Running Wild

New Running Wild album in October :)

RUNNING WILD To Release 'Blood On Blood' Album In October

"Blood On Blood" track listing:

01. Blood On Blood (4:07)
02. Wings Of Fire (3:57)
03. Say Your Prayers (5:14)
04. Diamonds & Pearls (4:44)
05. Wild & Free (5:28)
06. Crossing The Blades 6:00)
07. One Night, One Day (4:59)
08. The Shellback (6:11)
09. Wild, Wild Nights (4:30)
10. The Iron Times (1618 – 1648) (10:29)

Lineup:

Rock N' Rolf - guitar, vocals
Peter Jordan - guitar
Ole Hempelmann - bass
Michael Wolpers - drums


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Decent tune, be great live. Hoping they announce an Irish date but I will certainly travel if I have to. Pretty sure they will be at Bloodstock in England but a sweaty club gig would suit me better.

Nice song. It is good to hear the band sound exactly the same as they did 30 years ago!
 
Nice song. It is good to hear the band sound exactly the same as they did 30 years ago!
Minus the good production, minus the power and minus the fury, but yeah.

I admit I may be a bit biased, as Running Wild are from my hometown, so they always may have had some bonus when I listen to them. Then again, Helloween are from my hometown too, and I never cared much about them.

Speaking about german power metal, RW were always the best band to me. Blind Guardian may have been close, but everyone else played second fiddle to RW, especially in the 90s.
If you are mean, you could argue hat Running Wild only ever wrote 2 songs: the pirate song and the Judas Priest worship song, and then rewrote them over and over again. You would not be wrong. But they pulled it off so well,that they filled a whole decade with great tracks. Between Under Jolly Roger and Masquerade all albums were killer.
Black Hand Inn was their absolute peak, with every song being an instant classic smash hit.
After Masquerade, things went downhill, although every album until the breakup still had some good songs here and there. Production went down to demo level, songs started to get dull, Rolf lost lots of credibility with that Angelo Sasso cringe. When they finally broke up, I saluted them goodbye and thought it was the right thing to do.

However, the reunion was a mistake. The first 2 post reunion albums were pure amateur shit, laughable when compared to Black Hand Inn. It got a little better then, but overall I would have preferred that they justbremained split up and in good memory.
 
Black Hand Inn was their absolute peak, with every song being an instant classic smash hit.
Pile of Skulls for me, but Black Hand Inn is close. The Brotherhood has a series of bangers too (I actually rank it above the post-BHI trilogy).

I put together a best-of playlist of their discography recently. For Masquerade - Rivalry - Victory - The Brotherhood - Rogues en Vogue I picked:
  • Lions of the Sea
  • The Rivalry
  • Adventure Galley
  • The Ballad of William Kidd
  • The Final Waltz
  • Tsar (aka the Mother Russia tribute, but might be the best song in the trilogy)
  • The Brotherhood
  • Siberian Winter
  • Pirate Song
  • The Ghost
  • Rogues en Vogue
  • The War (underrated gem)



Yes the post-reunion material is nowhere any good as it used to be, but it's physiological when one and the same guy has been writing the majority of songs since the 1980s. If a reunion had to happen, I would have preferred them to just become a 'play the classics' band, like Twisted Sisters.
One thing Rolf should get at least minimum credit for, is that he still has some voice and has re-learned the songs with the solos. And even if he mostly picks easy-to-play shorters, he made an effort and closed with Treasure Island in this year's tour.
 
Pile of Skulls for me, but Black Hand Inn is close. The Brotherhood has a series of bangers too (I actually rank it above the post-BHI trilogy).

I put together a best-of playlist of their discography recently. For Masquerade - Rivalry - Victory - The Brotherhood - Rogues en Vogue I picked:
  • Lions of the Sea
  • The Rivalry
  • Adventure Galley
  • The Ballad of William Kidd
  • The Final Waltz
  • Tsar (aka the Mother Russia tribute, but might be the best song in the trilogy)
  • The Brotherhood
  • Siberian Winter
  • Pirate Song
  • The Ghost
  • Rogues en Vogue
  • The War (underrated gem)



Yes the post-reunion material is nowhere any good as it used to be, but it's physiological when one and the same guy has been writing the majority of songs since the 1980s. If a reunion had to happen, I would have preferred them to just become a 'play the classics' band, like Twisted Sisters.
One thing Rolf should get at least minimum credit for, is that he still has some voice and has re-learned the songs with the solos. And even if he mostly picks easy-to-play shorters, he made an effort and closed with Treasure Island in this year's tour.
Masqarade has many good songs. And maybe a bit different. Just a bit
 
Pile of Skulls for me, but Black Hand Inn is close. The Brotherhood has a series of bangers too (I actually rank it above the post-BHI trilogy).

I put together a best-of playlist of their discography recently. For Masquerade - Rivalry - Victory - The Brotherhood - Rogues en Vogue I picked:
  • Lions of the Sea
  • The Rivalry
  • Adventure Galley
  • The Ballad of William Kidd
  • The Final Waltz
  • Tsar (aka the Mother Russia tribute, but might be the best song in the trilogy)
  • The Brotherhood
  • Siberian Winter
  • Pirate Song
  • The Ghost
  • Rogues en Vogue
  • The War (underrated gem)



Yes the post-reunion material is nowhere any good as it used to be, but it's physiological when one and the same guy has been writing the majority of songs since the 1980s. If a reunion had to happen, I would have preferred them to just become a 'play the classics' band, like Twisted Sisters.
One thing Rolf should get at least minimum credit for, is that he still has some voice and has re-learned the songs with the solos. And even if he mostly picks easy-to-play shorters, he made an effort and closed with Treasure Island in this year's tour.
What? Are they touring again?
 
Also, I relistened to Black Hand Inn in its entirety, so it's track-by-track time:
  1. The Curse: a very much less interesting intro than Chamber of Lies leads us into the dark mood of the album.
  2. Black Hand Inn: this would have been their best opener BY FAR, had Riding the Storm not been in their discography as well. What a banger. Dark, epic, fast, mercilessly overwhelming. And with Rolf's best solo.
  3. Mr. Deadhead: an upbeat, easy written listening standard of speed metal with a decent chorus. Not particularly interesting, not after the previous song.
  4. Soulless: I know it's generally praised, but I never liked this one. Feels too much like a filler.
  5. The Privateer: another banger. We're in a more melodic territory here, and God what a great pair of solos Thilo Hermann threw in. Especially the second one, reprising the chorus melody.
  6. Fight the Fire of Hate: a very good mid-tempo, with truly a great, great, great coda. The last 30 seconds are magical.
  7. The Phantom of Black Hand Hill: Black Hand Inn pt. 2. Fast, dark, merciless for your both your right hand and voice.
  8. Freewind Rider: same as Soulless.
  9. Powder and Iron: this is what Mr. Deadhead and Freewind Rider failed to be. A fast song, with an epic riff and an epic chorus, a great solo and captivating guitar work. Always loved this one, a hidden gem.
  10. Dragonmen: an unexpected ocarina intro for the fast galloping song that leads to the concluding suite. Almost a darker version of Lead or Gold, here and there. Very good work once again.
  11. Genesis: this is very, very much less good than Treasure Island. This does not mean that it's bad: it has a good chorus and good riff-work. But the song as a whole is definitely too long.
 
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