Progressive metal is a genre that seems to have been overlooked
\nof late. Maybe it’s because there have been so many groups trying
\nto get noticed in this genre that everything tends to blur
\ntogether. Put it this way: the only progressive “hard rock” band I
\ncan immediately think of is Dream Theater. ‘Nuff said.<\/p>\n
Somehow, I don’t think that Demons & Wizards, a side project
\nfeaturing two of the more recognizable names in the genre, will
\nhave that same problem. This self-titled effort is an amazing disc
\nthat is both commercial and dark, and should breathe some new life
\ninto the category.<\/p>\n
The brainchild of guitarist Jon Schaffer (Iced Earth) and
\nvocalist\/bassist Hansi K\u00fcrsch (Blind Guardian), this pairing
\nis everything that proponents of the genre have been promising that
\nit would be. It’s a combination of powerful songwriting (without
\nsacrificing the darker, death-themed tones of the lyrics), intense
\nplaying and singing that reminds me of Klaus Meine of the
\nScorpions. Put that all together, and you have one hell of a band –
\nand you have me hoping the collaboration won’t stop with this one
\nalbum.<\/p>\n
Once you hit the opening lines of “Heaven Denies,” featuring the
\nincredible drum work of Mark Prator,
\nDemons & Wizards<\/i> crackles to life like a high tension
\nwire that has power restored to it. K\u00fcrsch’s vocals are
\nabsolutely all-powerful, making me wonder why Blind Guardian hasn’t
\nbecome a major force in the metal genre to be reckoned with. The
\nsame can be said for Schaffer’s guitar work; his chops are
\nincredibly meaty, and he helps bring this material to life. (Credit
\nshould also be given to the album’s producer Jim Morris, who also
\ncontributes some lead guitar work.)<\/p>\n
How engrossing is
\nDemons & Wizards<\/i>? Put it this way: it wasn’t until I was
\non my third listen that I realized how dark some of the lyrics
\nwere. K\u00fcrsch’s vocals are so good that you might find yourself
\ncaught up in their beauty and majesty and not in the message of the
\nsongs. I’ll say this much: usually lyrics of this nature are
\ncovered up with distortion-laden, double-bass pumping instrumental
\nwork that seems to fit the mood. If anything, maybe we could say
\nthis music represents the angels with bent halos.<\/p>\n
I’ve been listening to metal for the better part of the last two
\ndecades, and
\nDemons & Wizards<\/i> is one of the best new discs I’ve heard
\ncome down the pipeline. Don’t allow this disc to fall to the
\nwayside because metal isn’t in vogue right now. Pick it up, listen
\nto it… fall in love with this disc. It’s incredibly easy to
\ndo.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":25309,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"artist":[6274],"rating":[5613],"class_list":["post-36515","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-demons-wizards","rating-rating-a-minus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/36515","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36515"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/36515\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25309"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36515"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36515"},{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=36515"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=36515"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}