Powerwolf Interview

Powerwolf is a Power Metal band with influences from all the right places. With a bodacious mix of Maiden, Helloween and Sabbath Powerwolf has a fun old school metal sound. The guitars are heavy and feature simple Judas Priest type riffs. The bass is incredibly powerful with a lot of tasty licks. And the drums really nail it. Attila the Hun is the singer for Powerwolf and his manic cry of HALLELUJAH is part of what makes Powerwolf so fun. There are fantasy based lyrics that help give the music a great edge and really help to hearken back to the good old days of Mercyfull Fate.

Powerwolf's new album Blood of Saints is possibly their best effort yet. With the typical powerwolf combination of over the top get ups and songs with their sheer musicianship it is a very metal offering. Our review of it can be found here.

What follows is an interview with Charles Greywolf the killer bassist of Powerwolf, the one responsible for those Ian Hill-esque bass fills. Enjoy;

Can you guys give a brief history of the band to start off with?

We started up in 2004, doing 4 records (Return in bloodred 2005, Lupus dei 2007, Bible of the beast 2009, Blood of the saints 2011). We did constantly touring Europe (with Gamma Ray, Candlemass, Sabaton, headlining tours) and a lot of festivals (BYH, Wacken, Bloodstock UK, Summerbreeze....)

What is it that you love so much about music?

Music is my life. It gives me strength to endurance and makes me feel good, no matter if I listen to music or playing music.

What do you love so much about metal?

I always loved Heavy Metal, and since I started listen to this music at the age of 11 I love the power of the music. As I started to hang out on shows I learned to love that great community between the metalfans. And that’s still what I love today…

What bands really got you into metal?

It all started with Iron Maiden “Somewhere in time”. As I was going to school by bus, there was this guy I knew from my sister, and he was hearing music wit his walkman that loud, that I had to ask him, what that music is. He gave me his headphones and it blew me away… That was Iron Maiden… Next day he gave me a tape with this record on it… Next up I discovered Helloween, Mercful Fate, Black Sabbath and so on… I needed to have more and more….and I still collect and listen to all music I can get… I’m addicted to metal, and that passion will never change…

Who are your big influences?

Of course Iron Maiden, Mercyful Fate, Black Sabbath and the ighty Entombed.

Is there some sort of mental image that you associate with Powerwolf?

Yes. Powerwolf is my religion. We all love what we do in this band and we are doing it because of the love to heavy metal. Of course we do a lot with some fun aspects, but we don’t wanna be known as a “Fun-Band”. We are really serious in what we do and we never would laugh about anything that is connected to metal… But we are having fun and it’s okay when people imagine that…

Who do you feel is your target demographic?

Oh, I never thought about that. I general we wanna target all people, everyone who loves metal. We don’t wanna target just someone special…

Does it hurt to be so awesome?

Hahaha, no why should it?

How does the writing process go for you?

We write the songs with the whole band. We met at the rehearsal room and than we start writing... Some songs took long time to finish, other songs are writing itself. We write the songs for ourselves and we don’t think about what other people will think about it...

Where do you get your lyrics from?

Matthew is doing the lyric stuff as well as the visuall aspect… He is a really wise man, and he’s reading from time to time the old chapter of the bible… I think he gets a lot of inspiration from there and he connect this with some aspects of our lives… But if you want to be really for shure, you have to ask him…

How did the band form? What was your original concept?

There was no concept… You know, my bro and me we’re doing music since I can think. After a time we had a good lineup and than we met Attila in some holidays… The rest came by itself. We didn’t want to put this band in a shape… It all goes really by itself… When I look back now, I can say, we never said: “okay, let’s try this direction…”, we just do what we love….

How do you feel you work as a band?

Everybody go its part into this band. Everybody is involved and everyone is doing a good job… So, we feel good and if you ask me: I can go on forever with that band. These guys are my second family…

Do you have any ideas on what going to come in the next album?

No.. we didn’t wrote anything yet. We’re happy to be on the road again, because that’s what we love: Playig shows, meting fans and being on the road…

Of your music videos do you have a favorite?

Or own? We drink your blood.

From other Bands: Iron Maiden: Live after death

What is your favorite song from the new record?

Uargh… That’s hard: I think Sanctified with dynamite. It’s a god damned great live song and I really love to play it… And Attilas vocal lines are really unbelievable…

How do you feel about your debut album?

I still love that one. It’s more doommy as the follow ups, but there are great songs on it.

And the new one?

The test of time will tell. But right now I think it’s the right balance between “Lupus Dei” and “ Bible of the Beast” I think it’s not that much “over the edge” than “bilbe” was… And I love the production. It’s a really cool, organic sound…

What does your set list look like on this tour?

We will do songs from all albums on our shows. We change it from tour to tour, so I can’t say exactly what we will play…

Any final comments?

METAL IS RELIGION!

Thanks for everything guys, stay brutal.