Demons and Wizards - Touched by the Crimson King

By SlashRose

Release Date: 09/25/2005
Price: 2400 yen

My Rating

Music - 9/10
Vocals - 8/10 You can never go wrong with Hansi K�Esch, but his vocals just don’t seem as difficult in some of these songs as it does in Blind Guardian.
Length - 7.5/10
Songs - 8/10
Overall - 7.75

Overview

This is Demons & Wizards’ second album release. For anyone who doesn’t already know, it is a collaboration project between Blind Guardian and Iced Earth (and if you don’t know who they are, then you best brush up on your metal basics). When I listened to this album, I was very impressed. It was much better than their previous album, and has such a powerful sound. I would recommend this album to anyone who loves a good metal album.

Track Listing

1. Crimson King
2. Beneath these Waves
3. Terror Train
4. Seize the Day
5. The Gunslinger
6. Love’s Tragedy Asunder
7. Wicked Witch
8. Dorian
9. Down Where I Am
10. Immagrant Song (Led Zeppelin cover)
11. Lunar Lament
12. Wicked Witch (slow)
13. Spatial Architechs
14. Beneath These Waves (radio edit)

Song Reviews

1. Crimson King 5:47 - 9/10
The first track on their new album, and what a song it is! Right from the beginning of the song, it captivates your attention with powerful guitars and Blind Guardian’s touch of choir vocals. The chorus of the song could have been little more powerful, in my opinion, but it wasn’t bad at all. Overall, it is a good song.

2. Beneath These Waves 5:12 - 8.5/10
The guitar in this song isn’t quite as strong, but the rhythm of it is very good. The solo in this song is quite nice, but nothing extraordinary. This song lost a lil in my book beause the outro of the song was a little too lengthy. They could have shortened it and still have made a nice mellow exit.

3. Terror Train 4:46 - 7.5/10
The guitar in this song isn’t as attractive and gets a little repetative. The vocals aren’t as good as they are in other songs and didn’t impress me much. It is an alright song, but it didn’t fair as well as the previous tracks.

4. Seize the Day 5:22 - 8.5/10
Here is a mellow song It is calmer in tempo and distortion, but this song evokes emotion. I liked this contrast from the heavy songs thus far. The vocals are very nice in this one and the composition was good over all.

5. The Gunslinger 5:15 - 7.5/10
Yet another mellow track. Not! It starts out slow but blasts into heavy guitars and blast beats. I didn’t like the choir vocals in this song much, and the voice in general wasn’t that great.

6. Love’s Tragedy Asunder 5:28 - 8.5/10
The acoustic intro in this song was very nice. I liked the transitions between acoustic and electric, they were very smooth. Unlike the previous song, the backing vocals in this song fit well. This song is a good example of a combination of slow, calm acoustics to heavy guitars and vocals. The soloing at the end of the song was also good.

7. Wicked Witch 3:32 - 7.5/10
I didn’t like this song quite that much at first, but it grew on me a little. It is purely acoustic and is a little bit slower in tempo. I did like the choir parts a lot, though. The outro, again, was a little lengthy. It could have been shortened, even though the track is already pretty short. One thing I did like about it, but could have added more to, was the piano.

8. Dorian 6:36 - 7/10
This song was OK, to a certain point. It has some unnecessary parts in it. I didn’t quite like the slow part of this song. It felt liked it was dragged out to lengthen the song or something. They could have done better with this song.

9. Down Where I Am 4:45 - 7.75/10
The lyrics in this song are kind of repetative and uncreative, but the acoustic guitar is nice. The vocals in this song are pretty nifty in some parts, but the rest is kind of average. The backing vocals in the beginning is a good touch.

10. Immigrant Song 2:28 - 8/10
I have never heard the original, to be honest, though, I am somewhat familiar with Zeppelin. This song was good overall.

11. Lunar Lament 4:04 - 7.5
The intro to this song was good, and the guitar is consistently good throughout. Again, the lyrics to this song were a little repetative, but I suppose that there are only so many things you can say about wanting the sun...

12. Wicked Witch 3:56 - 8/10
It is the same song... just a little slower. Anyway, I gave this one a higher grade than the original because I felt the slower tempo fit it better.

13. Spatial Architechs 5:46 - 8.5
This song sounds different from the rest of the songs a bit. It is a nice change and is a notable song on the album. The song is good all around and is worth a listen.

14. Beneath These Waves [radio edit] 3:40 - 9/10
It’s basically the song without the extensive outro. I like it better without the dragged out low vocals and violin outro.

Where Can You Buy the CD?

CD Japan

JMIgnited.com is not affiliated with the artists presented on this website or their representatives. All images are the property of their respective copyright owners. Images are displayed for educational and decorative purposes only under the "fair use" clause.

All music samples are property of their respective owners. All music featured are samples only! If you enjoy a particular band, please help endorse them and buy their music! No copyright infringement is intended.