Launched in 2003, Germany's Powerwolf haven't so much taken the metal world by storm as lured more and more people into their power metal maelstrom with each album they've unleashed. And if that comes off as being an over-the-top summary, it perfectly fits with where Powerwolf is 20+ years on in their career. The bombastic song arrangements, vocalist Attila Dorn's soaring almost operatic delivery, the choral / symphonic elements that have become a trademark of the Powerwolf sound, all of that can be found on the band's new album, Wake Up The Wicked. It's another chapter of arena-level bombast and intensity from Germany's internationally beloved wolf pack, and everything diehard Powerwolf fans crave.

BraveWords caught up with guitarist / co-founder Matthew Greywolf to discuss Wake Up The Wicked, and the band's 20 year journey to bonafide stardom.

Matthew Greywolf: "We're always busy, so we never really look back or think about how long we've been around. But, of course, when we started writing the first album nobody thought about what's going to happen 20 years later. We've never felt like this has been going on for a really long time; for me it feels like five years (laughs). On the other side, we're super grateful that we're still around as a band, and even more importantly that we're still friends. It's amazing."

BraveWords: Your previous album (Call Of The Wild) was made during the pandemic, and when we spoke with Falk Maria (Schlegel / keyboards) about the record he made no bones about the fact it was a brutal affair trying to complete it. It's fair to assume making Wake Up The Wicked was a far better experience.

Matthew Greywolf: "Call Of The Wild was written and released during the pandemic, and it was a struggle to get even the smallest steps organized and done, and nobody knew what would become of the entire music scene. Being an artist, everything was in question. If there is any benefit from those times, I would say that when things were up and running once again, we were all grateful and it gave a lot of energy to everybody involved."

"Before the pandemic we took it all for granted. There were concerts, tours, and it was always like that, wasn't it? Now, we realize those things can just be taken away, so now that we have it all back again, we should enjoy ourselves. With every album we write, we have a lot of fun, but this time it seemed like it was even more fun. We're back to normal. We can write an album and guess what? We can even release it and plan a tour (laughs)."

BraveWords: The songs on Wake Up The Wicked are all on the short side, which makes for an intense and overall solid listen. Only one track ('1589') breaks the four-minute mark. Was it a conscious effort on your part to keep things compact and, I guess you could say, fat free?

Matthew Greywolf: "That wasn't according to a plan. It just happened. When you're writing and producing the songs... for me as a songwriter, the rule is 'A song is finished when it's finished.'  Take the opening song, 'Bless 'Em With The Blade': that's a fast, up-tempo song and it's hardly three minutes, but that's what it needs. It doesn't need to be a four-minute song because everything has been said. If the song doesn't need more, why give it more?"

BraveWords: Bands that use choral and symphonic arrangements tend to end up writing massive, epic songs that showcase those elements. On Wake Up The Wicked, you went the opposite direction even though those arrangements are a huge part of the album and Powerwolf's overall sound.

Matthew Greywolf: "To be honest, I understand the tendency to write longer songs when you're using orchestrations and choirs extensively, because it sounds so good (laughs). With us, if we record choirs and stuff, we want to showcase it because it sounds so amazing, but then again, don't forget about the song. It's also good if you just give a taste of it. I prefer it when people say 'I've gotta listen to that song again...' instead of 'Okay, the song is finally over.' But I know the struggle (laughs)."

BraveWords: When you write songs based on historical fact, like "1589" and "Joan Of Arc", you have all the information in front of you. You're being creative with it, but does it take more work making a song out of a serious, truthful, historical representation of something?

Matthew Greywolf: "That's a good question. I don't really know... in one aspect it's easier to write a song like that because, as you said, the whole plot is already given, so to say. The struggle comes, like in '1589', I've wanted to write about that specific story for many years, but I never found the right piece of music for it. It's got to be a match; the atmosphere of the story just needs to be represented by the music. With historical, fact-based things it's always like... I have so many of them that I would like to write a song about, but it hardly happens. Every once-in-a-while it works and I'm super happy. Once it starts working it's pretty easy to tell the story, but you can't force it."

BraveWords: One of Powerwolf's biggest strengths is although you take your craft seriously, there is always tongue-in-cheek humour on every album. Wake Up The Wicked doesn't disappoint...

Matthew Greywolf: "Both aspects are really important for us. The tongue-in-cheek moments bring back the fun of it, and in the end we're just entertainers. There's nothing wrong with making your audience laugh. We like having both extremes in our music. I'm happy it works because it means we can always keep making music without having to try really hard to do so."

BraveWords: Powerwolf is known for putting out a wide range of physical product with every album release, whether it's limited edition vinyl, earbooks, CDs or box sets. You guys always seem to outdo yourselves with each album when it comes to giving the fans as many extras as possible.

Matthew Greywolf: "It is very important for us considering we all know how things are developing. There are so many people that prefer to consume their music digitally, but for those who still buy physical products, I think it's really important for us to deliver the maximum quality and great content. Sad as it is - and it just is that way - it's not for granted that people buy physical product. I think that those fans who still buy CDs and vinyl, they're the collectors who really cherish the physical aspect of music."

"For me, it's difficult to deliver 'standard' product. Those who still collect these items, they want some special stuff, and for us it's good fun to deliver it. I still do all the layouts myself, and I just enjoy doing that. It feels like giving justice to the whole project. We have a new earbook with 96 pages, and it's good fun to have all the content in one place. It feels like a manifestation of the album if you have all that material."

BraveWords: Germany is responsible for gifting the world with legendary metal bands like Helloween, Accept, Destruction, Scorpions... take your pick. Twenty years on, Powerwolf has become one of them; you're what Helloween was for teenage metalheads 40 years ago. How does it feel being this massive influence on a new(er) generation of metal fans?

Matthew Greywolf: "That's a huge honour. We don't really think about that because we just do what we do, and we're so busy (laughs). If sometimes I see a 15 year-old kind in the audience having the time of his life, I see my young self and it's a 'Wow!' moment. It's an honour that we're in a position to maybe change that kid's whole world. That's just amazing. Speaking as a metal fan rather than a band member, I feel it's awesome to see that the scene is continuing. There are a lot of new bands coming up and keeping the scene going. It's a big honour for us belonging to this generation of metal fans that keep things alive."

(Band photos: VDPictures / Live shots: Carl Begai)