After the massive success of their 2024 North American tour, German power metal unit Powerwolf returns to the US and Canada, bringing along the legendary speed demons Dragonforce as support.
Entering to Daft Punk’s “Tron: Legacy” soundtrack, Dragonforce launched off at high speed with “Cry Thunder,” immediately finding the crowd singing along to the epic chorus. Venturing into the world of video games, one of the night’s hits was “Power of the Triforce,” inspired by the “Legend of Zelda” games. Not only did it feature references within the lyrics, but the band threw a large plush chicken into the crowd, a homage to the ability to both pick up and throw chickens in the games.
The audience was so excited by the giant chicken, that they kept it in the crowd for another song, and even beat the tour record of having it thrown around for three songs during the set. The other video game themed song that made the crowd go wild was “Space Marine Corp,” based on the “Warhammer 40K” franchise. The bridge of the song saw the circle pit stop, drop and give push-ups until the end.
This didn’t tire the crowd out, as they still went crazy for the warp speed warrior’s metal cover of Taylor Swift’s “Wildest Dreams,” as well as the essential set-ending “Through the Fire and Flames,” which is still iconic and an amazing track to experience live.
Then, it was time for the heavy metal mass. For a band with such visually striking imagery and theatrical presence, Powerwolf vocalist Attilla Dorn welcomed the crowd to the show in a casual manner, before the group kicked off the set with the fast-paced “Bless ‘em With the Blade.” Presenting a thurible, keyboardist Falk Maria Schlegel blessed the crowd before “Incense & Iron,” which got the crowd bouncing and shaking the floor of the ballroom.
Between songs, Dorn led the crowd through many chants and call-and-repeats. The most notable being a practice for the chorus of “Armata Strigoi,” where he jokingly called for the security team to sing it back to him. To the surprise of everyone involved, one security team member did end up singing it back into Dorn’s microphone, leading to massive cheers and smiles from the crowd and band themselves.
There were plenty of opportunities for fast circle pits, with tracks like “Amen & Attack,” but also dancing and fun with “Dancing With the Dead” and “Demons Are a Girl’s Best Friend.” Despite the dark and aggressive visuals of the group, the music and presence of the members is anything but. Not diving too deep into playing characters on stage, it’s still clear to see the band members as musicians who are absolutely having a ton of fun, especially with their crowd interactions.
Sadly, keyboardist Falk Maria suffered a shoulder injury during the set after falling from the stage, which resulted in a bit shorter of a set. Visibly pained, he continued the set and there was no noticeable impact to the performances. The crowd and members gave him plenty of love and support when they could during the rest of the set and between songs.
The group’s caliber of performance is unmatched, from Dorn’s powerful and crystal clear vocals, Roel van Helden crushing on the drums, to Matthew and Charles Greywolf’s dual guitars, and Falk Maria’s epic orchestrations bringing it all together into that now-classic Powerwolf sound. It’s hard to beat a show like this, where almost every track sounds as good as the studio, especially with a fantastic sound mix to make every member stand out. Metal fans rejoice, because Powerwolf is here to stay.
See the rest of the tour dates below:
