Powerwolf was the first major band we were watching on the final day of Copenhell, and we were ready for quite a show from the German werewolves - but how would they fare in full daylight in the early afternoon, when their preferred hunting time is under a full moon?

“Good afternoon, Copenhell! Wow, what a welcome!”
- Attila Dorn (vocals)

Not to jump the gun, but it would seem they would fare pretty darned well. Already leading up to the show, there was a huge crowd gathered in front of the Helvíti stage, and when Attila Dorn came as the first man out, the roar from the crowd was deafening! He was quickly followed by Roel van Helden, then Falk Maria Schlegel, and finally the Greywolf brothers entered together. As the set was now complete, there was nothing else for it but to jump straight into the set with Bless ‘Em With The Blade from their latest outing, Wake Up The Wicked. This of course took the audience by storm, and by the second song, Incense And Iron, everyone on the plains was jumping along as best they could.

“Do you want to dance with me? Or do you want to dance with Falk?”
- Dorn (vocals)

Powerwolf offered more than music, of course. They also had a sumptuous and elaborate stage setup ready, as well as fire and confetti - oh so much confetti! We were bombarded with shredded paper as we were bombarded with their special brand of comically infused horror power metal.
Still, while the band was certainly prepared to fire things at the crowd, they were also well prepared to get the crowd in on firing things back, especially so song and screams - I counted at least six songs that were prolonged by pausing for crowd singing! No, the Powerwolf was in no hurry this afternoon, and why should they be? They were so obviously well liked with what they were doing.

While they were highly enjoyable, and there’s no denying they know how to handle themselves on stage, I wasn’t quite as blown away as I had wanted to be, or maybe as I expected to be. maybe it was just a bit too much of it all, maybe it would have just been better under a full moon? It’s hard to put a finger on it. Don’t misunderstand me, this was a lot of fun, it just wasn’t as fun as I thought it would be. Still, an excellent way to start the day - well, almost. They were the second band we saw, just the first main stage one.

Setlist:

Bless ‘Em With The Blade
Incense And Iron
Army Of The Night
Amen & Attack
Dancing With The Dead
Armata Strigoi
1589
Demons Are A Girl’s Best Friend
Stossgebet
Fire And Forgive
Sanctified With Dynamite
Werewolves Of Armenia
Heretic Hunters
Blood For Blood (Faoladh)
We Drink Your Blood