Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Running Wild
Label: Noise Records
Release: 1988
Length: 43:57
Rating: 4/5
“Ready for Boarding” was the first live album from Germany’s pirate metal champions Running Wild, recorded at a show in Munich. The fact that they decided to put out a live record right after their third studio album, “Under Jolly Roger” (1987), which brought them a huge artistic and commercial breakthrough, says a lot about the incredible confidence and drive of this cult classic metal outfit, a band that was burning with an unquenchable desire to win over the hearts of as many metal maniacs as possible.
Ahead of the “Under Jolly Roger” tour, the ambitious captain of the band, singer and guitarist Rock’n Rolf, pulled off a few dictatorial but welcome moves, bringing in young Jens Becker and Stefan Schwarzmann to replace original bassist Stefan Boriss and drummer Hasche. While Schwarzmann, later a member of a whole slew of German metal bands, said his goodbyes right after the next studio release, Port Royal” (1988), and returned briefly for the album “Pile of Skulls” (1992), Becker, one of the most talented bassists on the German metal scene, stayed on Rolf’s pirate crew for almost six years and later made a name for himself as the bassist in Grave Digger too.
The live setlist mostly draws on the first three studio efforts, which is no surprise, of course. The instrumental pirate hymn “Hymn Of Long John Silver”, which makes it easy to picture the peg-legged, hobbling hero of Stevenson’s literary classic Treasure Island, serves as the intro to the pirate anthem “Under Jolly Roger”, where Rolf’s crew opens fire with every heavy metal barrel they’ve got. The historical epic “Genghis Khan”, one of the best things from the debut “Gates to Purgatory” (1984), sounds better live than in its studio version, especially the rich triple-guitar harmonies, while “Raise Your Fist” proves to be an extremely effective live anthem that the crowd can join in on too. Overall, every track is played a notch faster than on the studio versions, which should be a real treat for everyone who swears by an all-out, uncompromising heavy metal stampede.
The big find for all the rarity collectors and loyal fans is undoubtedly “Purgatory”, a biting jab at the puritanical PMRC and one of the first songs in the band’s story that never made it onto any studio release, but which, despite its archaic feel, ranks among the better moments of the early Running Wild era. They also dig back to the album “Branded And Exiled” (1985) with the classic “Mordor”, one of the few songs in their career inspired by fantasy literature. The 1984 debut is also represented by the speed metal-spiced “Diabolic Force” and “Adrian (S.O.S.)”, plus the epic “Prisoner of Our Time”. All four sound twice as good live as they do in their studio outfits. The melodic wrecking ball “Raw Ride”, which, thanks to its lyrics and vibe, sits closer to biker waters than pirate ones, also comes off very well live. Special praise goes to the superb triple-guitar harmonies courtesy of Rock’n Rolf and Majk Moti.
The first live album from one of Germany’s most unique classic metal bands turned out surprisingly good, despite the relatively limited pool of studio material to draw from, and it can safely be counted among the better classic metal live albums of the eighties. Above all, it helped cement Running Wild’s reputation as the first, and back then the only, band cultivating the style popularly known as pirate metal. It’s also hard to ignore the sad fact that fans had to wait 14 years for the next official Running Wild live album, “Live”, which is completely baffling for a band that sounded even better on stage than in the studio.
Lineup
Rolf Kasparek – guitar, vocals
Majk Moti – guitar, backing vocals
Jens Becker – bass guitar, backing vocals
Stefan Schwarzmann – drums
Production
Running Wild
Tracklist
1. Hymn of Long John Silver
2. Under Jolly Roger
3. Genghis Khan
4. Raise Your Fist
5. Purgatory
6. Mordor
7. Diabolic Force
8. Raw Ride
9. Adrian (S.O.S.)
10. Prisoner of Our Time
