Demons & Wizards Third Album to be released
through Century Media
Excellent
news for all Iced Earth / Demons & Wizards
fans......
The following Information is courtesy of Blabbermouth.net
Century
Media Records has announced the signing of DEMONS
& WIZARDS to a worldwide deal.
Founded
in 1999 by Hansi Kürsch (BLIND
GUARDIAN) and Jon Schaffer (ICED
EARTH), DEMONS & WIZARDS
released two highly acclaimed albums, 1999s'
"Demons & Wizards" and 2005's
"Touched By The Crimson King". The
band is currently recording its as-yet-untitled
third studio LP, which is scheduled to be released
in early 2020.
Kürsch
comments: "It is a great pleasure and a
big honor for me to finally become a full part
of the Century Media family. Jon and I both
feel that Century Media is the perfect match
for our upcoming DEMONS & WIZARDS
missions. And there will be plenty of them.
"Right
at the moment, we have not only finalized a
re-boot of our first two albums, but are also
working with full forces on the successor of
'Touched By The Crimson King'. Good things are
on its way. Expect nothing but the best and
do not miss us on the road this summer, unless
you want to risk another 20 years of waiting."
Philipp
Schulte of Century Media Records adds: "To
say that we are stoked to be finally working
with Hansi and Jon on a new DEMONS &
WIZARDS album would be an understatement.
"This
is a very important signing to the label: A
top-tier metal band and a great addition to
the label’s roster.
"The
fans have been patiently waiting for DEMONS
& WIZARDS’ return. And now
the time is near!
"We
start our cooperation by re-releasing the band's
two classic albums, before they are conquering
the festival stages all across Europe. And then,
in the beginning of 2020, after 15 years of
waiting, DEMONS & WIZARDS
will finally return with a new studio album.
It is time to hoist the sails for the storm
to come. Welcome aboard!"
Prior
to the release of the new studio album, Century
Media will release DEMONS & WIZARDS'
first two albums as reworked special editions.
Remastered by Chris "Zeuss" Harris
(ICED EARTH, QUEENSRŸCHE,
SANCTUARY), these two releases
will be out on June 7 as limited-edition digipak
and limited deluxe 2LP releases with bonus material
and liner notes by both members.
On
March 29, the digital standard versions of the
remastered albums will be made available in
order to promote the band's festival run in
Europe.
Schaffer
spoke about the progress of the songwriting
sessions for the follow-up to "Touched
By The Crimson King" during a December
2018 appearance on the ICED EARTH-centric
podcast "Podcast In Stone". He said:
"I have written some of the best instrumental
pieces in my entire career in the last few weeks,
and I'm very, very excited to hear what Hansi
does on top of these things. So, the feeling
is really good. He's very into what I sent him.
"We
had three songs going that we started working
on a few years ago, but everything got busy
for me with ICED EARTH and
him with BLIND GUARDIAN,"
Jon continued. "But I'm stoked with the
stuff that I've written — I mean, very,
very happy. We're gonna be taking people on
a journey, man — for sure."
"Touched
By The Crimson King" was partially based
on the "The Dark Tower" series of
books (written by Stephen King) in which the
Crimson King is the main antagonist. The album
was released in Japan in September 2005 with
the following bonus tracks: "Lunar Lament",
"Wicked Witch" (slow version) and
"Spatial Architects". The CD also
included the "Terror Train" video.
The disc featured an appearance by HALFORD and
SEBASTIAN BACH drummer Bobby Jarzombek.
Schaffer
said in a 2009 interview that he felt "Touched
By The Crimson King" was a bit rushed and
he was determined to do things differently next
time around. "We had this window of opportunity
where we had to get it done and we kind of let
time dictate the schedule instead of our feelings,
and that was probably a mistake," he explained.
"I mean, I'm proud of that record and it
sold killer and it's a good album, but I think
Hansi and I are capable of a lot more, especially
when we get back to the root reasons of why
we did this thing together."
DEMONS
& WIZARDS tour dates:
May
31 - Garage, Saarbrücken (DE)
Jun. 01 - Z7, Pratteln (CH)
Jun. 02 - Batschkapp, Frankfurt (DE)
Jun. 19 - Copenhell Festival, Copenhagen (DK)
Jun.
21 - Hellfest, Clisson (FR)
Jun. 22 - Graspop Metal Meeting, Dessel (B)
Jun. 29 – Dokk'em Open Air, Dokkum (NL)
Jun. 30 - Islington Assembly Hall, London (UK)
Jul. 04 - Barcelona Rock Fest, Barcelona (ES)
Jul. 06 - Chania Rock Festival, Chania (GR)
Jul. 21 - Metaldays, Tolmin (SVN)
Aug. 01-03 - Wacken Open Air, Wacken (DE)
Sep. 5 - ProgPower, Atlanta (US)
|
