Demons & Wizards ‘III’
Album Review By Adam McCann
Century Media Records/Power Metal
When two people form a side project that gets bigger than the sum of its parts there is inevitably always a delay and for Demons & Wizards, that delay has been 15 years. Formed by Hansi Kürsch of Blind Guardian and Jon Schaffer from Iced Earth back in 1997, the duo last released their sophomore album ‘Touched by the Crimson King’ in 2005, but finally, Demons & Wizards are back with their third album, the aptly titled ‘III’.
Thankfully, with ‘III’, the lack of imagination ends with album title; this is an album which shows that Schaffer and Kürsch are not lacking anything in that department. With ‘III’, Schaffer once again shows just how good of a guitarist he is by creating some excellent riffs that can be seen during ‘Diabolic’, ‘Midas Disease’ and ‘Wolves In Winter’. However, it is the fantastical lyrics of Kürsch which as always paint a beautiful picture. Whilst Schaffer found his mojo again with the last Iced Earth album, with ‘III’, Kürsch manages to find that certain something that has been lacking in the last few Blind Guardian albums and it provides this latest Demons & Wizards album with some serious fire in its underbelly as the duo bounce off each other endlessly to provide some excellent power metal that is both memorable and massively enjoyable.
For anyone missing Blind Guardian or Iced Earth, then ‘III’ will certainly tide you over. There are no surprises here, just true, honest, good power metal and should be enjoyed as such.
Rating : 87/100
MHF Magazine/Adam McCann
