Demons & Wizards: By Demons Be Driven
ICED EARTH and BLIND GUARDIAN have been staples of the metal world for multiple decades so when the opportunity arises for such revered titans to join forces you know you’re going to witness something spectacular. There are few musicians that could match the combined skills of Jon Schaffer and Hansi Kürsch and that is what makes DEMONS & WIZARDS so exciting. Their last offering Touched By The Crimson King was released a staggering 15 years ago and at long last it is now time to make their glorious return with the long awaited follow up entitled III.
“The stars have finally aligned for us. Our schedules just became so demanding with ICED EARTH and BLIND GUARDIAN because both bands grew on a larger scale globally through the years and the tours became bigger and longer. Our schedules were never open at the same time. If I had a window of opportunity then Hansi would be in the middle of a world tour and you can’t do something like this properly being halfway engaged,” discusses Jon. “You have to really put yourself into it and that’s the only way to do it properly and do it justice. Here we are finally!” Hansi adds, “it’s going to be epic. It’s a rollercoaster which will take the listener on a 65 minute long journey. We have some very diverse songs and I’m very confident this will be regarded as a classic album for those who are fans of heavy metal.”
Jon and Hansi have been close friends ever since they crossed paths in the 90’s and were overjoyed at the opportunity to once again reignite this project. “We are very driven to make this super successful and super enjoyable. This whole collaboration is based on friendship and chemistry. When we have the time to join forces it’s like a celebration,” expresses Hansi. “It’s very ambitious but it always has that relaxing feeling because we can rely on each other to complete their required parts within the time frame. For John it’s putting together the basic arrangements which is what Andre does for us in BLIND GUARDIAN. They both have their own distinct style and this allows me to bring my style in from different angles. I simply change perspectives when I do songs for DEMONS & WIZARDS in comparison to BLIND GUARDIAN. I’m working myself into each and every song and adapt to what has been delivered by the two guys responsible for the arrangements.”
To make sure he was completely dedicated to the development of this album Jon unplugged himself from the world of music for a while. “I took a break from the music industry entirely for a month and went walking in the mountains and came back completely recharged and ready to be devoted to DEMONS & WIZARDS. It was amazing how inspired I was and how fast the music came and what I felt was a very high quality. I got a lot of goosebump moments putting this album together and Hansi helped add even more of those moments.”
Throughout their respective careers ICED EARTH and BLIND GUARDIAN have been inspired by a variety of fantasy related themes ranging from The Lord Of The Rings series to an entire concept album based on Todd McFarlane‘s Spawn. DEMONS & WIZARDS also follows a similar mindset, delving into fascinating conceptual narratives that are complimented by the supporting artwork. “With DEMONS & WIZARDS the traditional song writing has always gone beyond the fictional and the inspiration of literature but it always plays an important role especially when I’m in charge of the lyrics and I like to be inspired by fantasy literature and literature in general,” Hansi says. “With DEMONS & WIZARDS it’s always been more very philosophical and reality based topics. Love‘s Tragedy Asunder or Fiddler On The Green for example which was based on a real incident which happened to me when I witnessed two different car accidents when a young boy and a young girl tragically died and we created a story. This is the case on this third album too, the music is going to send the listener on a sort of spiritual journey and this is reflected in all the songs but where it is mostly reflected in a song called Timeless Spirits. Sometimes songs are very defined by the lyrics. This song offers a lot of opportunities for interpretation. Sometimes it’s not wise to delve too deep into the subject. Some songs are defined by what we are saying with the song but more precisely defined by the artwork which we have included in the booklet. They give you an idea of what direction the songs take.”
Prior to the album release DEMONS & WIZARDS hit the road, performing at a number of festival dates including a packed out headline set at Wacken Open Air last year. A memory which Jon will treasure for the rest of his career. “It was killer and really overwhelming. There were people crying in the crowd as they thought they’d never get the opportunity to see us both together on stage. That was a pretty amazing thing. We had great club shows and great festival shows. We can’t complain a bit. It was the icing on the cake for sure.”
Whether we will continue to see future releases from DEMONS & WIZARDS in the future remains to be seen due to ongoing commitments to their main projects but this new release and the remastered editions of their previous works should keep their fans satisfied until the opportunity presents itself. “You need a crystal ball and you need to be able to read it” jokes Hansi. “The future is wide open. Obviously firstly we’ll have to go back to our main bands and go into production with ICED EARTH and BLIND GUARDIAN which will then be followed by the typical touring cycles that comes along with that. Everything is possible if we can find the right time frame as we have done with this album. It’s not always easy to accomplish but time will tell.”
III is out now via Century Media Records.
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