Do super groups have a reason for existence? I can't really tell. Most people blame such musicians for trying to cash out their success with their known bands. Can you blame them? After all most of these kind of bands release one album and that's it. Demons And Wizards were that close to becoming another case in this category. But at least after four years here they go again.
Demons And Wizards (just allow me to add that the name kind of reminds me of Dungeons & Dragons, alright?) were formed back in 2001 by Hansi Kursch (Blind Guardian, vocals) and Jon Schaffer (Iced Earth, guitar). It was back then when both bands where pretty much at the peak of their popularity.
As with their debut, Touched By The Crimson King sounds exactly like a fine sonic mixture of Iced Earth and Blind Guardian. It's quite obvious that if you don't like these two acts you aren't going to like this marriage either. What about the rest? Hmm... well, I have to admit that as a package I found Touched By The Crimson King a really tantalizing proposal.
I loved both bands but their strength in time seems to start fading away. Still this mixture of both bands' music sounds much more interesting than anything both bands have release during the last 3-4 years. Some may prefer the bombastic rhythms of The Gunslinger and Terror Train. I found more interest in the dreamy soundscapes of Beneath these Waves and Seize The Day. As for the Led Zeppelin cover of Immigrant Song... well, like Shanya Twain says That don't impress me much.
Truth is that the album sounds well balanced. While I didn't manage to listen to the last Iced Earth and Blind Guardian albums more than twice in a row, this one sounded as a more smooth listening attempt. What more can I say? Did you expect to listen to something REALLY NEW? Don't search for that here. Looking for a nice fuse of U.S. and German Power Metal? Hey! Check this one out!