Thursday night the Fillmore Silver Spring transformed into a cathedral of power metal. Germany’s Powerwolf made a stop on their North American tour in the Washington, DC suburb, the band’s first ever show at the Fillmore. The faithful gathered for metal worship.
The night got started a whole 20 minutes earlier than expected. I was still going through security when the openers, Canadian power metal outfit Unleash the Archers, took the stage at 7:40PM. We scrambled to get to the photo pit but made it in time. Always get to the venue early!
Founded in 2007 in British Columbia, Unleash the Archers have gone through some personnel changes over the years. The current lineup is comprised of cofounders Brittney Hayes (vocals) and Scott Buchanan (drums), along with Grant Truesdell (guitar), Andrew Kingsley (guitar), and Nick Miller (bass). The band’s latest album is Phantoma, released in May.
Unleash the Archers performed for an entire 50 minutes, which is unusual for an opening band at a club show. Nonetheless, the crowd was into it. Many of the fans at the Fillmore had never seen or heard of the band until Thursday night (Hayes asked the crowd!); they responded with their wholehearted support. Indeed, what I found striking about the entire show was the amiable vibe bouncing back and forth between the bands and the crowd.
So the fans at the Fillmore might not have been entirely familiar wish Unleash the Archers, but that didn’t stop them from chanting “HO-LY SHIT! HO-LY SHIT!” several times through the set. The band responded with smiles and a lot of animation. They looked like they were having a wonderful time on stage while they ripped through songs like “Abyss,” “Gods in Decay,” and “The Matriarch.” Unleash the Archers wrapped up their successful set with a cover of Stan Rogers’ anthemic “Northwest Passage.” Everyone sang along.
Being mostly unfamiliar with Powerwolf prior to this night, I wanted to cover this show because I was intrigued by the band’s look and their take on power metal. The great thing about many power metal bands is that they have a lot of fun bringing concept to the stage. For example, Sweden’s Sabaton makes music about history and war stories and perform in camouflage alongside a drum riser disguised as a tank.
Powerwolf, formed in Germany in 2003, take on vampire and werewolf themes. Surprisingly (or maybe not, the metal world sees all sorts of things), they also incorporate religious themes into their music. The stage is adorned with decorations resembling a canine cathedral—imagine a church where the stained glass depicts werewolves. The gentlemen perform in costume and heavy makeup, resulting in striking visuals. It was fun to shoot!
Most of the band members lean into their lyrical themes by adopting stage personas. Vocalist Karsten Brill performs as “Attila Dorn,” guitarist Benjamin Buss as “Matthew Greywolf,” bassist/rhythm guitarist David Vogt as “Charles Greywolf,” and keyboardist Christian Jost as “Falk Maria Schlegel.” Drummer Roel van Helden performs simply as himself.
It was a nice long setlist, weighing in at 19 songs. The band’s latest album, Wake Up the Wicked, contributed the most material to the set, with 2018’s The Sacrament of Sin next in line. The rest of the set was made up of sprinklings from other albums. To illustrate the aforementioned themes this band takes on, these songs included “Amen & Attack,” “We Don’t Wanna Be No Saints,” and “Demons Are a Girl’s Best Friend.”
The amiable, fun vibe that Unleashed the Archers got going early in the night continued until the end. Fans had a great time singing along and generally being putty in Dorn’s hands. The crowdsurfing got started early and we got knocked around a bit in the photo pit. I saw little kids standing in the balcony throwing their little horns.
The band had fun too. Dorn bantered with the crowd, and even danced with Schlegel, who often came down from his keyboards on the riser to hype the band and the crowd. Meanwhile the rest of the guys kept the motors running and kept the crowd’s energy and spirits high.
A couple even got engaged during the show! So, a successful night all around. Powerwolf, up until now, have mostly toured Europe, only performing in the US starting in 2023 (according to setlist.fm). I do hope they make more appearances on this side of the Atlantic. Powerwolf’s North American tour wraps up with a stop in Quebec on September 15. After that, they head back to Europe to tour during October.
UNLEASH THE ARCHERS
