Demons & Wizards was a power metal band conceived as a side-project by Blin… Read Full Bio ↴Demons & Wizards was a power metal band conceived as a side-project by Blind Guardian vocalist Hansi Kürsch and Jon Schaffer, the guitarist for Iced Earth. Schaffer wrote the music and Kürsch wrote the lyrics. The band's line-up during the recording of their first album in 1999 (Demons & Wizards) featured Mark Prator, who was the drummer on a few Iced Earth albums, and Jim Morris, who has engineered for Iced Earth before, on lead guitar. The personnel for the second album (Touched by the Crimson King), released in 2005, included Morris on lead guitar and Bobby Jarzombek on drums. The band released a third studio album, III, in 2020, and disbanded in early 2021.

The original goal of the band was to forge the different musical styles of both Iced Earth's dark melodies and Blind Guardian's powerful vocals into one sound. In fact, according to the musicians, the band name is meant to describe the two styles: the self-proclaimed demon-like themes and sounds of Iced Earth and wizard-like themes and sounds of Blind Guardian (the moniker "Demons & Wizards" was inspired by Schaffer's wife always referring to him and Hansi as "Demons and Angels". Hansi always corrected her, since he claims to "not be at all angelic", and that it is more properly stated "Demons and Wizards", in reference to Uriah Heep's album of the same name). The band met with a fair deal of commercial success, though not as much as either of their individual bands.

The idea for the band arose in the spring of 1997 when Kürsch and Schaffer wanted to make music together, after being friends for several years

Disbandment
On January 6, 2021, guitarist Jon Schaffer was photographed among the protesters who stormed the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C. After appearing on the Most Wanted section of the FBI's website, Schaffer turned himself in on January 17 and is currently being held on six felony charges. Century Media dropped the band from their roster two days after Jon Schaffer turned himself in. On February 1, 2021, it was announced that vocalist Hansi Kürsch had left the band, stating his collaboration with Jon Schaffer is over.

Poor Man's Crusade
Demons & Wizards Lyrics

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The Holy Ghost can't save you anymore
Your souls are condemned to burn in hell
Damned for all time
So spoke the noble one
He convinced us all
He is a gifted man
Though he will slaughter in the name of Christ

Holy and bright
He's a devil in disguise
Protector of the cross
Beware of the snake

[Chorus]
All in all it's just a poor man's crusade
Poor man's crusade
The Holy Land home of our blessed lord
Enslaved and stained by godless hands
They shall be damned
Jerusalem
Is waiting for you
To rise once again
So we will slaughter in the name of Christ
Holy father, holy father

[Chorus]
You'll shed your blood
Your bodies fall
That is the price you'll pay
To cleanse you of your sins
Vicious and cruel
Let's kill them all
Let's kill them all

So we will slaughter in the name of Christ
Holy father, holy father

[Chorus]

Overall Meaning

“Poor Man’s Crusade” is a song by the heavy metal band Demons & Wizards. The lyrics in the song seem to critique the concept of the Crusades, particularly the fact that they were often led by noblemen who would encourage the lower classes to fight on their behalf. The opening lines of the song, “The Holy Ghost can't save you anymore, Your souls are condemned to burn in hell, Damned for all time,” highlights the idea that religious leaders were using the concept of damnation to motivate people to fight.

The lyrics go on to express the idea that these noblemen would often use their ability to charm or speak persuasively to convince people to join the Crusades. The line, “He convinced us all, He is a gifted man, Though he will slaughter in the name of Christ,” speaks directly to this idea. The chorus, “All in all it's just a poor man's crusade, Poor man's crusade," brings it back to the idea that these campaigns were often led by the wealthy but fought primarily by the poor.

The use of the line “in the name of Christ” throughout the song brings forth the idea that religion was being corrupted to justify violence and bloodshed. The overall message of the song seems to be a criticism of the disparity between the rich and the poor and how it relates to the Crusades.

Line by Line Meaning

The Holy Ghost can't save you anymore
Your fate is sealed, even divine intervention can't save you now

Your souls are condemned to burn in hell
Your souls are destined to suffer eternally in hell

Damned for all time
Your punishment is eternal damnation

So spoke the noble one
The leader, who claims to be noble, said this

He convinced us all
He successfully persuaded everyone to believe him

He is a gifted man
He is a skilled orator and persuader

Though he will slaughter in the name of Christ
Despite his religious pretext, he will commit ruthless killings

Holy and bright
Appearing righteous and pious

He's a devil in disguise
He is evil, hiding under the guise of religious piety

Protector of the cross
Claiming to defend the Christian religion

Beware of the snake
A warning to be cautious of deceptive and evil individuals