Album Review: Demons & Wizards - III

It isn't often that dream scenarios come true, and when they do, it often turns into a debacle. The thing we don't always take note of is that just because two artists are great, and might wonder what they would sound like together, doesn't mean that the end result is going to be any good. In the case of Demons & Wizards, it was one of those occasions where everything did fall into place. That first record is one of the more important power metal records of its time, and it stands up as a great piece of work, a perfect fusion of Iced Earth and Blind Guardian. And for those of us like me, who don't like Matt Barlow's voice much, it was even more important.

Fifteen years after their second album, Jon Shaffer and Hansi Kursch have gotten back together for a new outing. Album number three comes after so much has happened to each of them that it's almost difficult to imagine what to expect from their collaboration. There's only one way to find out.

The album kicks off with "Diabolic", which was the first song released to whet our appetites. It stretches eight minutes, building slowly, falling back to the start just when it feels like the song is about to hit its climax. There's very much a prog vibe here, with the hook being subdued compared to the main guitar lead, and two minutes of atmospheric scene-setting tacked on to the end. It was an odd choice for a first single, and is a curious way to open the album. After fifteen years of waiting, I was expecting them to come out of the gates swinging, but that's not what the song is about.

What's interesting about the record is that it almost doesn't feel or sound anything like Demons & Wizards. Jon Schaffer's trademark chugging rhythms are used sparingly here, leaving most of the record to sound like Blind Guardian playing old-school classic rock. That has plenty of curiosity appeal to it, but it's not at all what I would have equated with this project. "Invincible" is a strong song, and Hansi delivers a suitably huge chorus, but there isn't a drop of power metal to be found in it, which is what this band was founded on. I know that people evolve with time, but given the gap between albums, there was no warning the shift would be so drastic.

The most striking feeling I get through the majority of the record is that it feels.... tired. Hansi tries to muster some anger in his delivery, but Schaffer's music doesn't give him much to work with. The rhythms are less intricate than before, the playing lacking a heavy right hand attack. And with the tempos slowing down, that gives the album a very plodding feeling that only plays further into the lack of energy throughout it. "Timeless Spirit" is trying to be an epic that builds from acoustic guitars into a massive wall of melody, but then it spends the last two minutes rehashing the coda in a way that doesn't add anything but frustration. The song hit its climax, but they insist on sticking around for far too long afterward, which weakens the power of what they had accomplished, which honestly wasn't that much. Hansi is more respected than Ripper Owens, but the song is a pale imitation of "The Clouding" from Iced Earth's "Framing Armageddon" album.

In fact, you could say this whole record is like a pale imitation of a Demons & Wizards album. The ingredients are there, but they don't come together whatsoever. The second album brought plenty of questions, but it still had strong songs. This album just doesn't. Schaffer's music is the blandest it's ever been, but Hansi's melodies aren't any better. It's so much a wash of backing vocals with no tune to them that it all fades into a gray fuzz as the hour drags on. Take away those layers upon layers of Hansi's voice, and this record would have nothing to offer.

I wish I could say something snappy here to sum things up, but it's hard to have much to say when the predominant experience an album gives you is boredom. There's your takeaway.