A few years ago, something happened within the music industry. Musicians that weren’t involved in bands (anymore) started to give each other a call and formed new bands, some journalist liked to call them ‘super bands’. And there they were, ready to conquer the world. Bands like Velvet Revolver, Audioslave and Tomahawk were selling records as hell. Demons & Wizards already made a tremendous debut album in 2000 and now the release of their second full-length album ‘Touched by the Crimson King’ has become reality.

As the cd starts, I immediately get the feeling that this band was very exited to continue playing together. ‘Crimson King’, as the first song calls, is a very good arranged song, as the fans know it. From the beginning till the last second of the five and a half minute during song, the fast riffs, high vocals, and hard drums are following in no-time, with the typical ‘sing-it-together’ choruses. This song lies in the tradition of the previous work, but afterwards the record is not as fast as the first one.
For example, the fourth song ‘Seize The Day’ is a slow song with a lot of acoustic work in it, creating a nice sphere using different vocals. Hansi Kürsch is a great singer and he leads the band in these kinds of songs as if it is nothing. Another part that I have to get used to in this kind of music is the absence of the synths. In my opinion they could have been added in some songs, like in the intro of ‘The Gunslinger’, where the guitar doesn’t come out that well so that the vocals have to put a lot of effort to keep the listeners' attention.
The rest of the cd lies somewhere in the tradition of the first record, with the adaptations as mentioned above. All songs are well thought off, according to the time they take up and the structures they have. There are no strange loops, no sudden breakdowns, and no immediate grunting vocals. Just descent heavy metal in the form of good songs, brought by great musicians.
I realize that a lot of people are wondering whether they should buy this album, according to the fact they love Iced Earth and Blind Guardian. I can ensure you, if you love one of these bands; you’ll love Demons & Wizards' new record for sure. In my opinion, the band came up with a good piece of work that will rotate for quite some time in my
cd-player. Maybe my expectations were a little bit too high, but that doesn’t mean this album wouldn’t make it to the top of the charts.

Tracklist:
1. Crimson King
2. Beneath These Waves
3. Terror Rain
4. Seize The Day
5. The Gunslinger
6. Love’s Tragedy Asunder
7. Wicked Witch
8. Dorian
9. Down Where I Am
10. Immigrant Song

Line-up:
Hansi Kürsch:  Vocals
Jon Schaffer:  Guitar
Bobby Jarzombek: Drums
Rubin Drake:  Bass
Jim Morris:  Guitar Solos