POWERWOLF

Metal-favoring people often speculate about what will happen when the established greats of the genre are no longer able to fulfil their stated duties. There is little reason to believe that IRON MAIDEN, JUDAS PRIEST and METALLICA are hurtling towards the finish line at this point, but it is objectively true that their careers are closer to the end than to the beginning. What we really need is a few current bands to take over the grand responsibility of headlining festivals and keeping metal's noble traditions alive. There are a few notable contenders, of course, but none of them are as well-equipped for the long haul as Germany's POWERWOLF. Virtually unassailable in Europe, they have become a benchmark for arena-dwelling heaviness, and "Wildlive" provides all the evidence needed to certify their greatness. Nothing beats the experience of seeing them in the flesh, but as a glowing advertisement for POWERWOLF's mastery of performance and power, this is as good as it gets.

This is not the band's first live album, of course. One of the keys to POWERWOLF's success is the near-constant barrage of releases that they have conjured over the last 20 years. "Wildlive" is their fifth major live release and follows 2022's remarkable audio/visual document "The Monumental Mass – A Cinematic Metal Event", which, much like everything else they release these days, was a chart-topping smash in Germany and elsewhere. This time around, POWERWOLF present a more straightforward concert experience, captured at Munich's Olympiahalle in October 2024. A 19-song extravaganza with a vast number of uplifting, singalong moments, "Wildlive" doubles as an expansive, greatest hits package and contains almost all of the band's finest anthems. For fans, it encapsulates the dizzying thrills of a POWERWOLF show. For everyone else, the only sensible response will be to buy tickets for their next tour. They really are that good.

Masters of the opulent, atmospheric stage set, with quasi-religious overtones galore, POWERWOLF have the same magical ability to rouse a crowd that MAIDEN and PRIEST nailed decades ago. As each successive hit is blasted out, with utmost precision, a sense that this band have cultivated their own self-contained world is irresistible. Sonically grand but gritty, it is a big, bold heavy metal show to savor. From the fiery force of the opening "Bless 'Em With The Blade" onwards, "Wildlive" feels like a celebration. New songs from the recent "Wake Up The Wicked" album sit proudly alongside well-established fan favorites, and the energy and excitement never drops. New tunes "Sinners Of The Seven Seas" and "1589" are greeted like old friends. "Demons Are A Girl's Best Friend" and "Armata Strigoi" provoke raucous, rowdy communal bellowing. And a final encore of "Sanctified By Dynamite", "We Drink Your Blood" and the immortal "Werewolves Of Armenia" bring the house down like bombs in a cathedral. All killer, no filler, and as slick and undeniable as heavy metal has ever been, "Wildlive" is insanely entertaining and confirms that if any contemporary metal band has the necessary gumption and gravitas to take over from the old gods, POWERWOLF is it.