Powerwolf
Blood Of The Saints

August 2011
Released: 2011, Metal Blade Records
Rating: 4.0/5
Reviewer: JP

I’m late joining the wolfpack as this is my first time really hearing a Powerwolf album. My buddy Mike had sung these guys praises for ages and I heard a song here and there but I should have listened! Album # 4 for this German quintet is a total winner. I’m instantly a convert and will go pick up the previous three albums, all on Metal Blade so they should be easy to find.



BLOOD OF THE SAINTS starts with a short ambient, spooky church themed intro before ripping into the cleverly worded ‘Sanctified By Dynamite’. The whole album embraces a gothic horror look and lyrical theme with songs of wolves, werewolves, vampires blood and murder…all excellent and worthy themes for a Metal album!



On of the highlights for me are the vocals of Atilla Dorn. He has a commanding vocal presence with a forceful delivery. He sings with range and power but never getting too high up the scale. His slight accent adds to the mystique as well. The back up choir and monk-style gang vocals with chant of ‘Hallelujah’ also add nice atmosphere. Musically these guys aren’t breaking new ground but their mid-tempo to fast Metal just hits that perfect head-banging sweet spot. The songs are all catchy, infectious with big choruses that will have you barking at the moon. Church style organ is laced through the songs adding more darkness. All these little extras serve to emphasize the 40 minutes of pure Metal. The guitars tone is nice and heavy and the production balances everything nicely with Fredrick Nordstrom on board for the fourth time in a row.



If you enjoy Sabaton, Bloodbound, Rawhead Rexx or any number of the straight-ahead, darker themed Power Metal bands then you will find plenty to enjoy with Powerwolf and BLOOD OF THE SAINTS.