Metal Reviews

It's odd. Despite being a big Iced Earth fan, I never seriously listened to this side project beyond may be 30 second music samples on Amazon.com. I'm trying to decide whether I should first get their debut or Touched By The Crimson King. Recomendations? An overall assessment of the quality of both albums would be nice too.

i'm a fan of both BG and IE but firstly:

Blind Guardian>Demons and Wizards>Iced Earth(except the first albums)

the debut album is way better than the Crimson King one but they are both really good.

The debut, in my opinion, is only better because it was something new. With Crimson King I knew what I was getting, you know? The regular version of Crimson King is kind of shitty, you need to pick up the special edition with "Spacial Architects" and "Lunar Lament," both are killer tunes are don't deserve to be bonus tracks, especially when a track on the regular version is a cover of "Immagrant Song." The slow version of "Wicked Witch" isn't anything special.

Anyway, both albums are great.

I'm not much of a Demons and Wizards fan, nor am I a fan of Iced Earth, but the debut D&W album is what I would recommend to somebody looking to check the band out. It has "Heaven Denies" and one other song that I really like, but with the exception of those two tracks I find them to be very boring and too much like Iced Earth. There really isn’t anything special about them, except for Hansi. Actually, they sound like Iced Earth with Hansi Kursch on vocals, IMO.

So;
Blind Guardian>Demons & Wizards>Iced Earth

I only have Touched by the Crimson King but I'm very happy with it. Great album in my opinion.

the first album is, imho, much better.... try it !

NP
Helloween "Keeper Of The Seven Keys: The Legacy" (certainly not up to the previous chapters but still Deris's Helloween strongest effort with Dark Ride)

I don't think D&W sounds like Iced Earth. It definitely sounds like Jon is in the band because he has his own distinct sound, but I definitely don't think they sound much like Iced Earth.

They're both very good albums.

At first I was all like "oh maan this new one is no wheres near as good as the debut" but it has grown on me alot. I would say the first is slightly better still however because of songs like: Blood On My Hands, Fiddler On The Green, and Gallows Pole. The 2nd album doesnt have a song that matches the quality of those 3 IMO except for the title track, Crimson King.

The thing is though, is that all of the songs feel like they are really close to being as good as the first album, but they lack a certain something that I cant quite put my finger on.. Almost like they are incomplete versions of kickass songs.

I think that is because we knew what to expect. I felt the same way when I heard it. Have you heard the bonus tracks?

My favorites on the album are "Dorian" and "Loves Tragedy Asunder." Man, those songs kick my ass!

Yeah, I have the version with those 2 on it, Loves Tragedy Asunder is indeed one of the best songs. Dorian I havent really gotten into fully yet, I usually end up skipping it because I dont have much time to listen to music anymore and I like Down Where I Am more.

The riff in "Dorian" is excellent. The mellow breakdown may be a little too long though. But overall it's a killer tune.

I have both and neither sound like Iced Earth.

I think both are great but i'd have their debut just above Crimson King because the killer tracks on the debut are slightly better than the killer tracks on Crimson King.

I will also agree to the comment that people may choose the debut over Crimson King because when we heard the debut, it was something new, nothing we have heard before. And when Crimson King came out we knew what to expect, we'd heard it before.

So i recommend that you grab both their debut and Touched By The Crimson King

Sounds like Iced Earth meets Blind Guardian. Funny that.

They dont sound like either band, thats what makes D&W so good. You can have a member from each band come together, each with their distinct sound, and still not sound like their own bands...

D&W does not sound like IE or BG they are a seperate entity.

It actually just sounds like Jon and Hansi, not Iced Earth and Blind Guardian.

Very tr00.

I'd say Tear Down The Wall and Heaven Denies should be on that list instead of Gallow's Pole, but even so Beneath These Waves, Seize The Day, Love's Tragedy Asunder or Wicked Witch pretty much match those in terms of quality, at least as far as I'm concerned.

I think the faster songs like Crimson King or The Gunslinger are a bit weaker than the fast songs on the first one (Heaven Denies, Blood On My Hands) but the mid and slow paced ones are a bit better, so it's a tie.

I find Tear Down The Wall to be one of the weaker tracks on the debut, I do like Heaven Denies alot.. But I love Gallows Pole more than both.

I dont know what it is about the debut, it has nothing to do with something new and something I expected anymore because Ive had both for a long time and listen to them both alot. I just enjoy the first one more than the second one, but Crimson King is an awesome album, just not as awesome IMO.