Call of the Wild

Album review

The number of metal bands formed after the turn of the century that have managed to become real headliners can be counted on one's fingers. Powerwolf is one of them. Call of the Wild is their tenth album: the group was formed in 2004 and has been releasing records like clockwork ever since. The band has stuck, limpet-like, to its chosen style (power metal) from the outset. But over the years it has added various spices to its unchanged basic recipe in order to avoid the "photocopier" effect that plagues this rather formalised genre. The increasingly grandiloquent Powerwolf serves up a collection of hymns with some larger than life choruses. Increasingly focused on arrangements worthy of a big-screen film soundtrack, the quintet's music gives pride of place to Falk Maria Schlegel's flamboyant keyboard performances, which are better for creating a cinematic atmosphere than those of many competitors, who often struggle to recreate the majesty of a symphony orchestra with two Casios and a Roland. With Call of the Wild, Powerwolf could even appeal to fans of musicals: their music is always melodic and accessible to a wide audience, and Attila Dorn's vocals remind one of the powerful and spirited performances for which Demis Roussos became famous. The reference to Roussos might raise eyebrows at first glance, but it is actually much more accurate than you might think. Unsurprisingly, the band have announced that they are planning a very major stage production for their coming tour. It makes sense: it's hard to imagine such a forceful musical explosion being performed without a visual counterpart to match. Bursting with out-of-the-box hits (Beast of Gévaudan, Dancing with the Dead, or the lighter Undress to Confess), Call of the Wild is a very smart move by the Saarbrücken band: it's accessible for a lot of people but as power metal, it is still eminently credible and expertly written so as not to alienate purists. Great work. © Charlélie Arnaud/Qobuz