DEMONS & WIZARDS – Wolves in Winter (OFFICIAL VIDEO)

Cold Steel and Cold Air: A Return to Form

Demons & Wizards mark their long-awaited return with the official video for Wolves in Winter, a standout cut from the duo’s third studio album, III, released on February 21, 2020. The project brings together vocalist Hansi Kürsch and guitarist Jon Schaffer, two architects of late-20th-century power metal, whose distinctive sensibilities collide once again in a sound that is muscular, melodic and steeped in mythic atmosphere. Wolves in Winter exemplifies the pair’s hybrid language, fusing storytelling gravitas with precision riffcraft and a keen sense of dynamics.

How It Sounds: Ironclad Riffs and Hemispheric Choruses

Wolves in Winter unfolds with a mid-paced stomp that leans into Schaffer’s percussive, down-picked riffing, the kind of granite-hewn rhythm work that anchors much of his catalog. The guitars move in tight, palm-muted patterns, opening into tensile, minor-key figures that give the verses a tense, prowling quality. The rhythm section locks with martial accuracy, riding steady double-kick passages and syncopated accents that heighten the song’s predatory gait.

Kürsch’s performance sits in sharp contrast and perfect counterpoint, a commanding melodic presence that widens the frame. The verses favor a clipped delivery, words landing like footfalls in snow, while the chorus arcs into layered harmonies, a hallmark of his vocal signature. Those stacked lines add choral force without sacrificing bite, framing the central hook with a frosted sheen. Subtle lead-guitar filigree and atmospheric beds underpin the arrangement, allowing momentum without crowding the mix. The production keeps the guitars thick and forward, vocals clear and urgent, and the low end tight, creating a soundstage that reads as both immediate and cinematic.

Themes: Brotherhood, Survival and the Long Night

True to the title, Wolves in Winter trades in images of the pack, the hunt, and the cold. Lyrically and tonally, it speaks to resilience under pressure, the discipline of moving as one, and the grim clarity that arrives when comforts fall away. Winter becomes a crucible rather than a mere setting, a season that pares life down to essentials and tests allegiances. References to ritual, omens and the old language of the wild cast a mythic frame around these ideas, with the song balancing feral energy and stoic resolve. It is less a tale of lone heroics than a portrait of collective will.

On Screen: Ritual, Presence and Stark Atmosphere

The official video amplifies those themes through austere imagery and controlled spectacle. Filmed and produced in Serbia by the iCODE Team in February 2020, the clip places Demons & Wizards in the role of the titular wolves, with Hansi Kürsch and Jon Schaffer serving as the embodied presence at the heart of the visual narrative. Opposite them stands a Warlock, played by Stevica Golubović, a figure whose rites and gestures suggest an older pact with the season and its creatures.

Director and VFX lead Ivan Čolić favors a palette of grays, deep blues and firelit amber, a combination that toggles between ice and flame. The costuming and makeup accent the ritual motif without becoming ornate, while lighting isolates figures against void-like backgrounds, heightening the sense of isolation and resolve. Camera work alternates between grounded, deliberate movements and surges that mirror the song’s rhythmic pushes, with tasteful visual effects used to amplify, not overwhelm. Performance shots and narrative beats intercut cleanly, the edit finding a steady cadence that keeps the song’s pulse intact and the story legible.

Place Within III

Coming from III, the first Demons & Wizards album since the mid-2000s, Wolves in Winter functions as a mission statement. It neither chases speed for its own sake nor softens the edges that long-time listeners expect. Instead, it leans into the duo’s core strengths: Schaffer’s ironclad right hand, Kürsch’s sculpted melodies, and a commitment to arrangements that breathe and build. In the larger arc of the record, the song balances grit and grandeur, an anchor track that distills the album’s blend of classic power metal drama and grounded, riff-driven heft.

Video Credits

Wolves in Winter portrayed by: Hansi Kürsch, Jon Schaffer
Warlock: Stevica Golubović
Director & VFX: Ivan Čolić
Producer: Stanimir Lukić Staća
Production Manager: Josip Colić
DOP & Cameramen: Miloš Krcmarov
Costume Designer & Stylist: Bane Dević
Make-Up Artist: Maja Mijailović
Hair Dresser: Sanja Zemunović
Director’s Assistant: Ivan Stefanović
Camera Assistant: Miroslav Todorović
Light Operators: Ivan Nešić, Branimir Manić
Crane Operators: Saša Jovanović, Velibor Krstić
Casting: Angelina Marinkovic, Josip Colic
Back-line Assistant: Vlada Copić
Driver: Kamenko Stanojević
Studio Manager: Ivan Amić for SD Solution Studio
Filmed and Produced by: iCODE Team, Serbia, February 2020

Formats and Editions for III

III arrived with a range of editions designed for collectors and dedicated listeners. All details below are provided for clarity; availability varies by region and retailer.

Ltd. Deluxe Vinyl Artbook with red cover, red double LP, an exclusive 7-inch, and a CD featuring the instrumental version of the entire album. Limited to 2,500 hand-numbered copies worldwide, including extended artwork, additional photos, and liner notes by Hansi and Jon.
Ltd. Deluxe 2CD Artbook with green cover, liner notes by Hansi and Jon, additional art and photos, plus an extra disc with the instrumental version.
Vinyl features for all editions: Gatefold sleeve, etching on Side D, and a 4-page LP booklet with all lyrics.

Regional Vinyl Variants

Europe:
- Black vinyl, not limited.
- 200x purple and 300x light blue, available via CM Distro.
- 200x translucent blue, available via EMP and Demons & Wizards merchandise channels.
- 200x gold, available via French retailers and Napalm Records.
North America:
- Black vinyl, not limited.
- 200x translucent orange, available via the Century Media store.
- 300x opaque blue, available via FYE.
- 300x translucent green, available via US independent record stores.

Other Editions

Limited CD Digipak
Standard CD Jewelcase
Digital Album
Digital Deluxe Edition, with audio content identical to the 2CD artbook

Wolves in Winter presents Demons & Wizards at full clarity, two creators meeting at the midpoint of ferocity and grandeur. As a visual and sonic statement from III, it captures the cold air, the iron discipline, and the communal fire that define the album’s core.