POWERWOLF – Interludium (2023)
POWERWOLF are undoubtedly one of the most successful current heavy metal bands. However, for us, their albums tend to become a bit repetitive and exhausting. Now they are presenting “Interludium“, as their title implies, a release between albums.
And the good thing is it works very well, simply because it runs 36 minutes, feature six new strong studio songs, and four of the band’s best songs. Short and effective.
The tracks come with the patented “no small songs allowed” Powerwolf formula, meaning big effervescent riffs and frontman Attila Dorn’s big shouts on full display.
“Wolves of War” embodies small stirrings of the more folky elements from the band before exploding into a power metal huge chorus. After that, there was no way that Powerwolf weren’t going to pay the cheese tax; “Sainted by the Storm” is a rollicking, fist pumper that revels in all manner of gloriously hammy sea-faring motifs, perfect for swashbuckling or a particularly adventurous bath time.
From there the punchy earworms keep coming. “No Prayer At Midnight” will have you slamming the table along to the immensely chantable chorus, even if the rest of the track feels a little cowed by the larger than life pieces surrounding it. It does pay testament to how good follower “My Will Be Done” is, though, a thundering beast of a track that showcases Dorn’s showstopping range once more, whether it’s belting out choice Latin phrases or powering an infectious chorus right into the deepest part of your brain.
“Altars on Fire” treads a little too closely to previously released track “Incense and Iron” from 2018s Sacrament of Sin for it to go without being noticed. Thankfully, “Wolfborn” raises the stakes again at the end, a zippy number that opens up into a huge, organ-driven bridge that is equal parts ostentatious and well-crafted.
The four additional tracks are scattered pieces from the Powerwolf back catalogue that, while they do literally make up the numbers, are still interesting deep cuts worth the listen if you haven’t stumbled across them before. Stylistically, they’re a little jarring, given the decade span of their original release dates following on from brand new songs, but “Midnight Madonna” and “Living on a Nightmare” are just as excellent now as they were then.
Highly Recommended
01 – Wolves Of War
02 – Sainted by the Storm
03 – No Prayer At Midnight
04 – My Will Be Done
05 – Altars On Fire
06 – Wolfborn
07 – Stronger Than The Sacrament
08 – Living On A Nightmare
09 – Midnight Madonna
10 – Bete du Gevaudan
Karsten “Attila Dorn” Brill – vocals
Benjamin “Matthew Greywolf” Buss – lead guitar
David “Charles Greywolf” Vogt – rhythm guitar, bass
Christian “Falk Maria Schlegel” Jost – keyboards
Roel van Helden – drums
BUY
www.powerwolf-shop.com/p51-i0840588174980/powerwolf/interludium/index.html
