Review by George Archibald
Demons and Wizards are back with their latest release III due to be released on February 21st.
Demons and Wizards are the brainchild of Jon Schaffer (Iced Earth) and Hansi Kürsch (Blind Guardian) and have been churning out their blend of power metal since 1998. II was comprised over the last 2 years, and is 11 tracks of metal greatness, mixing elements of traditional and power metal.
Leading up to the release of III the band reissued remastered versions of their previous works.
One of the tracks that stood out to me was Wolves in Winter. The song starts off with a driving guitar riff accompanied by Kürsch’s soaring vocals. The song has strong chorus about transformation and self-confidence. Lyrics that are very empowering which is falls inline with the aura of power metal, as the band pays through the song.
My favorite part is when the guitars and drums drop out and the bass carries the beat accompanied by the lyrics, which is a very cool dynamic which gets underutilized in metal.
The band has released Midas Disease as a single, the song has a dark feel with a heavy riff kicking off the songs. Hansi’s playing is very impressive with his soloing on this track. The music feels well put together and not one member over playing or outshining over any other. Kürsch’s vocal lines soar into the higher register on this song and are rather full with what sounds like a backing chorus underneath. The song is very driven and has splashes of tasteful leads throughout.
III is a very well-produced album, the vocals are clear and show off the dynamics of Kürsch’s register. The guitar tones are full and have the traditional metal bite to them. The solos are well thought out and fit within the music without being too flashy or feeling over played. My only criticism would be the album kind of lulls after the third song, and music starts to stall for me.
If you are a fan of power metal and traditional metal this will be a well-accepted gem into your collection. III comes out on February 21st and will be available across most streaming platforms on the same date.
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