By: Anders

Posted: Aug 31, 2005

The partnership of Blind Guardian frontman and singer Hansi Kürsch and frontman and guitarist Jon Schaffer from Iced Earth, has now reached its second chapter with this new release from Demons & Wizards. Many have been awaiting this album, since their great debut in 2000 and the expectations to this follow up has been sky high.

I found the first album good, but not as exceptional as many did. I think the band somehow have gained that information, and wanted to punish me severely. "Touched By The Crimson King" is much better than the debut, it is a really good album, not a single bad track is to be found on it. The compositions are catchy and enchanting, it is very hard to put the album down, when one first have started to listen to it. The songs grips the listener right away, the great guitarplay, the paces, the vocals, the lyrics and the overall atmosphere, it is all really good.

Musically the treat isn't that much out of the ordinary, the musicians, Schaffer, solo-guitarist Jim Morris, bassist Rubin Drake and drummer Bobby Jarzombek are all top notch musicians and that can be heard. Though the compositions are a good mix of old 70 style hard rock, power metal and heavy metal, without the wildest progressive and technical parts. That doesn't really matter though the music is well played and catchy and very atmospheric and is a perfect base for the vocals. Even though there are some treats for both guitar-, bass- and drum-fanatics.

The vocals are a chapter for themselves. Kürsch has an amazing voice, he can sing in so many ways, and they all work perfectly for him. He shows an enormous range on this album and it is all breathtaking and very impressive. The music is one half of Demons & Wizards and the vocals are the other half, which compliments the songs and finalize them. I could write a book about the vocal performance, but I think it's better to leave it to you to discover all the facets Hansi Kürsch offers on this album. Though let me mention to incredible effort he makes on the cover version of Led Zeppelin's 'Immigrant Song', wauv and a bow, he gets close to Robert Plant, without losing his own trademark.

The reactions I have seen on this release have been kind of mixed, and the majority seems to like the first self titled album more than this. That is not my opinion; the song writing is much stronger on this album, the vocals are better performed and the production is better and more organic. The music is a tad catchier nowadays, and that might be a part of the problem, though I like the catchiness. The atmospheres invoked and the lyrical content is great as well, a really well performed and whole package Demons & Wizards has delivered. This will be somewhere near the top of my list for the best albums of 2005.

Rating: 9/10

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