Demons & Wizards – “Touched by the Crimson King”
Since the man singing here is Blind Guardian’s Hansi Kürsch and the man playing guitars is Iced Earth’s Jon Schaffer, this does sound like a combination of both bands, but still different. Morrisound studios owner Jim Morris plays the guitar solos on this album, while Bobby Jarzombek is behind the drum kit. One thing is for sure, though, the Jon Schaffer riff is in full force here: you know, the riding-on-horseback, galloping thrashy riff. Some people have complained that the Jon Schaffer riff is too repetitive. All I can tell you is that this is Jon playing like Jon plays. On the other hand, there are plenty of calmer, acoustic-sounding, ballad-y moments. Jim Morris’ guitar solos do sound Pink Floyd-ish and melodic. They give the album another important element. What about Hansi’s singing? Hansi sounds like Hansi: good, sort of gritty, traditional metal singing. They cover a piece called “Immigrant Song” by some unheard-of blues-rock band called Led Zeppelin.