Powerwolf - Kiss of the Cobra King

A brief heads-up, the video for the Rock Song of the Week this week isn’t strictly NSFW. However, if your workplace has any issues with sword-swallowing, self-flagellation or a woman giving birth to a flower arrangement, it’s probably safest to wait until you get home before you watch this one. On with the show!

Now, as a rule, I’m normally quite difficult to sell on re-recording songs, especially songs that are already one of a band’s better tracks. Sure, acoustic versions are popular, I can live with those. Cover versions are hit and miss, mostly. But flat-out re-recordings have to be something special to win me over. I’m then glad to report that this week’s track, Kiss of the Cobra King, is a masterclass in taking a song from the back catalogue and breathing new life into it with a band’s current style. German power metal band Powerwolf (or POWERWOLF, perhaps because wolves have notoriously terrible eyesight at long distances) have been in the game for a long time now. Their earliest incarnation, Red Aim, was formed in 1995, playing a mix of stoner and Indian-inspired raga rock that is a far cry from where they are now. Closer to becoming Powerwolf they transitioned to a more rock and heavy metal sound after finding new lead singer Karsten Brill in a pub in 1999, before unshackling themselves completely in 2003 with a name change, aliases instead of real names all around – the works. Since then, the band have released seven albums (2018’s Sacrament of Sin is a highlight), a greatest hits album last year and more singles than you can shake a stick at, before you get thrown out of HMV for being “that lunatic with a stick in the Rock/Metal section”. It’s entirely likely that I love this band as much as they love werewolves, and the band loves werewolves, that much is obvious. Every album prominently features them on the cover art, in the lyrics and quite possibly tattooed on all the members of the band (citation needed, but I’d be willing to bet on it!). Powerwolf masters of anthemic, soaring vocals over chugging bass and guitar, with more than a few twiddly solos thrown in. If you like your power-metal big and bold, these are your guys. If you like werewolves, these are probably also your guys.