The Album Reader Reviews:

	Title: Demons & Wizards Artist: Demons & Wizards Label: Steamhammer/SPV (GER) Release Date: 2/8/00	There are currently 8 Reader Reviews of this album. Average Rating: 4.63 Go to Judgment Committee Reviews of this Album
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Submitted by Netsu (3/20/03):
That's it! I love Blind Guardian and now it is a little more powerful, but they keep their choirs and great rhythms.

Submitted by L.S. BHAN (9/30/01):
To say that this is a godly CD by two godly musicians is a terrible understatement. I've had this disc for several months now, and it has only gotten better over time. Schaffer is the god of riffs, plain and simple, and while Kursch isn't my favorite vocalist in the world (IE's Barlow is), he still kicks a lot of ass. Everything about Demons & Wizards reeks of awesomeness. There is no weak song on here at all. Each and every track is so perfect that the disc as a whole is mind-blowing.
If you have ever listened to heavy metal in your life, you hereby are required to own this album.

Submitted by Chris Ayers (10/15/00):
This new band featuring Iced Earth's Jon Schaffer and Blind Guardian's Hansi Kursch should win a prize for best artwork right off the bat: Travis Smith (Iced Earth, Death, Las Cruces) vividly depicts two children listening to the Grim Reaper's violin. But the music evokes more wizards than demons, for the power metal/rock heft is truly magical. With help from ex-Iced Earth drummer Mark Prator and producer Jim Morris (on guitars, some vocal harmonies, and drum-program tweaking) of Tampa's famed Morrisound Studios, it's no wonder that album sales are off the charts in Europe and Japan. After a short classical intro ("Rites Of Passage"), "Heaven Denies" kicks in with Schaffer's galloping, Maiden-esque guitars, braking to a stunning acoustic outro. The blazing "Poor Man's Crusade" follows, reminding the listener of Kursch's soaring lead vocals and melodic backing harmonies. "Fiddler On The Green" recalls Point Of Know Return-era Kansas, while "Path Of Glory" takes Great White/Poison balladry, shaves off the cheese, and augments the guitar and drums exponentially to make one of the album's best. With a distinctively prog approach to classic metal, D&W flattens the competition with ease.

Submitted by Metal Mike on 8/21/00:
This is a side project of Jon from Iced Earth and Hansi from Blind Gaurdian. One of the best power metal albums I've heard, actually since the last Blind Gaurdian and Iced Earth albums. There is pretty much no way an album involving these men could be bad. The only bad thing about it is the use of studio musicians makes it sound a little stiff, but the songwriting more than makes up for it. Musically, think Iced Earth with some slower, brooding acoustic parts. Hansi is one of the best vocalists in Metal today, layers upon layers of operatic but tasteful vocals. Guitar wise Jon does some of the cleanest picking I've ever heard; check out the start of "Heaven Denies". A very good album, all fans of this type of Metal should check it out.

Submitted by Set Abominae on 8/7/00:
This is a godly cd by 2 godly musicians, Jon Schaffer and Hansi Kursch. Here's my reveiw:

"RITES OF PASSAGE"= Killer
"HEAVEN DENIES"= Godly
"POOR MAN'S CRUSADE"= Godly
"FIDDLER OF THE GREEN"= Godly
"BLOOD ON MY HANDS"= Godly
"PATH OF GLORY"= Godly
"WINTER OF SOULS"= Godly
"THE WHISTLER"= Godly
"TEAR DOWN THE WALL"= Godly
"GALLOWS POLE"= Godly
"MY LAST SUNRISE"= Godly
"CHANT"= Killer

Submitted by Fernando Matias on 6/18/00:
Genius. Pure damn genius.When two monsters of metal join the result can only be this.
Great songs, athmospheric parts,even bloody folk parts... one more album that will stand on my speakers for a long long time. Just listen to this album, if you are not one of those kids that prefer to listen to cacophonic shit acts like Korn or fucking Slipknot. More than metal, this is firstly universal music.

Submitted by Hybrido on 2/11/00:
"Heaven Denies," "Fiddler on the Green" and "Blood on my Hands." These are just a few good songs out of this brilliant record. I have never really listened to Blind Guardian or Iced Earth, but still I like this record... a LOT. Maybe it´s time for me to open my eyes and realize that there´s more good power metal bands than just Hammerfall?

Submitted by Michel Renaud on 1/29/00:
Originally posted on http://www.metalcrypt.com
Demons & Wizards is a side-project of Blind Guardian vocalist Hansi Kürsch and Iced Earth guitarist Jon Schaffer, so I expected a blend of the Blind Guardian and Iced Earth sounds - and this is it. I'm actually impressed with the result. If you like either band, you'll like this album. I'd say 2000 is starting on the right foot metal-wise.
The Iced Earth sound is predominant as far as the music is concerned, and this can be seen immediately with the the short intro track, "Rites Of Passage." It does have the Iced Earth aggressiveness to some extent, with the Blind Guardian magic-type feeling hanging around... all that in 52 seconds!
The second track, "Heaven's Denied," definitely has the speedy, heavy Iced Earth sound, and of course with Hansi's voice you could ask yourself whether this is a Blind Guardian sound. The song slows down in the last couple of minutes with a very melodic sound. Don't worry, the next song will wake you up if that was too melodic. :-)
What I really like about this album is the excellent job they did at marrying the sound of both bands, and actually producing a somewhat unique sound, which, while it reminds me of both bands, has that little something that makes Demons & Wizards different. I love the speedy songs that slow down to a ballad-like sound all of a sudden, then return to a speedier beat.
I have to admit I had to listen to it a couple of times before actually liking this album. But the more I listen to it, the more I find to like about it. This is worth attentively listening to.
The album ends on a very melodic 47-seconds "outro", "Chant," which might just as well been called Sweet Dreams.... with Demons & Wizards.

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