Return In Bloodred

Here comes a new German band from Metal Blade's squad, Powerwolf. I guess the band's name has something to do with all these superheroes films flooding this last decade, but neither the cover nor the band name earn the mention "innovative" so to speak. Hopefully, we are interested in the music of the band, which plays good heavy/power/doom metal that is never too fast, never too slow. Powerwolf singer frontman Attila Dorn - who graduated from classical opera studies at the academy of Bucharest - has a strong, dark and powerful voice that fits perfectly Powerwolf's style. Atilla (come on, what a name!) magnetizes alone the music of the band ... like Hansi Kurch does with the Bards (but no further comparisons at this stage). The melodies on Return in Bloodred are excellent and the organ, which is being used a lot, adds a dark and sinister touch that I like very much. The brilliant production emphasizes a solid sound. The first track, Mr. Sinister, opens with a crying wolf (a cliché to the cover I presume), the kind of intro we are used to with Lordi. The chorus and the melody are very basic but like I mention it before, the voice of Attila works fine with this type of metal (come on!! this guy needs to change his name haha). The second track is my favorite one. We Came To Take Your Souls, a mid-tempo heavy/doom track, stays in your "taken soul" forever (excellent melody, unstoppable guitar riff). The third track is also another highlight of Return in Bloodred and it is called Kiss Of The Cobra King. This time Powerwolf plays faster and the catchy chorus gets printed in your brain instantly. On the other hand, the lyrics on this first studio album could be the weak point. There are not legions and are continuously repeated over and over again. The same structure is used, underlining an immature song-writing. I am sure the band will get better record after record, surmounting this lack of creativity. The other good songs on Return in Bloodred that you can check are: Demons & Diamonds, The Evil Made Me Do It. Powerwolf hasn't invented the powder and isn't pushing the heavy/power/doom metal style to a new step but with such a vocalist and bearing in mind the quality of the melodies on this first record, I will certainly keep an eye on this band because my senses tell me something is cooking here :).