"Fire & Forgive" is a song by German power metal band Powerwolf. It was a second single released from their 2018 album The Sacrament of Sin.
Music video
The video tells a story of a girl in a church, who becomes possessed as the result of receiving the Blessed Sacrament from the priest. Powerwolf's vocalist Attila Dorn along with keyboardist Falk Maria Schlegel and a few nuns perform an exorcism on the girl. The video also references the Index Librorum Prohibitorum by showing monks burning confiscated books.
Video's story takes place "somewhere in southern Europe" in 1931, although throughout the video, the viewer can see signs of it taking place in Poland (ex. a religious songbook written in Polish, or the date 966–1966, which is a memorial to the Millennium of Poland), where the video was recorded.
Controversy The video was recorded in the Church of Saint Mary Magdalene in Ścinawka Średnia, Poland. After releasing it on YouTube on 22 June 2018, Powerwolf was accused by the local curia that the video "overstepped limits with regard both to the sacredness of the church as well as to the trust shown by the parish priest in charge of that holy place".
Many Polish newspapers wrote about this controversy. Most of them said that the band is satanic and anti-church.
Live performances
"Fire & Forgive" is played in a fast, typical Powerwolf style. While performing the song, the band uses a big amount of pyrotechnics. The vocalist Attila Dorn usually wears dual arm mounted flame throwers after the song's guitar solo.
Personnel
Powerwolf Attila Dorn – vocals Matthew Greywolf – lead and rhythm guitar Charles Greywolf – bass and rhythm guitar Roel van Helden – drums, percussion Falk Maria Schlegel – organ, keyboards
Additional musicians Dianne van Giersbergen – vocals (additional) Marcela Bovio – vocals (additional) John Cuijpers – vocals (additional) Jacobus van Bakel – vocals (additional) Dirk Bersweiler – vocals (choir, additional) James Boyle – vocals (choir, additional) Manfred Flick – vocals (choir, additional) Titan Fox – vocals (choir, additional) Tom Kurt Germann – vocals (choir, additional) Björn Hacket – vocals (choir, additional) Daniel Herzmann – vocals (choir, additional) Toni Hilbert – vocals (choir, additional) Fritz Körber – vocals (choir, additional) Dirk Reichel – vocals (choir, additional) PA'dam Chamber Choir – vocals (choir)
Technical personnel Jens Bogren – producer, mixer, recording, engineer David Buballa – recording, editing Joost van den Broek – arrangements (orchestral, choir), recording (choir), programming, score (choir) Maria van Nieukerken – PA'dam Chamber Choir conductor Tony Lindgren – mastering Jos Driessen – engineer (choir) Linus Corneliusson – mixer, editing
Other personnel Zsofia Dankova – cover art, illustrations Matthew Greywolf – layout Tim Tronckoe – photography Matteo Vdiva – photography
References