POWERWOLF
AMARANTHE
Fiendish power metallers raise the stakes in North London
AMARANTHE’s sET-up of three equally hammy vocalists who alternate between operatic wails and metal growls, overlaid with bombastic symphonic metal, is more than a little overwhelming. It gets even more bewildering when their set morphs into some sort of goth techno rave complete with pulsating lights.
poWERWoLf, on the other… paw?, possess a much more refined vision, even if that vision is of werewolf, vampire and religion-themed power metal. Equal parts Carry On-style camp and masterful musicianship, seven albums in and the German corpsepainted troupe have their shtick down pat.
Tonight, as we watch as their elaborate stage set-up being built, from gravestones to an elaborate golden keyboard stand, you just know that tonight’s “holy heavy metal mass”, as frontman Attila Dorn calls it, is going to be a wild ride. That’s even before the incense-brandishing monks turn up…
Say what you like about Powerwolf’s mad power metal anthems – with titles like Demons Are A Girl’s Best
Friend and Resurrection By Erection, they’re a return to the days of salacious horror – but they’re backed up by serious musical chops. Guitarists Matthew and Charles Greywolf (yep) sprint and solo across the stage, with corpsepainted faces grinning and manes flying, but it’s Attila who steals the show. A Romanian classical opera singer, he may cut an imposing figure, but his stage persona is pure pomp: “We are not just here to celebrate the heavy metal mass!” his voice booms with a knowing grin, “we are also here… to sin.”
He’s masterful at getting the audience involved in the theatrics, encouraging them to shout and sing along. And they do with aplomb: when Attila toasts the audience with a golden chalice for All We Need Is Blood, he notes that the audience is the “best ever”. He’s not wrong, and though tonight is pretty damn ridiculous, the audience’s willingness and enthusiasm elevates it to great heights.
HANNAH MAY KILROY