Year: 2024
Total Time: 36.40
Label: Napalm Records
“In the footsteps of SABATON”…that would be a suitable subtitle of this album review. The same comments, the same criticism, the same whining. The 9th album from the German power metallers POWERWOLF follows the same pattern of their previous albums.
In Greece we say “you don’t change a winning team” and that’s the case here. Powerful compositions, orchestral touches, powerful vocals from Attila Dorn. Exactly what POWERWOLF have been doing so far. The successful recipe has probably locked them into a vicious circle that they stubbornly refuse to change and experiment with. Maybe it’s also the subgenre of metal they serve that doesn’t leave them much room for change. POWERWOLFS have built a world around them that they must serve. With their costumes, werewolves’ personas, impressive videos, grandiose concerts. Almost like SABATON with a different thematic. Like all their albums, “Wake Up The Wicked” includes some signature songs that will probably stick to their concert setlists for a long time like “1589” (the piano intro reminded me a lot of SABATON’s “Christmas Truce”) which is the story of Peter Stumpp, a farmer, serial killer known as “the Werewolf of Bedburg”. Right after “1589” we find the equally characteristic “Viva Vulgata” dominated by keyboards and gothic aesthetics. Of course, there are also those that, without characterizing them as fillers, are certainly not going to make a special impression. Songs like “Thunderpriest” or “Kyrie Klitorem” do have all the characteristics of a POWERWOLF anthem but that’s about it. As a positive feature, it is worth mentioning that the album contains 11 songs and is only 36 minutes long, meaning that the songs have an average length of less than 3.5 minutes. The result of this is that the album flows comfortably and pleasantly since the listener does not have time to get tired of a song. Probably POWERWOLF themselves recognized their creative monotony and avoid meaningless 10-minute songs.
In the end, I think POWERWOLF do what they like and know well. After all, they are still one of the bands that I really want to see performing live and I hope I will get to fulfill that desire in the summer of 2025 in the birthplace of Count Dracula in the perfect setting for their music (I am referring to Rockstadt Extreme Festival of course). “Wake Up The Wicked” is an album that their fans will love and the rest will either skip over or listen to for a couple of months and move on.
Rating: 7/10
Editor: Kostas Boudoukos
Related Link: POWERWOLF – Official Page
