Review & All Photos By Diego Gonzales Pictures
@diegogonzalespictures
www.diegogonzalespictures.com
As the house lights rose, each solo member of POWERWOLF came onto the stage at the legendary Los Angeles Wiltern Theatre. They appeared, right in the center, on the top tier of a massive artistic and stylistic stage set. Lots of tapestry-like decorations, images of werewolves and macabre with middle age accents were all over the stage. It looked like giant paintings of monsters made up the background of the show. As each band member would show themselves at the highest center point on stage they would assume a pose and then claim their position. Lead singer Attila Dorn seemed to be struck by the reception given by the crowd. He announced that this was the first time they have performed in Los Angeles. Clearly acknowledging his appreciation throughout the night to the crowd, he and the band set into each song with theatricality and joy. It was as though the crowd and the band were truly one. Great and giant Metal sounds began with a roar and carried on throughout the performance.
Looking at the crowd, SABATON, POWERWOLF, GHOST T-shirts and Black Metal painted faces were everywhere. This gave a clue as to what ballpark the sound of the music was going to follow. I came to understand that POWERWOLF would be a great sound of Power Metal influenced with a monstrous feel, lots of melody, and heavy tone. They delivered. Throughout the night, the entire crowd acted as the backing chorus for the band. The night would turn into a sing-along concert to every tune. The biggest take-away to leave an impression was the amount of smiles that came across literally every single face you encountered in the building. Tough, regular, hard-core, real-deal metalheads and Metal ladies from the local community just couldn't shake the smile from their face. Even well-known Los Angeles Metal personalities Bic Thatawat and Ro Kohli were prominently and enthusiastically in attendance.
Attila had great operatic and vocal presence. He had a methodical way of interacting with the crowd. Both Guitarists Matthew and Charles Greywolf had some great tone and awesome clean musicality with the chords and solos that accompanied the music. They played to the crowd and owned the stage. Roel Van Helden hit the drums with intensity and enthusiasm. His kit rides low, so it's extra cool to take photos of him and actually be able to see him play it. Falk Maria Schlegel was a standout. He appeared to slam the keys and contort himself to the beat. He would eventually and frequently walk away from the keys entirely and assume some commanding poses. He would call upon the crowd at critical music moments and everyone would erupt with an affirmation. It's rare to see such a charismatic keyboard musician perform the way he does.
Opening the night was SEVEN KINGDOMS. They are a known Power Metal band that originated in Florida. The name is said to have been taken for the love of author George Raymond Richard Martin. George is the visionary of the Game of Thrones novels and the Seven Kingdoms exist in his writings. SEVEN KINGDOMS the band is very heavy, with great operatic ranging vocals from Sabrina Valentine. They clearly have some technical and Thrash vibes on twin guitars from founding member Camden Cruz and Kevin Byrd. The stage is adorned with random cheeseburger art which also reflects merch items that were at the show. Sabrina wears stuffed plushy cheeseburger slippers for the duration of her performance. She is known as the Borger queen. One can only assume this has something to do with a love for cheeseburgers culminating in a consumption of a blended cheeseburger when she was on a liquid diet. As a first-time listener, a seemingly random cover of “Boys of Summer” was unexpected and very well interpreted. It was a stand-out even in the midst of their original songs.
The founding guitarist Camden Cruz commanded an absolute gem of a flying V guitar. The iconic fret inlays were immediately recognizable and the headstock read Caparison. Caparison is a super high-end guitar known for its uncompromising quality. It's loved by shredders and accomplished professional musicians. I personally ran into Caparison's CEO Gabriel Osztreicher two nights later at the Rainbow in LA. I complimented him on that guitar's sound and presentation. He informed me that Camden received a fully produced blank guitar and Camden applied his own shark mouth fighter plane graphics. These resulted in the making of a one-of-a-kind work of art. SEVEN KINGDOMS also includes drummer Keith Byrd who never lacks a smile or chops for his work.
Bottom line- Go to a POWERWOLF show and you will have massive fun. You will see a sea of smiles backing some awesome powerful Metal vibes.
Check out some more photos from the show!
All Photos By Diego Gonzales Pictures
@diegogonzalespictures
www.diegogonzalespictures.com
