MATTHEW GREYWOLF Talks POWERWOLF's 'Once-In-A-Lifetime' Ascension To Become One Of Europe's Top Metal Bands

By David E. Gehlke

Leave it to Europe and Scandinavia to produce the bands to take over when metal's legendary core of IRON MAIDEN, JUDAS PRIEST and METALLICA call it a day. Germany's POWERWOLF and Sweden's SABATON are legitimate arena and festival headliners across the pond, solving what is now a regular issue for Stateside promoters: Who can headline outdoor amphitheaters and large arenas once the old guard is gone? SABATON got the early jump on POWERWOLF in North America, but the Germans are slowly gaining ground after a quick run of sold-out shows last fall. They will return in August with a full slate of dates in the territory with UNLEASH THE ARCHERS in support.

Therefore, the timing of POWERWOLF's ninth studio album, "Wake Up The Wicked" appears to be prudent. Perhaps not as over-the-top as some of their previous efforts, "Wake Up The Wicked" still exudes all of the POWERWOLF trademarks, but does it in a more efficient manner, thus explaining why it's their most effective release in a decade. Here to chat it up with BLABBERMOUTH.NET is guitarist Matthew Greywolf, who sounds like a man with his two feet planted firmly in the ground.

Blabbermouth: POWERWOLF made it to North America last year. Can you share the experience?

Matthew: "It was amazing. [Laughs] It's not only that Americans have waited; we have waited as well! We were really eager to tour the U.S. and it finally came true. We were really excited about it. Well, it couldn't have been better. We were overwhelmed by how we had been welcomed. Usually, touring the country for the first time is an adventure. You don't know what's going to happen or how people will react. But, I think from the first minute of the first show, we felt, 'Wow. This is amazing.' There was a very direct connection to the audience. The audience was very communicative. We enjoyed ourselves a lot."

Blabbermouth: Did you have any idea that the turnout would be like this?

Matthew: "I mean, we knew in advance that some of the shows were sold out within a few days, which was amazing. It even raised our excitement. Still, we've never been there, and you don't know whether it's going to click. Will the audience and the band connect? It was perfect. It was such a good time there. Then, we had a fantastic schedule when we came over. We went sightseeing in different cities for a few days. We enjoyed the entire trip."

Blabbermouth: The new album coincides with the band's 20th anniversary. Has it felt like 20 years? Is that a hard number to wrap your head around?

Matthew: "It feels like it hasn't been 20 years. [Laughs] It feels like it's been five years. It's been a super-busy 20 years. We've always been into the next project, so to say. We never looked back. When people tell us we've been around for 20 years, we go, 'You must be kidding!' But it's been 20 fucking years. [Laughs] But, no, we're busy all the time. It still feels like we're starting, even though 'Wake Up The Wicked' is our ninth album."

Blabbermouth: Moving over to the new album, where did you want to go musically? What did you have in mind when writing?

Matthew: "It's more direct and natural than the previous albums, especially the last one, 'Call Of The Wild', which was a pretty bombastic album with lots of orchestration. This time, we wanted to let the basics talk. One of the first songs we had written is the opening song, 'Bless 'Em With The Blade'. It's a very straightforward, very fast metal song that does not need any add-ons or larger-than-life orchestration. It's a statement song: This is the band, this is the energy. It's actually one of the songs we enjoyed so much when writing that it really gave a bit of attitude and direction for the rest of the songwriting."

Blabbermouth: Was it difficult to resist the bombastic side?

Matthew: "It was refreshing. [Laughs] This doesn't mean I dislike the albums where we had more orchestration. Still, 'Wake Up The Wicked', all the ingredients are still there. Falk Maria's [Schlegal, keyboards] orchestrations are still there. But it's done more dynamically. When the band is talking, let the band talk. When the orchestration is talking, give the orchestration a spot instead of piling up everything at the same time. That easily happens when you start working with these kinds of ingredients. On 'Wake Up The Wicked', we managed just to find the right balance. It makes the album more dynamic and raw.

"Falk loves to run around onstage in the live situation. So, he's almost begging me to bring passages to the songs where there's no organ and orchestration. That way, he has the time to run to the front of the stage and cheer on the audience. [Laughs] He's definitely not the keyboardist who wants to be busy all the time or tries to bring in more and more elements. There's no egos involved. It's like, 'Give the song what the song demands.'"

Blabbermouth: What made "1589" the right choice as the first single?

Matthew: "The storytelling approach of the song made it the song that was predestined to have a video. In the video, we really tell the story of the werewolf trail of Peter Stump. It was kind of a bold decision to take; let's say it's the slowest song on the album. It's the 'ballad' of the album. Having it as the first single is kind of, well, not the most typical choice. But we thought it was interesting. [Laughs] We thought, 'Let's confuse people a little bit and bring a more epic and slow storytelling kind of song.' That was done instead of taking the obvious choice, which is the opening song that blasts out a lot of energy. I feel like the song is very well received. People do enjoy the storytelling approach of the song. It's nice to tell the story with the song. We haven't done such a thing before."

Blabbermouth: The story of Peter Stump felt like a very POWERWOLF kind of topic.

Matthew: "Most of our lyrics and entire visual and conceptual approach is definitely based on a fantasy world. It's quite unusual to have some historical events in songs or songs about historical events such as '1589' or 'Joan Of Arc'. It felt like the right time to enrich our world a bit by telling some historical stories. We just enjoyed a lot. Every now and then, things like this happen. We just let it happen. There's no closed world to POWERWOLF. It felt refreshing to do that."

Blabbermouth: It reminds me of the cover you recently released of "Bark At The Moon" by Ozzy Osbourne. Where did that cover come from?

Matthew: "That was my idea. I was a huge Ozzy fan. When I started playing guitar, I was all about Ozzy and Randy Rhoads. They were my heroes. I just wanted to do it like them. But I'll say that it was a bit risky for me. I'm so much in love with the way Ozzy performs these songs. It was like, 'Let's give it a try, but I'm not sure if we'll enjoy ourselves,' but we did! It's not easy to cover an Ozzy song and do it justice. But I remember when Attila [Dorn, vocals] came to the studio and performed the song. It's like, 'Wow. He really has something to say about the song.' There's no such singer as Ozzy, but he made the version his own. That's what really got me then."

Blabbermouth: Are you a Jake E. Lee fan?

Matthew: "When you name the legendary eras, it's never going to be this one. But I love the songs. There are so many good songs. There's 'Shot In The Dark'. Jake's era has good songs. I also really like Jake E. Lee's guitar playing, but maybe Randy Rhoads's footsteps were larger than life. I enjoy all eras of Ozzy's career."

Blabbermouth: You and SABATON share some similarities, both in terms of your gradual rise in popularity and the fact that you both are self-managed. How is that working out?

Matthew: "We have been a do-it-yourself band, and we still are. It's kind of a challenge. The bigger the band grows, of course, there are so many aspects to be covered and so many things to consider. We refuse to let things out of our hands. I'm pretty convinced you never should. If you really want to make sure that the vision as a band gets realized in the way you want, then you have to do it yourself. It's as simple as that. The more people who are working on things, the more the vision gets blurred. That's why, for us, it's super-important to be in charge of everything. It can be a pain in the ass for people working with us. No matter the cost, you have to maintain your vision. For a band like POWERWOLF, our visual aspect is very important. We want it to be exactly like we have it in our minds. The only way to make sure it happens is to make it yourself. We get help here and there, of course. But we're involved in literally everything. The merch, the stage design — anything. And it's passion. To me, of course, writing and performing new music comes first. That's why we're a band. But I love all the side aspects. I love designing merchandise or being involved in every little detail of the tour production. It's really exciting. I always consider a gift to be able to take part in all these processes."

Blabbermouth: You've put in the work

Matthew: "We have. And what we've experienced is a dream come true — a once-in-a-lifetime thing. We're super grateful for that. We're happy to put in all the work and all the passion."