Description

2017 re-issue on double vinyl in gatefold cover with 3 bonus tracks

Running Wild typify both consistency and tenacity, maintaining their style of riff driven, catchy power metal in the vein of Accept and Judas Priest. You cannot listen to a single song off of any of their classic albums without having an instant sense of familiarity, even during the dark age of the mid-1990s. It is understandable that many have come to love the albums that come from the 1990s because they underscore how a band can keep putting out great music in a time where in many places it is no longer to do so. ‘Black Hand Inn’ is among the most ambitious of Running Wild’s works, formatted as an epic conceptual story of a man who discovers a hidden truth about the history of mankind and ends up being burned at the stake. What follows is something of an original mishmash of a ghost story and an epic mystery. But interestingly enough, the music around it still mostly conforms to the metal worshipping format of the early 80s power metal scene typical of England, the US, and Germany before Helloween released the Keepers albums. The format of the band’s albums since the pirate precedent set on ‘Under Jolly Roger’ has always relied on an authentic sea shanty inspired instrumental overture to set the mood, but ‘The Curse’ proves to be the most memorable of this line of instrumental works. Picture being on an age old pirate ship and sighting the Flying Dutchman bathed in its mythical ghostly light, coming closer and closer, and building to a climax where you see nothing on board the ship but lifeless skeletons and torn sails incapable of catching the wind. Once things get going, a very methodical blend of speed metal and traditional 80s riff madness ensues and refuses to let up. The title track, in particular, is one of those speed riff monsters that likely helped jump start the recently deceased power metal genre. A similar riff popped up not long after on the title track of Gamma Ray’s ‘Land of the Free’, the album that many cite as Kai Hansen’s return to prominence after 8 years behind the shadow of either Michael Kiske or Ralf Scheepers. Similar glorious speed anthems include the album’s featured single ‘The Privateer’ and the agitated sing along ‘Phantom of Black Hand Hill’. Naturally Running Wild doesn’t take the one dimensional route that some later 90s acts would take and offer up some variety, while maintaining the catchy flavor of their sound. ‘Soulless’ and ‘Freewheel Rider’ are the best examples of simple Judas Priest and Dio inspired 80s goodness. Simplicity has always been a winning formula in this style, though naturally the lead breaks get about as busy as you can expect from any seasoned metal act. The overriding factor in all of this is how characteristically un-90s it all sounds, something that will always be a positive as far as heavy metal is concerned. Running Wild should have its place in heavy metal history for daring to put out an album without changing their style during the dark years.

Track list:
1. The Curse
2. Black Hand Inn
3. Mr. Deadhead
4. Soulless
5. The Privateer
6. Fight The Fire Of Hate
7. The Phantom Of The Black Hand Hill
8. Freewind Rider
9. Powder And Iron
10. Dragonmen
11. Genesis (The Making And Fall Of Man)
12. Dancing On A Minefield
13. Poisoned Blood