Epica/Powerwolf Live Report

Obviously the main draw in this gig for me was the chance to see the mighty Powerwolf for the third time. This gig was billed as a dual headline set with both top bands getting roughly 90 minutes each. This is actually a great way of doing things which allows both bands an equally long time on stage and not short change their fans.

We also had an initial support band for a 30 minute slot just to warm things up nicely. That band were Germans Beyond the Black and their female fronted progressive metal. I actually quite like this band on record although it's always a bit hit or miss with these Euro female fronted bands for me. I tend to like some songs where they get the catchiness and melody right and then other stuff gets all convoluted and boring. Musically the band is pretty tight whilst the front gal is easy on the eyes and has a decent but not amazing set of pipes. personally I would've preferred a regular German power metal band as initial support but BTB proved to be a fair build up to the two main acts and were received politely by the crowd.

Let me just quickly mention that the show was almost completely sold out. The Shepherd's Bush Empire was rammed from back to front with not a lot of space to move at all even from very early on as BTB where playing and it only got more packed as the night wore on. I must admit the crowd was kind of mixed with a lot of people obviously there for Powerwolf mostly and lot of the Epica, Delain,Within Temtation wearing shirts waiting at the back before venturing to the front for their particular favourites.

As the two bands are completely nothing alike this made for a very diverse show and attendance which can be seen as a good thing really and probably was a reason why the show was sold out more or less.

After BTB was over I got ready and excited to see the German Wolf crew for the third time. I'd been looking forward to this as I guess many 'wolf fans were too. The band plays and sounds so cool and get right into it from the word go. However Atilla is really the star of the show with his booming great voice louder than almost everything else. By the way this is how I like my live music mixed with vocals way louder than everything else especially drums and bass. Thankfully Powerwolf don't even have a live bass player and he isn't even missed not by me on any case. It makes the vocals guitar and keys sound much clearer.

Special mention to insane keysman Falk Maria Schalgel. That guy is something else as the band's cheerleader supreme. It's basically him and Atilla conducting the crowd into a frenzy with their showmanship from the stage. The Greywolf brothers meanwhile flesh out the memorable tunes with their riffs, solos and gurning at the fans, whilst the drummer nails it all with thunderous drum beats on his huge drum riser. 

Every song they play is blessed with anthemic chorus after anthemic chorus until you're left with a hoarse voice trying to make yourself heard above the music! Great joyous stuff! I don't think a time will ever come when I'll think to myself I'll give a Powerwolf gig a miss! I even like them more than Sabaton now and I never ever thought such a band would ever come in to existence. The band played a good 90 minute set or just below and departed to huge cheers by the fans. They really inspire a slight hysteria in their fans that's for sure. 

The deafening "Powerwolf! Powerwolf!" chants start up after literally every song and were so loud that the band is stunned and milks it to the last drop. Fave songs were the hilarious Resurection by Erection, We Drink Your Blood, the mass singlong Armata Strigoi, the wonderfully melodic Sacred & Wild and the rabble rousing warrior anthem Army of the Night and the darker slower paced epic, Let There Be Night, but there wasn't really a wasted second if you love Powerwolf as much as I do. Come back soon please!

Blessed & Possessed

Army of The Night

Amen & Attack

Coleus Sanctus

In The Name Of God

Sacred & Wild

Armata Strigoi

Dead Boys Don't Cry

Let There Be Night

Resurrection By Erection

Werewolves of Armenia

Sactified With Dynamite

We Drink Your Blood

Wolves Against The World Outro

Finally at 9.30 the stage was ready for Epica and the band took to the stage one by one as the intro played followed finally by the star of the show, Simone Simons. It's easy to see why Epica fans worship the ground she walks on. She's blessed with an amazing voice, amazing looks and the highest possible confidence as the front woman of one of Europe's biggest progressive, symphonic Goth bands. I have seen Epica once before as I recall at the old Astoria and I remember them being very tight and very good live. Nothing much has changed I can report.

If anything the band sounds more confident in their extravagant material and plays with that much more gusto than before. Their recent album The Holographic Universe was very solid but the progressive nature of the songs meant that it didn't end up being one of my favourites of 2016. Not to say that it wasn't a classy slab of epic female fronted prog though. The band has many supporters here in the UK and they were all out in force.

Because of the lack of a sing along nature to the Epica material, I didn't connect as well to the songs and just enjoyed the atmosphere and power they created as a whole. With Powerwolf I connect more to the memorability of the songwriting. With Epica you marvel more at the epic soundscapes and the grandeur that they create whilst Simone goes through her whole repertoire of voices to add flesh to the tunes. I found that their sound was perhaps a bit too complex at times for the PA and some of the subtleties got lost in the mix. Plus they also piped in the choir vocals as Simone can't do it all obviously. Not saying that as a criticism, just that it's hard to recreate everything you do in the studio in a live setting.

The band played until almost 11pm, their allotted curfew time and were received extremely well by their fans but perhaps slightly less enthusiastically than all the Powerwolf nutters in the house. A real solid dual headline and a very diverse evening's metal for the sold out crowd to enjoy and boy was it fun especially of course the mighty wolfy ones!

Powerwolf - Live at the Islington Academy

My attendance for this gig was undeniable barring a broken leg or a heart attack or even death. I think even the first two wouldn't have stopped me coming to this gig though I might be struggling if the latter occurred!

I actually bought my ticket a good three months or so in advance. I didn't want to tempt fate in case it was sold out. The big Wolfie ones from Germany had previously packed out the Underworld but this time an upgrade was in order to the larger 800 capacity room of the Islington Academy. A much bigger stage to see my favourite power metal band in the world today. It used to be Sabaton but I think I like  da 'wolf even more now though of course it's a close thing no doubt. On the mainland Civil War plays as the opener but alas they did not travel to the London date so we had Xandria and Orden Ogan as main support.

The queue outside the venue was quite large and I would guess the final attendance to be not far off capacity although the place wasn't heaving by any means. It was packed but comfortable. When Sonata Arctica played the same venue a few months ago it was anything but and similarly for Night Ranger. For Powerwolf haven't quite reached those levels of fandom in the UK but nevertheless the crowd was very respectable already as Xandria took to the stage at 7pm sharp. Their singer Diane is a delight both vocally and visually and she sang her heart out. They have a new ep from which they played a couple of songs such as Voyage of the Fallen and Unembraced. I actually would have liked to hear their version of Meat Loaf's I Would Do Anything For Love but it wasn't to be. They sounded wonderful with Diane's awesome quasi operatic vocals cutting through the ix beautifully sharp and clear. They played around 40 minutes which is not bad for openers and they got a great response from the fans. Last time I saw them they headlined their own show but they were just as comfortable supporting but I'm sure they'll be back to do a headlining show sooner or later. Great start!

Just before 8pm the German power metal crew Orden Ogan took their positions in full battle armour and with big smiles on their faces. The singer "Seeb" was in fine form both vocally and flexed his muscles guitar-wise as well. The guy has a few one liners up his sleeve as well with in between song banter. The band got massive participation with their catchier tunes. My particular fave Sorrow Is Your Tale got an airing of course with it's awesome chorus ringing out true and clear. Their set went by in a literal flash and ended with the title track of the previous album To The End. The first time I saw these guys they supported Luca Turilli's Rhapsody and they stole the night. This time the surprise element from their show was reduced and I felt it wasn't quite their night although they are more or less a perfect choice as support for Powerwolf. Their newest album is amazing though and live they sound very good with Seeb's vocals in particular sounding very clear indeed.

Well support bands are just that in the end, a warm up for the main act, and in this particular bill, the other two bands were just playing second fiddle to the mighty blood obsessed ones from Germany. At around 9.15pm or so they took their positions on stage and dove headlong into headbanging new opener Blessed and Possessed. They immediately locked into that famous Powerwolf style of dramatic verses and huge choruses that they do so well. Atilla sounded amazing from the word go with a huge vocal mix. As usual Powerwolf play with no live bass which is actually a pretty cool thing as it makes the sound much clearer and sharper. In fact the sound was almost too perfect to be true. The Greywolf brothers were in fine form and as usual gurning and grimacing their way through the songs and pulling shaped and faces galore.

The stage was set up with two keyboards, one on each side of the stage, allowing organist and band cheerleader Falk Maria Schlegel to switch from side to side between the songs whilst coming to stage front on a regular basis to whip up the crowd as if they needed whipping up. The guy is a real enthusiast and really something else to watch as he gets the crowd to do the oohhhhs and aaaahhhhs and the singing along parts. Powerwolf shows are a real experience of dramatic lighting and awesome stage presence with full crowd participation. At times they really look and sound like they are summoning up some arcane Wolf Gods and calling them out for a night of bloodlust!

A little more on the setlist which is where my only point of criticism can come in. They missed a couple of my fave songs and most importantly of all the amazing We Are The Wild from the latest CD was sadly omitted. Of the other songs played one could hardly complain but I would have preferred a few more tracks from Bible of the Beast but alas they could only play a near enough 90 minute set but a three hour Powerwolf show would have been better to fit in all their great tunes.

Resurrection by Erection is an absolute riot of a hilarious tune and never fails to get the fists pumping. The crowd were hugely loud as expected and singing the choruses back at Atilla as loud as all hell. Dead Boys Don't Cry was another hell for leather riot. We Drink Your Blood never fails with literally everyone singing the chorus.

The encore started with the awesome Sanctified with Dynamite followed by the anthemic and slow burning Kreuzfeuer. I wasn't expecting them to play that one but that is an amazing track with the band bathed in dark and purple light it look like a scene from some medieval film as they played the song through. The night ended with a rousing, crowd pleasing All We Need is Blood with Atilla and Falk Maria again at stage front leading the frenzied crowd which even saw a small moshpit start up. Not really necessary but what the hell it was the last song of a riotous set.

The Greywolf brothers left and the last to leave were of course Atilla and Falk Maria who were both singing the lyrics to the song Wolves Against The World as it played out over the PA system. It was cool of them to stay long and milked the crowd's applause till the last drop. I pity those people who don't get to see this band live. They really are an amazing sight to be hold and with a set of songs guaranteed to get you singing and head banging along in a nanosecond. Long Live da 'Wolf!

Set list:

Blessed & Possessed
Coleus Sanctus
Amen & Attack
Cardinal Sin
Army of the Night
Resurrection by Erection
Armata Strigoi
Drum Solo
Dead Boys Don't Cry
Werewolves of Armenia
Let There Be Night
In the Name of God (Deus Vult)
We Drink Your Blood
Lupus Dei
Encore:
Agnus Dei
Sanctified With Dynamite
Kreuzfeuer
All We Need Is Blood
Wolves Against the World