Blood of the Saints is the fourth studio album by German power metal band Powerwolf, released in 2011.[1] It is the band's first album with songs that had music videos, made for "We Drink Your Blood" and "Sanctified with Dynamite". In addition to recording at Studio Fredman, Sweden, the band recorded some parts of the album in the 12th-century Deutschherrenkapelle chapel in Saarbrücken.
A limited edition of Blood of the Saints included a bonus CD titled The Sacrilege Symphony (And Still the Orchestra Plays), which contained orchestral versions of Powerwolf songs. It was arranged by Dominic G. Joutsen, who previously worked for the metal band Heavenwood.[2]
Critical reception
The record reached position number 23 in the German charts[3] and 75 in the Swiss charts.[4]
Metal.de wrote about the album: "This is a very melodic power metal sounding from the speakers, which impresses above all through catchiness and a powerful sing along factor. At least after the second run everyone will be able to sing along at least the choruses. Of course this is again due to the powerful yet clear voice of Attila Dorn, who has now finally given up his accent. He sings even more aggressively.[5] The Metal Hammer judged: "Certainly: Powerwolf let their musical influences always open through, and if you listen well, the trained ear recognizes very quickly riff quotes from bands like Iron Maiden, Judas Priest or Accept. But how can you blame the wolves for creating excellent songwriting?"[6]
The album won the Metal Hammer "Power metal album of the year" award.