Powerwolf Sanctify the Brooklyn Paramount

Oh man, you guys, this was an exciting concert all around! I am just now realizing that I got to see one of the best tours of the year power down at the rechristened Brooklyn Paramount on September 14th, just as Halloween season ushers in spooky times, and I know some of you might be thinking: Ian, you are talking nonsense! Summer is not even over yet! I say there is a second summer before actual Fall arrives in New York. We gathered in their masses to say amen during a religulous heavy metal mass featuring the mighty Powerwolf, of which they got Unleash the Archers to provide a celestial opening ceremony in the most epic way possible!

I geared up for the sheer monstrously glorious evening by dining at a great Mexican restaurant named Ruta Oaxaca Mexican Cuisine on Smith St, a sixteen-minute walk from the venue. If you love Mexican food like me and are willing to deduce from your merch fund, I highly suggest going for the garden salad and the carne asada enchiladas. The meal is worth every cent. Ruta Oaxaca Mexican Cuisine is one of the best restaurants I have dined at all year, akin to my beloved Paul’s Da Burger Joint! With some time to spare before doors opened at 7:00 PM, I arrived at a lively line full of like-minded hunters and battle maidens. Some dressed up like the disciples of Attila Dorn. If you have – ever – attended a power metal concert and a more refined degree, an Alice Cooper or a Gloryhammer gig, you know that some attendees love to show off their outfits. The doors finally opened. We went inside and prepared ourselves to witness the opening ritual of Unleash the Archers.

The service began at 7:40 with a driving fifty-minute set from none other than the Canadian quintet – Unleash the Archers. Despite hailing from the same America Jr. that birthed 3 Inches of Blood, Kobra and the Lotus, and one of my favorites being Skull Fist, Unleash the Archers predicated a lively crowd who showed up early, and fucking hell the audience brought it! Most of the shows I have been to this year, thus far, surrounded me with a crowd that did not move around or get into it aside from a select few events like Exciter or Municipal Waste. And despite the crowding providing a lack of energy, these concert-goers did it up big time. My intuition felt the connected appreciation between the attendees and the band. Their set consisted of songs off their newest album, Phantoma, and more bangers like Awakening and the Matriarch. The soaring vocals from Brittney Slayes, the Helloween-inspired riffs from Andrew Kingsley and Grant Truesdell, the thundering bass from Nick Miller, and the high-powered drumming from Scott Buchanan made for the perfect official opener to get Brooklyn baptized by Powerwolf.

Unleash the Archers

Photo Credit: Kyle Finlan

There is a charged anticipation of a U.S. headline circuit closing in New York. To say Powerwolf was playing to a packed house would be stating the obvious. From the floor to the mezzanine to the balcony, ghoulies and zombie queens of all ages, creeds, races, and religions were ready for their bite of passage. The communion started at around nine with Bless ’em with the Blade. Powerwolf provided heavy metal hymns of bop after bop from their lycanthropic discography. The divine service was provided by Attila Dorn. The band’s ghostly host went above and beyond the ferocious showmanship à la Christopher Bowes to get a dynamic audience involved in every song Powerwolf performed for Attila to spellbound us to pogo up and down, assist him in harmonizing a few songs, or wave their arms in the air. You get what you give. You know what I mean? That was by far the most interactive I have seen an audience get at a concert in a while due to how charismatic Attila is as a front-man, as was Matthew Greywolf, Charles Greywolf, Falk Maria Schlegel, Falk Maria Schlegel, Roel van Helden being a ghastly congregation of professionally trained musicians on stage. Matthew and Roel even gifted some of the wolf cubs in the front row a few tier-one gifts in some guitar picks and signed drum-heads to make their night even better!

Powerwolf’s arcane might was cosmic. It does not matter if you are a catholic, a protestant, or an atheist – the vibe you get from being at a Powerwolf show is that metal is for everyone. If metal is our religion, then Judas is our priest. The passionate fans scattered throughout the stage area further amplified that as we were glad to see some of the best cuts like Sinners of the Seven Seas, Fire and Forgive, Stossgebet, and my favorite track of the set, We Drink Your Blood. All five beastly cardinals pulled out all of the stops for closing night. Powerwolf delivered a fun set for nearly two hours as the power station of the Brooklyn Paramount volleyed fire and brimstone back and forth like it should be throughout a Powerwolf performance!!

Powerwolf gives it their all in concert. I will see them whenever they perform in New York. A headlining performance is the way to go, considering how much thought they contribute to their stage production that is on the level of Mercyful Fate or Sabaton. Powerwolf proved that the Brooklyn Paramount has ample space and a great p.a system for any large-scale metal band to assemble for an event. Like many of you who were there with me, these preachers of the night summoned complete and unholy energy. Powerwolf ended the final performance of this U.S. crusade with one more snarling absolution in Werewolves of Armenia to conclude a brilliant observance. Powerwolf and Unleash the Archers took over the Brooklyn Paramount like absolute prime movers. Both bands sounded great. It was a fantastic show. It was worth dancing with the wolves, all in the while of hearing from the bible of the beast!