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│ METAL CLASSICS ARCHIVE │
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│ P R E S E N T S │
│ │
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│ + Running Wild - Masquerade + │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Information ║ │
│╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Release Date.Oct-20-2017 Encoder......L3.97 -V2 --vbr-new ║ │
│║ Genre........Metal Graber.......EAC ║ │
│║ Year.........2017 Khz/Bitrate..44,1/ Br ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Ripper.......The_Patriarch Songs........13 ║ │
│║ Covers.......Yes Url... www.running-wild.net ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Notes ║ │
│╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Artist : Running Wild Rating : You Decide! ║ │
│║ Album : Masquerade Label : Noise ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Description : ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ For OG fans of mine and long time review readers ║ │
│║ here at the good ol' Encyclopaedia Metallum, ║ │
│║ y'all may remember that I used to have about six ║ │
│║ or seven reviews for Running Wild up here, and ║ │
│║ then them all mysteriously disappearing around ║ │
│║ the time Rolf decided to hang up his robe. What ║ │
│║ had happened was that I decided to review each ║ │
│║ and every album in a tribute to my favorite ║ │
│║ band, and in reading my own reviews, I decided ║ │
│║ they all sucked and just deleted them instead. ║ │
│║ Well two years later here, I'm finally getting ║ │
│║ around to making good on my promise. And instead ║ │
│║ of some long winded series like I had planned, ║ │
│║ spanning their career chronologically, I once ║ │
│║ again decided against my initial wishes and ║ │
│║ instead figured it'd be best to just do them in ║ │
│║ whichever order comes to me. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Now that my self referential, expository ║ │
│║ masturbation is out of the way, we're gonna ║ │
│║ start our journey with one of the more ║ │
│║ controversial albums in Running Wild's ║ │
│║ catalogue, 1995's, Masquerade. If any average ║ │
│║ listener were to explore the vast, wonderful ║ │
│║ backlog of the German speed metallers' exploits, ║ │
│║ they might be hard pressed to explain why this ║ │
│║ album is such a big deal to so may fans of the ║ │
│║ band. Well for some reason, a few folks (idiots) ║ │
│║ seem to feel like this is the album where they ║ │
│║ fell off the wagon and began to stagnate. There ║ │
│║ aren't enough words in the English language to ║ │
│║ accurately express how much I disagree with that ║ │
│║ sentiment. One reason I've been given is that ║ │
│║ this album marked the precise point they ran out ║ │
│║ of ideas and just started ripping themselves off ║ │
│║ senselessly. The truth of the matter behind that ║ │
│║ is that this is simply a continuation of the ║ │
│║ style they were playing on Black Hand Inn, which ║ │
│║ was a continuation of Pile of Skulls, which was ║ │
│║ a continuation of Blazon Stone, et cetera and so ║ │
│║ forth. Running Wild had this amazing ability to ║ │
│║ write albums that didn't sound too different ║ │
│║ from one album to the next, but worlds apart if ║ │
│║ you look back a mere three or four albums. They ║ │
│║ were always changing, ever evolving, and this is ║ │
│║ one of the traits that made them such a special ║ │
│║ band. Why this particular album catches shit for ║ │
│║ doing what literally each and every album before ║ │
│║ it had done, I'll never understand. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Master ride! Evil is dumb! ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ So to counteract my claim of logical ║ │
│║ continuation, this is also the album where Rolf ║ │
│║ starts reaching back and combining past efforts ║ │
│║ with his new ambitions. For example, tracks like ║ │
│║ "Soleil Royal", "Black Soul", and "Wheel of ║ │
│║ Doom" could have easily fit on Black Hand Inn ║ │
│║ with their similar riffing ideas and slight ║ │
│║ power metal tint at times, whereas "Men in ║ │
│║ Black", "Demonized", and "Rebel at Heart" carry ║ │
│║ a more hard rocking and traditional heavy metal ║ │
│║ bent than the others, sounding akin so something ║ │
│║ that wouldn't be out of place on Blazon Stone, ║ │
│║ and still we have tracks like "Underworld", ║ │
│║ "Lions of the Sea", and "Masquerade" that are ║ │
│║ straight up speed metal through and through and ║ │
│║ really would have sounded right at home on Pile ║ │
│║ of Skulls. So yes, I can concede that Masquerade ║ │
│║ explores less new territory than previous ║ │
│║ efforts, but I counter that it's a beautiful ║ │
│║ amalgam of what made the last three albums, (and ║ │
│║ really, their entire 90s era) so great, while ║ │
│║ still pushing forwards into new territories. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Really, every trademark of Rolf and crew are ║ │
│║ still just as mighty as ever, no matter what ║ │
│║ people may try to tell you. They lyrical concept ║ │
│║ is a bit different than what fans may suspect, ║ │
│║ as this album kicks off a trilogy of "concept" ║ │
│║ albums, so there's less piracy and history here ║ │
│║ in favor of some obscenely loose concept of rich ║ │
│║ people being evil and controlled by Satan or ║ │
│║ something. Really, nobody knows what the hell ║ │
│║ the idea is, but there's supposed to be one ║ │
│║ here, and if my little between-paragraph gimmick ║ │
│║ hasn't been clue enough, Rolf's hilarious accent ║ │
│║ doesn't make things a whole lot easier. I've ║ │
│║ listened to each and every Running Wild album ║ │
│║ more times than I care to recount, and there are ║ │
│║ still several, several verses and passages I ║ │
│║ don't know the lyrics to simply because his ║ │
│║ voice, despite a great gruff delivery with a ║ │
│║ powerful sense of melody, carries such a mangled ║ │
│║ understanding of how to pronounce damn near ║ │
│║ anything in English that it's fairly close to ║ │
│║ impossible to decipher what the hell he's saying ║ │
│║ most of the time. This is just one of those bits ║ │
│║ of character that really makes the band so ║ │
│║ legendary, if you ask me. Nobody can imitate ║ │
│║ Rolf's voice nor his unique enunciation, it ║ │
│║ belongs to THIS band and no other. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Master ride! Trees in the night! ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ And speaking of which, this is indeed a band, ║ │
│║ and not just Rolf + cronies. I've alluded to the ║ │
│║ contrary in the past, but the supporting cast ║ │
│║ always does bring their own little bit of flavor ║ │
│║ to each new record. The long, melodious bass ║ │
│║ passages vanished with Jens Becker, and the ║ │
│║ drumming has gotten considerably more intense ║ │
│║ since the mighty Jorg Michael took his place ║ │
│║ behind the kit. This is the first album where ║ │
│║ the lineup did not change in anyway from the ║ │
│║ previous album, so perhaps that's another reason ║ │
│║ certain fools seem to feel the band started ║ │
│║ stagnating around this time. Just because there ║ │
│║ was no new member to inject his personality into ║ │
│║ doesn't necessarily mean that they all just got ║ │
│║ content with where they were and decided to ║ │
│║ churn out an album just like the previous ║ │
│║ because that's what they're used to. Black Hand ║ │
│║ Inn was and remains the closest to power metal ║ │
│║ Running Wild ever got, in my eyes. On ║ │
│║ Masquerade, there's a much stronger traditional ║ │
│║ heavy metal presence. There's much less double ║ │
│║ bass insanity, and much more fist pumping, ║ │
│║ anthemic choruses with huge, punchy riffs. The ║ │
│║ trademark tremolo melodies are here in spades ║ │
│║ and every bit as upbeat and catchy as they have ║ │
│║ been ever since Port Royal shoved them to the ║ │
│║ forefront. On the whole, the entire atmosphere ║ │
│║ of this album is much darker than pretty much ║ │
│║ anything they'd done apart from their debut up ║ │
│║ to this point, with a much more aggressive pace ║ │
│║ than before. Many of these songs focus on the ║ │
│║ idea of evil and its many forms, and while this ║ │
│║ isn't dripping with the malice and occult of ║ │
│║ their first two records, it contains some of the ║ │
│║ most overtly vicious venom they've ever come to ║ │
│║ spit. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ I will admit that the album slows down a bit too ║ │
│║ much when the band takes their foot off the gas ║ │
│║ on tracks like "Demonized" and "Rebel at Heart", ║ │
│║ which are still good songs, but don't much fit ║ │
│║ with the high energy tempo of the rest of the ║ │
│║ album. I've always found this to be Running ║ │
│║ Wild's Achilles heel, to be honest. The tracks ║ │
│║ that are less speed metal and more ║ │
│║ traditional/hard rock never seem to be as ║ │
│║ captivating, regardless of how awesome Rolf ║ │
│║ makes the chorus (like "Rebel at Heart"). It's ║ │
│║ really only a small bump in the grand scheme of ║ │
│║ things, fortunately. I can't help but feel like ║ │
│║ the popular opinion of this being the band's ║ │
│║ turning point is completely and utterly wrong. ║ │
│║ Every element that made the band special is ║ │
│║ still abundantly clear and the biggest ║ │
│║ difference between Masquerade and the fan ║ │
│║ favorite of Black Hand Inn is that the former is ║ │
│║ more direct and less epic. Whatever story is ║ │
│║ being told here takes a back seat to a ║ │
│║ collection of hard hitting and exceptionally ║ │
│║ catchy heavy/speed metal, and that's exactly ║ │
│║ what Running Wild is best at. I wouldn't change ║ │
│║ a thing. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Master ride! Punish the Hebrew rite! ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Tracklist ║ │
│╚═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════ │
│ │
│ 01 - The Contract , the Crypts of Hades [02:17] │
│ 02 - Masquerade [04:14] │
│ 03 - Demonized [04:42] │
│ 04 - Black Soul [05:18] │
│ 05 - Lions of the Sea [05:53] │
│ 06 - Rebel at Heart [05:54] │
│ 07 - Wheel of Doom [04:05] │
│ 08 - Metalhead [04:56] │
│ 09 - Soleil Royal [04:45] │
│ 10 - Men in Black [04:47] │
│ 11 - Underworld [06:15] │
│ 12 - Lions of the Sea (2003 Re-Worked Version) [05:49] │
│ 13 - Black Soul (2003 Re-Worked Version) (Bonus [05:20] │
│ │
│ Total Length : [64:15 minn │
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│ ╔═════════════════════╗ │
│ ║ Greetings To: ║ │
│ ╚═════════════════════╝ │
│ │
│ Too all people who contributes to make this │
│ archive of good music in a exceptional conditions │
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│ │
│■ ■│
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