Demon And Wizards - Touched By The Crimson King 2005

Here is finally the second album from Demons And Wizards, after 4 years of silence and a logical silence since the combo is no other than a common project of two very busy musicians, namely Jon Schaffer from Iced Earth and Hansi Kürsch from Blind Guardian. I've been a Blind Guardian fan for years now while I was into Iced Earth until "Horror Show" ruined my mood, and Hansi is my ultimate favorite singer ever, so I was expecting this album with high hopes. Maybe, too high.

From the first listen, one can already hear that the formula hasn't really changed with a production that emphasizes everything but the drums, which sound more like a background rhythm. The main advantage of that is having the riffing of Jon and the vocals of Hansi straight in your face [well, your hears actually].

The opening track, 'Crimson King', is their most elaborate song to date and appears to be the favorite of many already. With strong, raw guitar riffs and first class vocals from master Hansi. 'Beneath These Waves' continues in the same direction with a slower tempo but a catchier structure. At this point into the album, one has to pinpoint that Hansi's vocal abilities have even improved since their first album and that unlike previously fewer layers of his voice are superposed at one given time, giving a rare clarity to the main melody. 'Terror Train' sounds like pure Iced Earth with a way better singer and constitute an impressive trilogy of songs with 'Crimson King' and 'Beneath These Waves'.

The album is full of ballads and mid-tempo melodies with 'Seize The Day' [with a reminiscence of Iced Earth's 'Watching Over Me'], 'Love's Tragedy Asunder', 'Wicked Witch' and 'Down Where I Am' contrasting with their more energetic first album.

Some surprises are in stock with a great cover of Led Zeppelin's 'Immigrant Song' and for those fortunate enough to grab the special edition version of the album, 'Lunar Lament', which sounds like it could be straight from the sessions from 2001.

On the other hand, some other songs just don't do anything for me such as 'The Gunslinger' and 'Dorian'. They sound like recycled pieces from "Horror Show". They are there, they are somewhat okay, nothing more.

At the end of the day, "Touched By The Crimson King" is a good album but it lacks the homogeneity of their first masterpiece. It hosts the same formula, great riffing with excellent vocals, which is very unlikely to change your view on the project Demons And Wizards. If you liked the first album, you'll dig that one to a slightly lower level and if you though that it sounded like the same Iced Earth riffs over and over again, well, that's what you'll hear once more.

Highlights: 'Crimson King', 'Beneath These Waves', 'Seize The Day', 'Lunar Lament'

Track List I
01. Crimson King
02. Beneath These Waves
03. Terror Train
04. Seize The Day
05. The Gunslinger
06. Love's Tragedy Asunder
07. Wicked Witch
08. Dorian
09. Down Where I Am
10. Immigrant Song [Led Zeppelin cover]

Download Song : Demons And Wizards Touched By The Crimson King