There are a number of bands who know their strengths, deviate rarely, and consistently publish quality albums as a result. With their unique take on otherworldly, gothic symphonic power metal, Powerwolf have risen to be one of the biggest bands in European heavy metal. With the release of their 8th album Call of the Wild, the purveyors of the heavy metal mass are here once again to delight our ears.
Since 2015’s Blessed & Possessed, the German titans have continued to grow exponentially. Call of the Wild represents more of the same Powerwolf pomp & circumstance, gratuitous use of dark religious imagery and a plethora of singalong hits. 2018’s The Sacrement of Sin gave them their first pop metal hit with Demon’s are a Girls Best Friend, and they replicate that here with Dancing with the Dead. Once again delivering to their strengths.
Slow evolution is the name of the game, with the surprising Blood for Blood (Faoladh) showing the German masters can kick out a folk metal hit too. Varcolac – a hymn to the legendary Romanian werewolf, harks back to glorious Bible of the Beast days of old. Not one to miss out on an anthemic ballad, Alive or Undead is sure to get the crowd raising their lighters – or cellphone lights as no-one smokes anymore.
Reverend of Rats closes out the album in a short and sharp fashion. At a shade over 40 mins, as is often the case with Powerwolf, never overstaying their welcome and begging for repeated listening. Whether adding a few tracks to give you some extra pump on your workout playlist, or listening to the album straight through, you shall want for no additional layer of epic, grandiose or style.
A deluxe version of Call of the Wild is available, with Powerwolf calling on their allies throughout the heavy metal community to contribute parts to their extensive back catalogue. Alissa White-Gluz, Johan Hegg, Doro, Matt Heafy and Christopher Bowes just to name a few of the all star collaborative. Some work better than others, but can appreciate the outstanding effort pulling off such a project.
Did I really need to say much to convince you this is another top quality album from the consistently excellent orchestrators of the heavy metal mass? Of course not. Call of the Wild continues the trend with a thoroughly enjoyable, easy to listen to collection of hits to add to an already stellar set of live favourites. With the return of live shows showing their face worldwide, crowd’s can be thrilled once again with a spectacular Powerwolf sermon!
Score: 8/10
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