Blessed & Possessed

Blessed & Possessed, issued by Napalm Records on July 17, 2015, is Powerwolf's sixth studio album. It draws the contrast its title names — the blessed and the possessed — not by adding layers but through tempo and the plainness of its choruses. The title track opens the record, and organ and choir lay out the whole picture inside thirty seconds. “Army Of The Night” became a fixture of the live set on the strength of a melody and a rhythm made for raised fists, while “Armata Strigoi” takes Romanian vampire folklore and pours an Eastern European mode into a very large chorus. “Dead Until Dark” and “Higher Than Heaven” lead with speed; “Sacramental Sister” and “All You Can Bleed” use humour and vulgarity without flinching. “Let There Be Night” closes the album in the shape of a prayer for darkness. After Preachers of the Night reached No. 1 in Germany, the band changed nothing about its direction and simply raised the density. Eleven songs in about forty minutes carry no filler, and each is cut so a room can sing it. It is the clearest view of Powerwolf's style being optimised for the stage.