''Preachers of the Night'' is the fifth studio album by the German

power metal Power metal is a subgenre of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional heavy metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. Generally, power metal is characterized by a faster, lighter, and more uplifting sound, in contra ...

band

Powerwolf Powerwolf, often stylized as POWERWOLF, is a German power metal band founded in 2003 in Saarbrücken by members of Red Aim. The band consists of vocalist Karsten Brill as "Attila Dorn", lead guitarist Benjamin Buss as "Matthew Greywolf", bassist/ ...

. It was released on 19 July 2013.
-
-
- The band wrote it during 2012 and began recording it in December of the same year at the

Studio Fredman Studio Fredman is a well-known recording studio in Gothenburg, Sweden, owned and operated by producer Fredrik Nordström. It is popular among Swedish metal bands, with artists such as At the Gates, Deathstars, Nightrage, Norwegian band Dimmu Borg ...

in Gothenburg, Sweden. The album was rated positively by the critics. The album also flourished commercially, ranked first in the

German charts The GfK Entertainment charts are the official music charts in Germany and are gathered and published by GfK Entertainment (formerly Media Control and Media Control GfK International), a subsidiary of GfK, on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindust ...

, and also ranked in several other countries. Much like ''

Blood of the Saints ''Blood of the Saints'' is the fourth studio album by the German power metal band Powerwolf, released in 2011.- - - It is the band's first album with songs that had music videos, made for "We Drink Your Blood" and "Sanctified with Dynamite". In ...

'', ''Preachers of the Night'' includes in its deluxe version a bonus orchestral CD, titled ''The Sacrilege Symphony II''. The album's single "Amen & Attack" was released on 28 June 2013.

Background

Powerwolf began writing their fifth album in 2012. They finished in the November of the same year. They recorded their album in December 2012 at the Studio Fredman in Gothenburg, and the process lasted until March 2013. The album's cover art, created by the band's guitarist

Matthew Greywolf Benjamin Buss (; born 7 October 1977), best known by his stage name Matthew Greywolf, is a German musician, best known as the guitarist and a main songwriter in the power metal band Powerwolf. He's married to a photographer Janine Buss. Biog ...

, was unveiled on 2 May 2013. On 11 July 2013,

Napalm Records Napalm Records is an Austrian independent record label focused on heavy metal and hard rock. Originally, Napalm focused on black metal bands, such as Abigor and Summoning, and folk metal bands, such as Falkenbach and Vintersorg. The label later ...

released audio samples of all the tracks from the album on their

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

channel.

Critical reception

Metal.de Metal.de is a German-language online magazine launched in 1996. The magazine focuses on the subgenres of heavy metal and hard rock, but also reports on similar styles. ''Metal.de'' foundation in 1996 makes it one of the longest-running heavy me ...

commented: "Powerwolf are once again damned in love with detail, the new album is full of majestic opulence and pomp, epic grandeur, sing-along choruses and a healthy dose of self-irony. Effective, resounding, rousing".

Metal Hammer ''Metal Hammer'' is a heavy metal music magazine and website founded in 1983, published in the United Kingdom by Future, with other language editions available in numerous other countries. ''Metal Hammer'' features news, reviews and long-form ...

wrote: "To be honest: who occupies such a good, reliable and original drawer, must not be accused, in this to persist". The magazine pointed out that the new songs live among other things, because of their "unrestrained speed as extremely effective".

Track listing

Personnel

Powerwolf *

Attila Dorn Karsten Brill (; born 27 October 1970), best known by his stage name Attila Dorn, is a German singer. He has been the lead vocalist of power metal band Powerwolf since 2003. Career Dragon's Tongue and Meskalin (1991–1998) In 1991, Br ...

– vocals *

– lead and rhythm guitar *

Charles Greywolf David Vogt (; born 5 September 1975), best known by his stage name Charles Greywolf, is a German musician, record producer, mixer and recording engineer. He is best known as the guitarist of the power metal band Powerwolf. He runs a recording ...

– bass, rhythm guitar *

Roel van Helden Roel van Helden (born 2 September 1980) is a Dutch musician known mostly for his work as a drummer for German metal band Powerwolf. Early life Born in Lottum, Roel van Helden's first experience with playing drums was in a talent show at the a ...

– drums, percussion *

Falk Maria Schlegel Christian Jost (born 29 September 1975), best known by his stage name Falk Maria Schlegel, is a German musician. He is best known as the keyboardist of power metal band Powerwolf. Career Jost started as a keyboardist of a progressive thrash ...

– organ, keyboards Additional musicians *Patrick Staub – vocals (choir) *Jörg Zimmer – vocals (choir) *Frank Beck – vocals (choir) *Philipp Allar – vocals (choir) *Andreas Schröder – vocals (choir) *Hans-Peter Kirsch – vocals (choir; bass) *Peter Kargerer – vocals (choir; bass) *Edgar Weiß – vocals (choir; bass) *Helen Vogt – vocals (choir; alto, soprano) *Annick Tabari – vocals (choir; alto, soprano) *Anne Diemer – vocals (choir; alto, soprano) *Christine Kruchten – vocals (choir; alto, soprano) *Simone Theobald – vocals (choir; alto, soprano) *Silvana Bergwanger – vocals (choir; alto, soprano) *Andrea Witting – vocals (choir; alto, soprano) *Almut Hellwig – vocals (choir; alto, soprano) Technical personnel *Kai Stahlenberg – recording, engineer *Kristian Kohlmannslehner – recording, engineer *David Buballa – engineer, editing *Charles Greywolf – bass recording *Fredrik Nordström – mixer *Henrik Udd – mixer *Svante Forsbäck – mastering *Francesco Cottone – choir conductor Other personnel *Manuela Meyer – photography *Matthew Greywolf – artwork, layout

Charts

References

2013 albums Powerwolf albums {{2010s-metal-album-stub