Powerwolf’s Matthew Greywolf Names Band’s Most Rewarding Album

What was the most rewarding album of Powerwolf‘s career? Guitarist Matthew Greywolf told Full Metal Jackie during a recent appearance on her weekend radio show that it was 2013’s Preachers of the Night, reflecting on its unexpected breakout.

“It’s just those five friends who play their heavy metal music and suddenly you realize, okay, that’s where we got to,” said Greywolf, taking in that just making the music they loved as friends had now suddenly put them on a new level in their homeland of Germany where the album hit No. 1.

Could another smash album follow? The band are currently promoting the Wake Up the Wicked album, and it’s a record that continues to take big steps forward, including filming their most elaborate music video yet. Matthew takes us into the details behind “1589” and also how the unique song entered their musical collective.

The guitarist also shares an unfortunate circumstance from their “Sinners of the Seven Seas” video and teases their first-ever North American headline tour.

Check out more of the chat below.

It’s Full Metal Jackie and on the show with us this week we’ve got the one and only Powerwolf guitarist Matthew Greywolf. So Wake Up the Wicked, your 10th record overall. And Matthew, you’ve been there through it all. How does it feel to hit the ten album mark and what have been some of the biggest changes you’ve seen since dropping that first album nearly 20 years ago?

Probably grew a few grey hairs (laughs) So, yeah when you realize it’s album number ten, first of all, you feel a bit old, like, oh my God, it’s that much. It’s been a long time and we never felt like it because we’re always busy, we’re always into the next project already.

We never look back and suddenly you’re at album number 10 and in year 20 of the band’s existence and it actually feels a bit strange. But we’re really proud we’ve made it that far. We never expected that when we started. We couldn’t be much happier about the new album.

Powerwolf, “1589”

Matthew, Powerwolf are taking some big steps forward with their Wake Up the Wicked album. And one of those big steps is delivering arguably the most elaborate video of the band’s career with “1589.” It was a properly spooky nighttime dark forest shoot. For the clip, what are your thoughts on how the final video turned out and being able to portray the story of the Werewolf of Bedburg, Peter Stump.

My first thought when I saw the final clip was that I remembered how cold it was. We shot the video at night time, mid of November in England, and it was freezing cold and it was really, we all were really suffering on the set. But generally I feel super happy about the result of this video.

For us, this project was more than just shooting a regular music video. It was really about shooting a short movie that portrays the story of Peter Stump. We went all the way with this one, like a huge cast of actors, real settings, no green screen, no CGI, no nothing.

It was just like the very old school way of shooting an actual movie. And that was an awesome experience for all of us.

Matthew, we’re talking about “1589.” It’s such an interesting song. Who initially came across the story of Peter Stump? And why did this make such an intriguing subject for you to write a song about?

Well, I had read about the story already, I think, a decade ago, and I immediately felt like this is the perfect story stuff to write a Powerwolf song about. The point is, you can’t plot and plan writing a song. So it took almost that decade until I came up with some musical idea that just matched the story.

I wanted to have a really dramatic approach for a song, like with that piano line that establishes the atmosphere. So that was a perfect match this time that I remembered that story and there was this dramatic song idea. And so one thing came to another and here we are with this story.

Powerwolf, “Sinners of the Seven Seas”

Matthew, another great song off this album is “Sinners of the Seven Seas.” How enjoyable was it to shoot a video on your own replica ship for the video?

Well, for some of us, it was an awesome experience, and for some of us it was horrible since we got seasick.

Uh oh, no.

It was an actual replica of the historic boat. And that also included that It was not as, you know, a comfortable experience as nowadays ships are. But it was quite a bumpy ride when we went out on the sea on that boat. We didn’t think about that, so we had to improvise quite a lot.

Matthew. 2024 is also a big year for Powerwolf. Of course, you’ve got your first headline tour of North America coming up, and you’ve played some shows over here. Now, what’s been your reaction to the American audiences and how excited are you to be playing some dates with Unleash the Archers on this run?

Well, first time we finally made our way to the U.S. and North America in general was last year and we were super surprised by how enthusiastic the audiences were and how much they were into every detail of the music and the band. It was really an overwhelming experience for us. That’s why we actually can’t wait to get back.

Actually we started booking our touring around the next U.S. run. So we will actually premiere Wake Up the Wicked on the first show in the U.S. in Los Angeles at the end of August. We’re super excited about that.

We’re gonna play shows in lots of cities we’ve never been to before. Plus, it’s gonna be the first time that we play the new songs. Also, the lineup with Unleash the Archers supporting us is just like a perfect match. It’s gonna be great times.

READ MORE: Powerwolf’s Matthew Greywolf Picks the Five Most Anthemic Songs Since 2010

Matthew, at 10 albums in the also feels like a good time for reflection. Over the course of your career, what has been the most rewarding album for you in terms of how the record came out and everything coming together well in your life at that time?

I think one of the most important albums in our career was Preachers of the Night in 2013. That album marked our very first No. 1 on the German album charts. So, speaking of our home country, it was kind of a game changer. Suddenly we had a lot of recognition also outside of the metal scene, and that actually opened quite a few doors for Powerwolf.

The most rewarding moment when we had our first No. 1, actually, was that we felt like it just happened. We didn’t work to get a No. 1 in the album charts. It was just like when you found a heavy metal band, you just don’t think about charts or this kind of mainstream success. You just play the music you love. And exactly that was what happened. We played the music we just loved and suddenly we made it that far with it and we didn’t even waste a thought on it. And that was quite a nice moment. It’s just those five friends who play their heavy metal music and suddenly you realize, okay, that’s where we got to.

Matthew, tell us what’s on the horizon for Powerwolf for the rest of 2024 and beyond.

First up, there’s a lot of touring. We’re starting touring Wake up the Wicked in North America, followed by the European leg of the tour, which will feature the largest production we ever had in our history. I can’t really tell details, but for 2025, there will be much more touring coming up. So our schedule looks like we’re going to play quite a few live shows in the next couple of years.

Thanks to Powerwolf’s Matthew Greywolf. Wake Up the Wicked is available now. Stay up to date with the band through their website, Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube and Spotify channels. Find out where you can hear Full Metal Jackie’s weekend radio show here.