BLIND GUARDIAN frontman Hansi Kürsch has announced his departure from DEMONS & WIZARDS, his side project with ICED EARTH’s Jon Schaffer, .
Hansi announces his departure from DEMONS & WIZARDS two weeks after Schaffer was arrested for his involvement in the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. The 52-year-old ICED EARTH guitarist, who resides in in Edinburgh, Indiana, is facing six federal criminal charges after he was accused of spraying a police officer with a pepper-based bear repellant.
Kürsch released the following statement: “I notified Jon and Century Media [DEMONS & WIZARDS’ record label] on Monday that I was leaving the DEMONS & WIZARDS project with immediate effect. My collaboration with Jon in DEMONS & WIZARDS is over.”
Two days after the insurrection, the members of BLIND GUARDIAN issued a statement, saying: “We are deeply shocked and our thoughts are with the relatives of the deceased,” they wrote on January 8. “We expressly distance ourselves from any kind of violence irrespective if applied against institutions or persons. The incidents will be thoroughly investigated and the responsibles will be brought to justice. We ask for your understanding that in view of the hourly news situation we will not make any further comments at present.”
Schaffer has been held in the Marion County Jail since surrendering to police on January 17. He made his first court appearance the following day.
DEMONS & WIZARDS released its third studio album, “III”, in February 2020 via Century Media Records.