounding yes.

Skeptics beware, this an all star release that has been recieved ecstatically so far, by fans of both the German band and the American born one. Hard and heavy hitting in the finest Iced Earth fashion, and taking a thick coat of Blind Guardian-esque melodies at times, with of course the unmistakable BG vocal lines, D&W comes out being a complete blockbuster of an album, and making all wishes come true of what we had hoped for in this release. There are even songs on here to outshine any found on both BG and IE offerings, which frankly was not something even I imagined happening. Production-wise, its so slick it just slides out of the speakers, every hit on the drums can be heard a mile away, every verse ringing out crisp and clear, bringing out the very best in Hansi's unique voice. Their masterful way of handling the speed metal sections make it pleasant to listen to, even for those who do not care for the speedier stuffs, and not once becoming irritating, thanks to multiple time changes and various unique elements slid in to break up the often too-fast pacing. Song writing is again, top notch, taking two of the best in the power world and putting their geniuses into a single piece of work has resulted in catchy choruses and some new twists on the tried and true beaten path of power metal which has become a slight stagnated in recent times. This self titled offering sounds fresh, new and definitely exciting.

"Heaven's Denied" is my favorite track, because of the fact its so interesting to listen to. Super catchy BG-esque chorus laid right on top of fast paced drumming that sounds ripped right out of an Iced song. Its calm quiet, and frighteningly reflective middle section lulls the listener into a false sense of calm, which you just expect to do the usual and rip back out again, but it does the opposite and stays in this with the final line being "eternal hell". Its pure, its brutal and ends beautiful, the showcase piece of the album and a song that will be talked as being one of the finest of the year, even as it comes to the year-end close. Another killer is "Winter Souls", opening with headpounding drums and relying on unusual guitar darting around and about, squealing and chugging itself around the vocal verses, the first couple of minutes of the tune is raw with just the guitar and strangely echoed vocals before exploding out in full harsh power pound that sees the combination of influences in war with one another in a battle that comes out as a truce judging by the course the song takes. "Winter Souls" also takes a little break from it all, with acoustic pluckings and subdued vocals, but war breaks out again and it explodes back into a bridge and the gigantic chrous that sticks right in the soul, till fade. "My Last Sunrise" has a soft opening, with some truly pretty vocals by Hansi Kursch, but the beauty lasts only a handful of seconds, before moving into a pounding roar. The song switches seamlessly between these two extremes through the duration of the track. The singing-chanting towards the ending with the hard edged riffing backing it, increases slowly in volume until the guitar drops out of the bottom leaving only the vocals til the end, with the last few seconds seeing a second whispering voice sliding in the sinister chaos. Just brilliant. On the pure pounding side, no frills, just solid riffing, and a VERY Blind Guardian sounding chorus is "Tear Down the Walls". This one takes the cake in the BG sounding department, with the rising and cascading vocal lines... on top of that throw in a superbly short and sweet guitar solo that climbs the height of excellence as well. The end is yet another play in the extremes of light and darkness, soft and heavy and adds the perfect finishing touch for the tune.