Powerwolf blessed all sinners and even the saints in Silver Spring, MD with a metal mass to remember at The Fillmore.
The theme of this show was power. On one of the first cool evenings in September, German power metal band Powerwolf descended upon Silver Spring to bring the holy heavy metal mass to be celebrated. And celebrate they did. With concert-goers lining up hours in advance of doors opening, this mass was sure to be a special one.
Starting off the night was Canadian power metal band Unleash The Archers. Vocalist Brittney Slayes brought the heat with her powerful voice, firing up the crowd mere minutes into the show. Guitarists Grant Truesdell and Andrew Saunders, as well as bassist Nick Miller, never stopped moving across the stage, often meeting up with one another to rock out before continuing on to engage with the crowd. Within the first couple of songs from Unleash The Archers, employees of The Fillmore were putting up signs that read the floor of the venue had already reached capacity and anyone who came in after would need to find space on the second floor. Unleash The Archers hyped up the crowd and closed out their set with their cover of “Northwest Passage” which had everyone in attendance singing along.
It was then time for Powerwolf to take the stage. Before the band could even fully emerge, the crowd was chanting “Powerwolf! Powerwolf! Powerwolf!” mixed in with wolf howls. The band kicked the show off with “Bless ‘em With The Blade,” one of their songs off their newest album Wake Up The Wicked. As this tour coincides with the recent release, the setlist from this show featured several new songs, including “Sinners of the Seven Seas,” “1589,” “We Don’t Wanna Be No Saints,” and “Heretic Hunters.” Also included were favorites, like “Incense & Iron,” “Army of the Night,” and “Sainted By The Storm.” Singer Attila Dorn interacted on numerous occasions with the crowd, like leading them in the choral parts of “Armata Strigoi” and “Demons Are a Girl’s Best Friend” (to which Dorn commented the crowd was “perfect” with their callbacks). During the hit song “Demons Are a Girl’s Best Friend,” a marriage proposal took place in the crowd – and she said yes! The band paused the song to wish the couple well with Dorn remarking for them to “have fun in your life.”The entire band was animated and interactive with the crowd. Guitarists Charles and Matthew Greywolf would constantly swap sides on stage to offer equal attention to concert-goers. Though seated higher up on stage, drummer Roel van Helden made sure to keep the metal mass attendees moshing and headbanging with his wild drumming. Keyboardist Falk Maria Schlegel is the energetic powerhouse that hypes up the fans, as well as the band. Although his keyboard position is seated higher up on the stage, that doesn’t stop him from leaving his position to make it to the main part of the stage to not only interact with the crowd but with his bandmates as well.
After every song, metal mass attendees would chant “Powerwolf!” over and over until the next song would begin. Crowd surfers started as early as the first song of the night with little downtime in between each surfer. Powerwolf is one of the most fun live events you could attend. They put the power in power metal. If you have the opportunity to see them live, seize that chance as soon as possible. You will leave fully converted to the religious werewolves and their music.
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