• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

This band is so lame. Powerwolf seem to have gotten quite a lot of good press for their new album Blood of the Saints, but I just can't get into it at all, and frankly I think it kind of sucks.

The main problem with this is that GOD AWFUL gimmicky choir bullshit they keep putting in every song. The first song's "Die! Die! Dynamite!" bit is one of the most annoying things I've heard in a metal song lately – just juvenile as hell. Other childish and idiotic romps like "We Drink Your Blood" come out sounding something like a high school football stadium chant possessed by Satan. Seriously all I can picture is a bunch of goofy cartoon zombies on a football field pumping their fists to this, trying to get everyone in the audience to sing along, but failing because the chants just aren't good. "All We Need is Blood" is terrible too; goddamn those faux-operatic choir bits are bad. It's just so corny, and doesn't have near the enjoyment factor they were going for. I think the reason this isn't cool is because the chants are just so egregious and so try-hard that they end up sounding desperate for the listener, whoever he or she is, to enjoy it JUST A LITTLE BIT. And I don't know about you, but I don't find such pandering to be worth my time.

It's a little more tolerable when the band sticks to doing generic speedy power metal, like on "Night of the Werewolves," but even then, if you wanted generic power metal with dark themes, why aren't you listening to Mystic Prophecy's Fireangel instead? It's better written and way cooler than Powerwolf, which is more the equivalent of that scrawny kid in high school who dressed like Dracula for no reason and drew pictures of half-naked ladies in bondage get-ups in math class.

Really, this is just disappointing because it's not like the band is untalented at playing – the singer has a strong voice and the production is good, but the songwriting is just dull and clichéd. The vocal melodies are all really poppy and irritating and the riffs, while heavy, just aren't really that great a lot of the time. Every once in a while, like on "Son of a Wolf," they conjure up a good one, but mostly they're pretty passé. And I just can't get over those stupid, stupid choirs. It's a really, really lame gimmick, and mostly makes me wish the band had been shoved in a few more lockers back in school.

So Blood of the Saints is pretty forgettable in every way aside from its worst parts, which is never the way to go. I can't say this is absolute swill, as it's mostly just in one ear, out the other, but it really isn't entertaining and I can't say it's worth anything if you actually like power metal as a real genre. Stick to Mystic Prophecy, Bloodbound or Wolf – all of those bands do this kind of music way better. Powerwolf is the kind of thing I'd be physically embarrassed to be caught listening to.