Who- Powerwolf with special guest Seven Kingdom
Where- The Palladium, Worcester, MA 2/25/23
In Worcester, Massachusetts, the third stop on their first North American tour, Powerwolf ascended the stage at the Palladium for a sold-out show. The crowd chanted, “Powerwolf, Powerwolf.” The lights in the auditorium dimmed and in the center spotlight, each member of the band came forward to greet the cheering fans.
The crowd for Powerwolf was quite diverse. Plenty of old schooler’s like myself, plenty of the younger audience members, some dressed as nuns, others in Pokemon outfits, all there to experience the ceremonial mass as the wolves play heavy metal on a chapel-themed stage that provided a beautiful contrast to the style of the historic theater.
Each band member introduced themselves by pseudonym - on drums, Roel van Helde; guitar, Matthew Greywolf; guitar and bass, Charles Greywolf; organ, Falk Maria Schlegel; and lead singer, Atilla Dorn who welcomed Worcester to its Heavy Metal Mass.
Powerwolf launched into one of their newer songs, ‘Faster than the Flame.’ The pit finally opened up during ‘Incense and Iron’ and exploded with ‘Amen and Attack.’ The audience sang along to the chants and turned on their phone screens/flashlights to set the mood for the power ballad,‘Where the Wild Wolves Have Gone.’ Attila and Falk Maria Schlegel used props and gestures to interact with the audience. At times the volume of the crowd was deafening.
Seeing them in Germany last summer, I knew that that their stage show and showmanship was phenomenal, Powerwolf truly sets themselves apart from the pack. When we heard they were touring North America, we purchased tickets early for the front. We enjoyed the intimate experience of seeing them up close, unlike at Wacken Open Air where we shared space with 80-thousand fans.
Powerwolf took Worcester on a whirlwind tour of their catalog, 18 songs including fan favorites Demons are a Girls Best Friend, Resurrection By Erection and Armata Strigoi. They concluded the evening with a three song encore, including “Sanctified With Dynamite’, ‘We Drink Your Blood’ and ‘Werewolves of Armenia’ to end the Heavy Metal Mass.
Powerwolf will be headed west as they wrap up their North American tour with stops in Texas, Colorado and two nights in California. They pledge to return to the United States, but if you can catch them this time around, I would highly recommend it. We had an eight and a half hour drive to the show and met another couple who had driven 10 hours. We all agreed we would do it again.
Two warnings as you prepare to head to the venue - consider the weather and be prepared for either cashless or cash only merchandise tables. For our show, the doors did not open until after 7 p.m. The line of people waiting to get in stretched around the block, shivering in a temperature of 15 degrees Fahrenheit with snow falling. Based on previous shows, we expected the doors to open at 6:30. Once the doors finally opened at 7:15 p.m, the line moved quickly and security worked quickly to let everyone in.
The line for merchandise stretched from one side of the theater to the other. Once I neared the table, I saw the sign, “cashless transactions only.” While I might hope that fans would be alerted on social media ahead of an event, best practice is to prepare for either cash only or cashless. This time your favorite heavy metal hippie was unable to get merch.
Powerwolf blends the icon of the wolf with ceremony and I was curious to know more about the representation of wolves in myth and European culture. I enjoyed this article. Raph Häussler (2016) Wolf & Mythology, retrieved from https://ralphhaussler.weebly.com/wolf-mythology-norse.html
Setlist
1. Faster Than the Flame
2. Incense and Iron
3. Army of the Night
4. Amen & Attack
5. Dancing With the Dead
6. Armata Strigot
7. Beast of Gevaudan
8. Stossgebet
9. Demons Are a Girl’s Best Friend
10. Fire and Forgive
11. Where the Wild Wolves Have Gone
12. Sainted by the Storm
13. Resurrection by Erection
14. Blood for Blood (Faoladh)
15. Let There Be Night
Encore
Agnus Dei
16. Sanctified With Dynamite
17. We Drink Your Blood
18. Werewolves of Armenia
Wolves Against The World
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