Demon of Song
Like Iron Keep, Shrine of Amana is an area where you should avoid rushing through. Enemies at Shrine of Amana are tougher than those at Iron Keep and they can easily gank you to death. The area is as tedious to fight through as Iron Keep. You might find that sorcery is not effective against enemies in this area. A sorcery/melee hybrid should allow you to easily defeat all enemies blocking your path. The most dangerous enemies at Shrine of Amana are the Lindelt Clerics. They usually gank you in groups of three. Each Lindelt Cleric has immense poise and can tank through your melee attacks. Always fight one Lindelt Cleric at a time. The best strategy is to bait the three attacks combination, then go in for the punish. Consume one or more Brightbugs as you slog through the area, or use the Brightbug glitch to help you conserve your stock of Brightbugs. Equip the Spell Quartz Ring+3 and consume a Small Blue Burr to boost your magic defense. The Spell Quartz Ring+3 and the defense boost from a Brightbug are usually more than enough.
Shrine of Amana
Slog through Shrine of Amana NG+7, Dark Souls 2 SotFS
Start from the Tower of Prayer bonfire. Head down two spiral staircases and look for a Lindelt Cleric in the distance. Use a bow and arrows to lure the enemy to your location, then carefully defeat the enemy. A number of Lizardmen are lurking in the shallow water, trying to ambush you. They are being lulled by the singing of a Milfanito found inside the hut. Dispatch of the various Lizardmen to clear a safe path for when you need to retreat. In the far distance can be found Lindelt Cleric x 3. Use a bow and arrows to lure one Lindelt Cleric to your location, and all Lindelt Cleric x 3 would dash at you. Retreat back to the foot of the tower from whence you came. You want the Lindelt Cleric x 3 to retreat so you can approach one Lindelt Cleric for a one-on-one battle. Rinse and repeat for the remaining Lindelt Cleric x 2. Behind the hut is a wooden chest containing Crimson Water x 3. The items can replenish your number of spell casting. The chest is located near a Curse Jar. Equip the Hollow Skin for immunity against the curse buildup.
Proceed ahead, enter the mist, and light the Crumbled Ruins bonfire. Rest at the bonfire as necessary. Now the difficult section of Shrine of Amana begins. Equip the Spell Quartz Ring+3 to boost your magic defense, in addition to consuming a Brightbug. Consuming a Small Blue Burr would remove the buff from the Brightbug. Amana Shrine Maiden x 2 are stationed near the bonfire. Dispatch of the enemies, then look for Lizardman x 4 near a crumbled stone column. The stone column is inclined upward. Defeat the Lizardman x 2 nearest to your character. An Old Knight stands in the shallow water, blending in with the environment. This enemy would not be aggressive as long as you stay away from him. Find a Lizardman nearest to an Amana Shrine Maiden. Use a bow and arrows to shoot it once, then retreat to the stone path near the bonfire. Shooting the Lizardman would also trigger a red phantom to approach you. You want the red phantom to approach you instead of staying near various Amana Shrine Maidens. In some rare cases, the red phantom refuses to dash at you, meaning that you must fight the red phantom near some annoying enemies. Defeat the Lizardman as quickly as possible, then deal with the red phantom. You want to fight the red phantom away from the Old Knight. Next, defeat the Amana Shrine Maiden x 3. Look for another group of Amana Shrine Maiden x 2. One of them stands between Lizardman x 2, the other stands to the side of a hut. Defeat the enemies, then find a Lindelt Cleric patrolling near the hut. Defeat this enemy and look for a gang of Lindelt Cleric x 4 in the far distance. Use a bow and arrows to lure the left-most Lindelt Cleric to your location, where you can engage in one-on-one battle. The remaining Lindelt Cleric x 3 are triggered as a group. Enter the hut to summon Lone Hunter Schmidt to assist you against the Lindelt Cleric x 3. Shoot an arrow at a Lindelt Cleric to lure him to your location. The best case scenario is the Lindelt Cleric x 3 would be distracted by Lone Hunter Schmidt, attacking him while you sprint towards the fog wall in the distance. Enter the mist and light the Rhoy's Resting Place bonfire. Rest at the bonfire and attune any spells you need for the upcoming boss fight.
Near the bonfire are found various Acid Horn Beetles. A Giant Acid Horn Beetle blocks the path to the area boss. Defeat the Giant Acid Horn Beetle, then carefully dash to the boss' fog wall. Ignore all enemies, even the scripted NPC invader. Enter the mist and heal up as necessary.
Demon of Song
Sorcerer versus Demon of Song NG+7, Dark Souls 2 SotFS
Crystal Soul Spear is effective against this boss. Upon entering the arena, walk a bit to the edge of the water and cast Crystal Soul Spear at the boss. You should be able to hit the boss a few times before it covers its head in the impenetrable hide. Approach the boss, being up close to it to lure the head out. Then back away to a safe distance and cast Crystal Soul Spear. If you are fast enough, you should be able to cast three to five times. Rinse and repeat until the boss is defeated. The most devastating attack is the water cannon as it can one- or two-shot your character.
Defeat the Demon of Song, exit the arena, and find a Royal Guard blocking an iron gate. The Royal Guard can be parried and riposted. Alternatively, power stance two great hammers or two ultra great swords and overwhelm the enemy with your sheer strength. Defeat the Royal Guard, open the gate, and ride the elevator down to Undead Crypt. Use the time of the long elevator ride to unclutter your inventory, discarding items you collected so far but do not need. Find and light the Undead Crypt Entrance bonfire.