The wolves are back in town, and although it hasn’t been a particularly absence, they are howling again! We review the new album, ‘Blessed & Possessed’.
[tracklist]
01. Blessed & Possessed
02. Dead Until Dark
03. Army Of The Night
04. Armata Strigoi
05. We Are The Wild
06. Higher Than Heaven
07. Christ & Combat
08. Sanctus Dominus
09. Sacramental Sister
10. All You Can Bleed
11. Let There Be Night
[/tracklist]
[details]
[length]45:42[/length]
[record_label]Napalm Records[/record_label]
[release_date]17th July 2015[/release_date]
[/details]
Powerwolf have taken the underground heavy metal scene by storm in recent years, up to a point where their last album, ‘Preachers of the Night‘ hit top of the charts in Germany. That is an unbelievable feat considering one would not really know what to make of the band upon first hearing them – they dress like vampires and they play what can be widely considered as heavy church music. In a conservative country like Germany, the non-metal masses could consider the band nothing more than comic relief to the pop scene – but this is certainly not the case. Powerwolf have made album after album doing the same thing, and their popularity has only grown, owed to the fact that the band’s music is extremely catchy and consistently entertaining to listen to. So here we are again with the band’s next effort, ‘Blessed & Possessed‘.
It is pretty much confirmed with the opening title track that Powerwolf are doing nothing different with this album, simply kicking into gear with thundering organs and drums and gluing it together with proficiently thick guitars. We now know that the band will be locked in this chamber for their career, but is that necessarily a bad thing?
Given that I found myself headbanging, fist pumping, and humming along to every operatic baritone chorus…it can be established that no, it is not a bad thing. It is quite clear in the mentality of the band that this is what they do, so they are going to do it very well. As the second track ‘Dead Until Dark‘ rings in you may just find yourself on your knees with your hands ready to embrace the sky waiting for some sort of vampiric resurrection. The massive sound of the band is the consistent element that makes Powerwolf interesting – somehow they have managed to emulate the acoustics of a stone church hall into a well-produced heavy metal record that only gets better with age.
It’s that kind of unique atmosphere that keeps the listener peaked, and that aforementioned atmosphere putting Powerwolf into the cult band category where those fans that will insist the band will never put out a bad album. Tracks like ‘Armata Strigoi‘ and ‘Christ and Combat‘ reiterate that fact, as you could imagine them being featured on a Halloween party soundtrack each year. If the band are indeed venturing into that cult status, perhaps they can diversify their career with merchandise such as comic books? Given the fantastic album art guitarist Matthew Greywolf has produced over the years for the band, this is a strong possibility, and a Powerwolf graphic novel is something that could be very cool indeed! But I digress…
‘Blessed & Possessed‘ fits into Powerwolf’s discography flawlessly as really nothing differs from any other piece of their music. We could see that as a negation on the album’s behalf, but where the similarities will deter some, it will be a relief to most. The music is great, the performance is excellent, and it is a fine addition to any heavy metal fans collection.
[verdict]Yes[/verdict]
[why]While we would worry that Powerwolf would be stale by now making the same music over and over again, the matter of the fact is the band are still making catchy, ominous heavy metal, and is a welcome addition to anyone’s shelf.[/why]
