POWERWOLF is Power Metal band from Saarbrucken, Saarland, Germany. This is a 3 CD Earbook Limited Edition Best of the band. The first CD is a best of and re-recorded versions of a number of their tracks through the last decade and a half. As for the second and third CD of this boxset, it's the Live album to their last studio release ''The Sacrament of Sin'' and a few bonus live tracks from the same tour. This is a must for any fan of the band. The basic version is only the first CD so the live album is really a nice surprise. The new versions of the old classics really heighten the quality of the songs themselves and they added a touch to each song to make it really stand out from their predecessors.

POWERWOLF are a very polarizing band in the world of Metal. They are akin to SABATON because of their most straightforward Power Metal style and easy-listening style of compositions. A lot of people criticize the oversimplistic approach they have to music and being they always stay true to the formula, never really going astray. I think those people are vastly wrong about everything, their last album hit #1 on the German charts, they did sold out headliner tours throughout Europe (they haven't come here to North America as of yet) and are always quite prominent on the big festivals.

They are not the prototypical Power Metal band, the singer does not have the best range but has such a presence, a demeanor and cult-like ability to grab the attention of the listener out there. The whole band is quite theatrical yet sometimes quite comical, not taking themselves too seriously talking about werewolves, vampires and whatnot. They are not like a lot of Power Metal bands out there talking about the wizards of the dragons empire through the fire of the ember diamond on top of the crystal mountain of doom. They talk about horror, religion, epic morbid and classic fantasy tales. They really stand out on the lyrical content which is a nice departure obviously.

The keyboards sound like church organs, the production is very theatrical (again with that word) and you can see the time and effort to produce such a thing. I would compare the type production to the likes AVANTASIA or AYREON, everything is there for a reason and everything sounds like a ton of bricks.

The songs themselves are once again perfectly suited to be played live, which has always been the heart and soul of POWERWOLF's music. Big choirs accompany hooks that are easy to remember and equally easy to sing along to, a lot of "uh" and "ah" shouts should also be possible in the live situation, and thus POWERWOLF caters once more to the more casual metal listener and festival attendee. So having a whole live performance for the second and third CD is a real treat and they are just a freakin' powerhouse (pun intended) live and they are a sight to behold. They deliver the goods and it's just fun loving Melodic Power Metal (like SABATON), nothing's gonna reinvent the wheel but they have their signature sound and its thoroughly enjoyable. They are right now the best Power Metal band in the whole and probably ready to conquer other continents when the pandemic will die down.