On disc: Running Wild

 
 Death or Glory / Blazon Stone /
Pile of Skulls / Black Hand Inn /
Masquerade
 
- Claudia Ehrhardt -
 
  


 
 Masquerade
 
- Volker Raabe -
 
 


 
 Victory
 
- Claudia Ehrhardt -
 
 


 
 The Final Jolly Roger
 
- Claudia Ehrhardt -
 
 

The Final Jolly Roger

(GoldenCore Records - 2011)



 
 

 

When Rock'n'Rolf announced the split of Running Wild in late April 2009 the fans were shocked. The very last show of Running Wild was at Wacken 2009 and it should be a special farewell show which was recorded for a live DCD / DVD. Fans had to wait almost 2 years to get the document of the last Running Wild show, but I think they'll be happy that it's finally in stores.



Usually the intro just leads you into an album / set, but this time you can hear the fans chanting loudly right from the start and it shows what a great atmosphere this farewell show had. With Port Royal captain Rolf is taking you onto his final sonic journey. He's looking back at more then 2 decades of music and focusing on their classics, mainly songs from their early days and heydays. Songs like Riding The Storm and Prisoners Of Our Time sound fresh, powerful and didn't show a sign of aging. At Branded & Exiled they asked the fans to sing along - and they did. At the last tunes the audience got even louder and with Under Jolly Roger they closed the set.



His live crew did a good job, but it would have been nice to see some former band members joining Running Wild for their very last show. Beside that Rolf is announcing 2 hrs. of Running Wild, but at least the 2 CDs are shorter... Instead of a drum solo - called Der Kaltverformer - I would have preferred another tune... So I missed e.g. Chains And Leather, and I bet the fans would have loved to hear that track.



At Wacken fans from every corner of the world are attending and recording a live album / DVD should be reason enough for a German band to talk to the fans in English, even if they play on German soil. But well, that's something I already criticized Grave Digger for.



I can't give information about the DVD as I only have the CD tracks, but Running Wild fans will welcome that there are different packages available. The Wacken farewell show is available as double CD, DVD and as a CD/DVD box set.





Track list:



Disk: 1

1. Intro

2. Port Royal

3. Bad To The Bone

4. Riding The Storm

5. Soulless

6. Prisoner Of Our Time

7. Black Hand Inn

8. Gate Of Purgatory

9. Battle Of Waterloo

10. Der Kaltverformer

11. Raging Fire



Disk: 2

1. Whirlwind

2. Tortuga Bay

3. Branded & Exiled

4. Raise Your Fist

5. Conquistadores

6. Under Jolly Roger

 
 










Claudia Ehrhardt


  
up 













Victory

(G.U.N. Records - 2000)



 
 

 

Victory is the third part of the trilogy which startd with Masquerade in the beginning it wasn't planned by Running Wild mastermind Rolf and it's not a trilogy of real conceptual albums, more three album which deal with the same subject and kinda tell a story. The theme is the fight between good and bad or the light and the darkness.... If you're not a die-hard Running Wild fan, you may ask yourself 'why shall I buy this album?' Sure, it's still the same old stuff, but due to a different drummer it sounds different... The drums been played by a friend of Rolf who jumped in to fill the spot in the studio. Groovy, the groovy drums seemed to encourage the band members to try something different. They tried different sounds, but it's still Running Wild! On tour a long time friend of the band will give a helping hand... Chris Efthimiadis!



After the album opener Fall Of Dorkas the next track Time Runs Out offers to a sing-along... Even if you don't know this one, at a concert you'll sing-along! Again there are faster and mid-tempo tracks and typical RuWi anthems. No big changes, but none expect an experimental album from Running Wild, right? Personally I think Victory is a better album than The Rivalry, but that's just my opinion...
 
 










Claudia Ehrhardt


  
up 










Masquerade

(Modern Music - 1995)



 
 

 

After they changed the label, but without a line-up change the pirates start one more time. There is no other band in Germany which has such an unique style as Rolf and his com­panions. Their loyal fans stick to them. The 11 new songs would have also fit on one or the other of the last five releases of Running Wild. The Hanseatic are the fathers of German true metal and when they playing live they offer more then just good music. They always try to visualize the show and so they still have their status. So, let's look forward to the coming albums!
 
 










Volker Raabe
(translation: Claudia Ehrhardt)


  
up 










Death or Glory (1989) / Blazon Stone (1991) /

Pile Of Skulls (1992) / Black Hand Inn (1994) /

Masquerade (1995)

(Modern Music - re-releases 1999)



 
 

 

The pirate from Hamburg present 5 of Runnig Wild's albums in a re-masters version. To say anything about the albums would mean carrying coals to Newcastle! So I just will list the bonus tracks which are: Wild Animal, Tear Down The Walls, Störtebeker and Chains & Leather at Death Or Glory.



On Blazon Stone is with Genocide a Thin Lizzy cover version and on Pile Of Skulls are 4 bonus tracks inclusive Beggar's Night and Uaschitschun '92.



Black Hand Inn offers Dancing On A Minefield and Poisoned Blood. Last, but not least Masquerade with 2 bonus tracks (Iron Heads, Bones To Ashes).



Running Wild is in comparison with the Celtic Frost releases a good idea, but not as good as Celtic Frost!
 
 






Claudia Ehrhardt


  
up 





 
           ©2008-2014 by Claudia Ehrhardt • E-Mail: contact@ice-vajal.com