[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foEh4OoCYMU[/youtube]
Metal Insider contributor Anthony Maisano is listening to a different metal album that was released on that day every day this year. Today, it’s Runing Wild’s 8th album, Black Hand Inn, which was released on March 24th 1994.
What a breath of fresh air this album was! Running Wild is arguably the first pirate metal band, and this album delivers hard. It’s fast, the riffs are really catchy, and the overall energy is great. It’s a powerful album that is a great balance between a little bit cheesy, but still very serious. The album has pirate themes to it, like most Running Wild albums, that add some freshness to the album, but don’t dominate it in an overly cheesy way. Fresh seems to be the perfect way I can describe this album. It was a lot of fun, but didn’t sound generic, or cliché. The drummer for this album is also Jorg Michael, before he joined Stratovarius, so expect them to be powerful.
The vocals are REALLY low in the mix. I personally wish they were turned up, because I found it hard to hear him a lot of times. It’s also definitely more of a ‘fun’ album than a ‘ground-breaking’ album, so it might not be the best for someone who wants a ‘new’ sound.
Favorite Tracks: “The Phantom of Black Hand Hill,” “The Privateer,” “Soulless.”
This was definitely one of the best albums I’ve gotten to this year that I haven’t listened to prior to starting. Running Wild has always been on my personal list of discographies I needed to listen to, and hearing this album just makes me want to listen to them more. I’d recommend these guys to anyone who likes speed or power metal. It was a really fun and interesting album.
