Analysis of the Song Winter of Souls by Demons and Wizards
Analysis of the Song "Winter of Souls" by Demons and Wizards
The song that I’ve chosen for my work is named “Winter of Souls”. A progressive metal band named Demons & Wizards performed it. This German band is a side project for Blind Guardian vocalist Hansi Kursch and Iced Earth guitarist Jon Schaffer; it also featured onetime Iced Earth drummer Mark Prator. Demons & Wizards recorded a self-titled debut in 1999, with Schaffer also handling bass on the record (occasional lead guitar was contributed by guest Jim Morris). Already available in Europe, the album was released in USA only by the middle of 2000. To give you a more clear understanding of the style and the type of lyrics Hansi Kursch writes, we will take a closer look on the “Blind Guardian” – Hansi’s original band. “Guardians” are mastering very specific themes – Middle Ages and Fantasy books. Their best album (according to several European and Japanese charts), “Nightfall in Middlearth, is based completely on the J. R. R. Tolkien’s book named “Silmarilion”. Unlike the same author’s “Lord of the Rings”, a book that gained international recognition before and now is popular once again because of the movie, “Silmarilion” is much complex and serious book.
I’ve chosen this particular song, first of all, because it is beautiful. In metal, music and performance are in highest priority along with lyrics, which is one of the main difference points between metal and modern “pop” music (also known as “MTV style”). Second, this song is dealing with a mental problem that many of us have encountered, the problem of a sorrow about something that is lost forever. The problem of understanding something that is too late. If a person is in touch with his or her emotions, those are the very familiar problems.
A song is written and performed in the good old tradition of German Metal. It combines a medieval minstrel song and lyrics, with pure progressive metal music. Together those two, un-connectable from the first sight, styles of performance, create a unique atmosphere in listeners’ minds. It has no foolish apocalypticism that is very often present in other, then German, metal band’s lyrics.
Today, at the era of humanism re-birth, or so-called “.... the final breakdown of civilian population into political and social conformity” is described by Espinoza Ray Prozac at his Internet site, which is dealing with the mental and ideological aspects...