RUNNING WILD: "Resilient"

Rating: RRRR
Label: SPV/Steamhammer 2013
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

"Resilient - Resilient - We Resist to the End. We're Taking Our Pride in the Rage of the Fight. So We're Gonna Take our Stand", end direct quote from the title track of the latest album by Running Wild. It's the comeback wave of Rock'N Rolf and his merry crew consisting of... ehh... a pack of wolves or perhaps the ghosts of former pirates? Your guess is as good as mine since there's absolutley no info about any band in the press-release nor booklet.

Kasparek aka Captain Wild is however responsible for all the songs and lyrics as usual and he's obviously the producer too and I believe it's merely Peter Jordan's by his side. No doubt Running Wild is more of the studio project with hired guns than ever nowadays. There's hardly any of the excellent over the top riffing which made, 'Death Or Glory', an instant and true metal classic. It's back to basics as simplicity rules on this album. Not necesserly a bad thing and the opening number of "Soldiers Of Furtune" proves that Resilient (the album) is more than a worthy successor to the earlier efforts. The titletrack is however not to my liking with its boring mid-tempo stomp and lack of a proper chorus. The weakest link amongst the ten track on display.

"Adventure Highway" is more of the Giant X formula with the basic eighties metal concept and style. "The Drift" takes us back to the days of Jolly Roger, and "Desert Rose" is catchy metal with melodic lead guitar parts and party beat. The same goes for "Run Riot" as this could just as easily have been on the Giant X album. After a lenghty absence (well, 2009) and now adding a slightly more melodic vibe to their fierce Pirate metal, Running Wild provide a strong and basic old school metal set, climaxing in the epic 10 minute epos "Bloody Island", which speak of marvellous treasures and made-up stories in the vein of "Black Hand Inn" or "Pile Of Skulls". Raise the standard as the call is heard across the seven seas - it's the swashing comeback of Running Wild.
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