German heavy metal band
Running Wild
is a German
heavy metal
band formed in
Hamburg
in 1976. They were part of the
German metal scene
to emerge in the early to mid-1980s, and are also considered to be one of the country's so-called "big four" of
power metal
, along with
Grave Digger
,
Helloween
and
Rage
.
[1]
Over the course of their career, they have released 17 studio albums, three live albums, five compilation albums, and six singles/EPs.
Although their earlier releases contained
Satanic
themes and imagery, from the third album on, the band's primary subject matter centered around pirates, sailing and other historical events. In 1987, the band released the album
Under Jolly Roger
,
which was a switch to pirate-based and historical themes, creating and influencing the later named
pirate metal
subgenre of heavy metal in the 2000s in the process. While the historical lyrics were very superficial at first, the lyrics for later albums were intensively researched, by frontman Rolf Kasparek in particular.
[2]
After
Under Jolly Roger
, from 1988 to 1992 (for the albums
Port Royal
,
Death or Glory
,
Blazon Stone
and
Pile of Skulls
), Running Wild mainly wrote historically based lyrics. In addition to lyrics about pirates, the band also addressed subjects like the
Wars of the Roses
, the
Battle of Waterloo
, or the
colonization of the New World
by the Conquistadors.
[2]
In April 2009, Kasparek announced that Running Wild had split up. Their intended last show was at
Wacken Open Air
in July that year. It was recorded for CD and DVD release and appeared as
The Final Jolly Roger
in 2011. The split would prove temporary as they reunited in 2012. Running Wild played live for the Wacken Open Air festival in 2015. As of 2021, the band had released 17 studio albums, with their most recent being
Blood on Blood
.
History
[
edit
]
Early years and first albums
[
edit
]
The band formed in 1976 under the name Granite Heart, but they would change their name in 1979 to Running Wild after the
Judas Priest
song of the same name. The band recorded their first demo in 1981 and featured the songs "Hallow the Hell", "War Child" and "King of the Midnight Fire". The first two of these tracks appeared on the compilation album "Debut №1" on the Raubbau Label. In June 1984, the band started work on their debut album
Gates to Purgatory
, which was released by
Noise Records
, featuring satanic lyrics. The album proved to be a success, and the band quickly gained a cult following. Guitarist Gerald "Preacher" Warnecke left the band soon after the album's release. (Gerald "Preacher" Warnecke was studying theology at the time and is now a
pastor
in Cologne.)
[3]
[4]
The band soon recruited Majk Moti to take his place, and soon recorded their follow up
Branded and Exiled
in 1985. This album would prove to be the final release of the band with satanic imagery in their music.
Rise in popularity, success and later albums
[
edit
]
For the following release, the band shifted their sound and image and adopted a pirate theme. The band released
Under Jolly Roger
in 1987. This would prove a significant change because the band would be more known as a "pirate metal" band, with lyrics dealing with pirates and historical events. With this album, the band found their identity, and the pirate theme would be prominent on their future releases. Their 1988 follow-up release
Port Royal
featured a more mature style of songwriting and expanded on the pirate theme explored on their previous album. The album featured one of the band's first epics, Calico Jack. In 1989, the release of the band's fifth studio recording
Death or Glory
, proved to be the band's most successful album to date.
[
citation needed
]
The tour was also a success and a concert during the tour was filmed and was released as
Death or Glory Tour
. This album and tour would be the final release to feature guitarist Majk Moti and drummer Ian Finlay.
Upon the departure of Moti and Finlay, Kasparek recruited guitarist Axel Morgan and drummer Rudiger Dreffein (better known as "AC") to record the band's first album in two years,
Blazon Stone
, released in 1991. The album continued the band's trend of writing about historical themes, and according to band leader, Rolf Kasparek, it was to be the band's best-selling album of the 1990s.
[
citation needed
]
The album proved to be a slight shift in their overall sound, as the band brought a more speed metal approach to their songs, which would be prevalent throughout their releases during the decade. In 1992, the band began work on
Pile of Skulls
which was regarded by many as one of the band's strongest efforts.
[
citation needed
]
Around this time, Kasparek started becoming more interested in conspiracy theories, becoming the basis of the next album, 1994's
Black Hand Inn
.
1995's
Masquerade
was the first in a trilogy of albums dealing with a specific theme. The album would go on to be one of Running Wild's worst selling albums up to that point. The second album followed with the 1998 album
The Rivalry
under their new label
GUN Records
with the conclusion of the trilogy culminating with 2000's
Victory
. It would be the final album featuring drummer Jorg Michael. With so many line-up changes, Running Wild was considered a solo project due to the fact that guitarist and main songwriter Rolf Kasparek remained the sole constant member of the band. The album
The Brotherhood
was released in 2002. It was to be another three years before Running Wild released another album
Rogues en Vogue
in 2005.
The Final Jolly Roger
, hiatus and reunion
[
edit
]
On 17 April 2009, Rolf Kasparek announced the disbandment of Running Wild. The band performed their final show at
Wacken Open Air
on 30 July 2009, which would be recorded for a future DVD release.
[5]
The resulting effort
The Final Jolly Roger
was released on 24 June 2011 on CD and DVD format.
[6]
In May 2011, Kasparek explained that he did not want the band to return due to other desires of his own.
[7]
A biography, titled
Death and Glory: The Story of a Heavy Metal Legend
, was announced in June 2011 that was tentatively scheduled for release in 2013 or 2014, but no more information was given since then.
[8]
In October 2011, Running Wild reformed and announced that they would record a new album titled
Shadowmaker
,
[9]
which was released on 20 April 2012 via
SPV/Steamhammer
.
[10]
[11]
[12]
In November 2012, Kasparek and guitarist Peter Jordan formed a side project called Giant X, releasing an album titled
I
in January 2013.
[13]
The next album
Resilient
was released on 4 October 2013.
[14]
[15]
[16]
The band made their return appearance at the 2015 edition of Wacken and included a brand new song from an upcoming album.
[17]
[18]
The sixteenth album
Rapid Foray
was released on 26 August 2016.
[19]
[20]
On 6 December 2019, an EP titled
Crossing the Blades
was released as an early hint for a new album.
[21]
Running Wild's seventeenth album
Blood on Blood
was released on 29 October 2021.
[22]
[23]
Their song "Diamonds and Pearls" was elected by
Loudwire
as the 31st best metal song of 2021.
[24]
On 16 February 2023, former guitarist Michael "Majk Moti" Kupper died at the age of 65.
[25]
Running Wild is currently working on a new album, which is planned for release in early 2025.
[26]
Members
[
edit
]
Current
[
edit
]
- Rolf Kasparek ? vocals, guitars (1976?2009, 2011?present)
- Peter Jordan ? guitars (2004?2009, 2011?present)
- Ole Hempelmann ? bass (2015?present)
- Michael Wolpers ? drums (2015?present)
Former
[
edit
]
Guitar
- Uwe Bendig (1976?1982)
- Gerald "Preacher" Warnecke (1982?1985)
- Michael "Majk Moti" Kupper (1985?1990; died 2023)
- Axel Morgan (1990?1993)
- Thilo Herrmann
(1994?2001)
- Bernd Aufermann (2002?2004)
|
Bass
- Jorg Schwarz (1976)
- Carsten David (1976?1979)
- Matthias Kaufmann (1979?1982)
- Stephan Boriss (1982?1987)
- Jens Becker
(1987?1992)
- Thomas Smuszynski (1992?2002)
- Peter Pichl (2002?2009)
- Jan S. Eckert (2009)
|
Drums
- Michael Hoffmann (1976?1979)
- Wolfgang "Hasche" Hagemann (1979?1987)
- Stefan Schwarzmann
(1987?1988, 1992?1993)
- Iain Finlay (1988?1990)
- Jorg Michael
(1990, 1994?1998)
- Rudiger "AC" Dreffein (1990?1992)
- Christos Efthimiadis (1998?1999, 2001)
- Angelo Sasso (2000?2002; died 2007)
- Matthias Liebetruth (2002?2009)
|
Timeline
[
edit
]
Discography
[
edit
]
- Studio albums
- Live albums
|
- Compilation albums
- The First Years of Piracy
(1991)
- The Story of Jolly Roger
(1998)
- The Legendary Tales
(2002)
- 20 Years in History
(2003)
- Best of Adrian
(2006)
- Black Demons on Stage
(2010)
- Greatest Hits
(2011)
- Riding the Storm: Very Best of the Noise Years 1983?1995
(2016)
- Singles and EPs
- "Victim of States Power" (1984)
- "Bad to the Bone" (1989)
- "Wild Animal" (1990)
- "Little Big Horn" (1991)
- "Lead or Gold" (1992)
- "The Privateer" (1994)
- "The Rivalry" (1998)
- "Revolution" (2000)
- "Crossing the Blades" (2019)
|
- DVDs
- Split releases
- Rock From Hell: German Metal Attack
(1983)
- Death Metal
(1984)
- Metal Attack Vol. 1
(1985)
- Tribute albums
|
References
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]
External links
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]
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Studio albums
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Live albums
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Compilations
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International
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National
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Other
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