Powerwolf – Lupus Dei

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Metal Blade Records
Produced by Fredrik Nordström

It hasn’t taken long for Powerwolf to follow up their 2005 debut Return In Bloodred; an album which surprised many upon release. Most of the rest of that year, and two-thirds of 2006 saw them touring relentlessly, including several major festival appearances and a massive European tour supporting Gamma Ray, and this album was subsequently recorded in late 2006.

Recorded, no less, in a 12th Century chapel, Lupus Dei picks up immediately where Return In Bloodred left off, but in places expands on the sound, adding a classical choir on a couple of songs and developing slightly different arrangements. At higher speeds there’s really not much to set them apart from their peers, but in certain cases they show an originality lacking from other areas of the genre.

All in, Powerwolf are a mix of Hammerfall‘s music, Lordi‘s lyrics and vocals which sound very much as Michael Poulsen of Volbeat would sound if singing power metal. Anthemic in the extreme, tracks like We Take It From The Living, and Prayer In The Dark are guaranteed to raise fists and bang heads in a live setting. Stomping numbers like these are unfortunately unbalanced by a couple of incredibly weak attempts at a similar effect in Saturday Satan and the utter nonsense of Mother Mary Is A Bird of Prey, which at best can only possibly have a meaning that has been lost in the translation.

While other songs like Vampires Don’t Die and Behind The Leathermask feature some equally appalling lyrics, they are at least musically strong, but even they are simply killing time ahead of the outstanding When The Moon Shines Red, which is not only exquisitely structured, but features an outstanding performance from vocalist Attila Dorn. It could have done without the terrible tribal backing chants in the second verse, though.

The final highlight comes at the very end with the title track Lupus Dei, opening with a church organ and the choir behind another excellent show of range from Dorn. Like When The Moon Shines Red this is mostly a slower track, and this seems to be the situation in which Powerwolf their do best work. It’s certainly when they’re at their most original.

Ultimately, power metal has moved on somewhat, and Powerwolf haven’t. They still produce solid music, including a couple of real gems, but the genre has matured and left them behind, along with Grave Digger and Hammerfall, it has to be said. There’s not as much room as there used to be for throw-away lyrics about vampires and the undead, titles likes In Blood We Trust and certainly not for chants of “Satan! Satan!”. When The Moon Shines Red and Lupus Dei show beyond doubt that they are beginning to mature their sound, to massive effect. All they need to do now is continue on that path and mature their subject matter as well and they could really challenge the upper echelons of the genre.

“ Anthemic in the extreme ”

Tracklist: Intro (Lupus Demonae) / We Take It From The Living / Prayer In The Dark / Saturday Satan / In Blood We Trust / Behind The Leathermask / Vampires Don’t Die / When The Moon Shines Red / Mother Mary Is A Bird of Prey / Tiger of Sabrod / Lupus Dei

Written by Andy Lye
More: 2007, Albums, Power Metal, Powerwolf