Powerstars

Dang, that's actually really cool. Without changing the instrumentation that much, he completely changed up the vibe of the song.

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The Batlord

Let the Comic Sans Holocaust commence.

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Trollheart

(From the writings of Eldritch the Incomprehensible, High Wizard and Chief Scribe to His Imperial Majesty, Incepticus The Optical Illusion. Believed written around 145 AD (After Dinner)...

Coming down from the hills like a great black cloud
With guitars, drums and keyboards, voices strong and proud;
Solos scorching the air, Pounding music everywhere
With leather jackets and long matted hair
They’re pouring from out of their lair --

Look out! Hoorah!

Feel the ground shake beneath your feet
And tremble if you’re a poser!
Hear the riffs and feel the beat
As the metal hordes come closer!
Raise your fist and hold it high!
You’re among friends: don’t be shy
And let out a blood-chilling cry:
You know Metal cannot die!

Raise a mighty shout! Huzzah!

For this is the time you have waited to see
When all other music from here will flee
It’s the first of October, it could only be
The onset of


It’s what it’s all about! Yee-Hah!

My apologies. It’s stupid I know but Health and Safety insist I run this warning so here goes…




And with that, may I bid you welcome my friends, welcome! It’s a free bar and we’ve paid off the cops so there’ll be no complaints from the neighbours. Hell, half of you ARE the neighbours! You know, when I was contemplating getting this researched and written, around July or so, I began to think on the enormity of the work involved and wondered was it worth it, should I perhaps just leave it at the two specials and concentrate on other things? Was it going to be too much hassle, too much work, too much effort for too little reward?

Yeah. Then I tore off my skirt and grew a pair of balls and said to myself “Fuck you Troll! Man up, you pathetic wimp!” And so I did. I decided though as you’ve all realised to take a month off from the forum, just to allow me to really focus my attentions on this, and quite frankly I was surprised by how much I got done over that period. Initially, it was a case of “will I have enough to fill 31 days?” Now it’s very much a case of “How do I fit all this into just 31 days?” What a difference taking a break makes, huh?

Last year I believe I boasted that this Metal Month would be the best yet, and I think I can say without fear of contradiction and with a small sense of pride that I have kept that promise, reached that target and even way overshot it. This year, we have so much Metal even you diehard Metalheads may grow tired of it. Nah, not really: who could ever get tired of Metal? But I feel confident that there is something here for everyone, and I’ve been very careful, as ever, not to only feature the music I like, but to step beyond my own preset boundaries and venture into areas I do not normally frequent, and to try out subgenres that are not usually my bag. But that after all is what I try to make Metal Month be all about. If I only featured power metal, prog metal and Iron Maiden, a lot of you would shake your heads and say, what’s the point? No black, no thrash, no death metal? Metal Month my arse. Or ass, if you’re American as most of you are.

And you’d be right. So although I will by no means ever manage to cover every subgenre, either in this Metal Month or future ones, I do and will try my best to make it as all-inclusive a feature as possible. Your help here is invaluable, as you have shown me bands I never knew existed, subgenres that are completely new to me, and helped me explore music I would never really have attempted to before. Through the Members’ Top Tens and Don’t Listen to That --- Listen to This! features, I have come across some incredible (and some not so incredible) music and been turned on to some great bands. More importantly, I’ve tried to make sure that I cover everyone’s tastes, or as far as I can anyway.

So thank you to those who helped me create this through their contributions and suggestions. You’ll all be properly credited and thanked in the “liner notes” when this wraps up on October 31. Right now, before we get started, I’d like to introduce a new concept I’m starting this year, which I’m calling

Trollheart’s Hall of Heavy Metal Heroes


All this is, basically, is my attempt to give back to and thank those who have made the effort to comment in or contribute to Metal Month in so far its third year, It’s your chance to earn your seat in the Hallowed Hall of Metal Month by my side. Those who earn higher places through their contributions will be awarded titles, land and riches. Except for land and riches. Your names will then be recorded every future Metal Month, and at the end of this, as collaborators and partners in the enterprise. Some have already earned their place through their work in previous years, and these I will list shortly. For now, I just want to list the various honours.

At the very top of the tree, second only to me and sitting on my right hand side is the Champion Knight. There is only one of them and he is my second in command. Note: I say “he” not only because I don’t think there are any recorded instances of a female knight (other than in Game of Thrones) but because over the last two years I have seen exactly zero input into or interest in Metal Month by females here. But that can change, and if it is to, then you ladies need to be the ones to change it. If you earn your title, I have absolutely no objection to female Knights, and will not have a problem awarding such honours.

Next down are the Senior Knights, of which there can be only four at any one time. These are followed by Knights (eight only) and then Junior Knights, whose numbers are not limited, and finally there are the Squires, who are the lowest in the pecking order, but still several cuts above serfs and peasants.

How do you go about aquiring these honours? Well, I don’t want to bore those who are not interested, so I’ve linked to the rules for application here. If you’re interested then you’ll know what to do.


This year we have even more sections for you, more bands and artistes, and of course my usual quirky brand of humour (which is to say, robbed from the work of others) sprinkled throughout these coming thirty-one days. Here’s a list of what you can expect this year:

FEATURED ARTISTE: As mentioned early last year (perhaps even during Metal Month II, if I recall) this time out we’re checking out the entire discography (studio only, as ever) of one of the oldest and most respected Metal bands, Judas Priest.

FRESHLY FORGED: Looking at and reviewing the best new Metal albums to hit the shelves this year.

THE INTERNATIONAL LANGUAGE OF METAL: This year we’re concentrating on the Metal emanating from Israel, Iran, Syria and Bosnia.

THE METAL THAT MADE ME: More of the albums I enjoyed, or at least listened to, in my youth, which got me into this music.

HEAVY METAL HONEYZ: Checking out the ladies in Metal

DON’T LISTEN TO THAT --- LISTEN TO THIS! More of the albums you have suggested I should give a chance to.

WHAT’S THAT ALL ABOUT? This year it’s Atmospheric Black Metal that goes under the microscope

METAL GOES TO THE MOVIES: Metal songs which have been used in movie soundtracks

THE BATLORD’S TORTURE CHAMBER: Batty is back to try to ruin my life with four albums he considers so awful I’ll just fall apart. We’ll see.

MEMBERS’ TOP TEN: This year it’s the turn of Frownland, Ninetales and Wpnfire to have their top ten albums scrutinised under my unforgiving (to say nothing of blinking) gaze

WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE: Metal sometimes isn't fussy about who it goes to bed with and can lie down with some mighty strange partners. See the weird collaborations I’ve come across in my research

TRIPLE BOXSET: Three more albums from … well, just wait and see!

ALL YOU NEED IS...METAL? Metal covers of Beatles songs

Also two very special Guest Reviewers, The Meat Grinder, more compilation albums and a whole lot of other stuff you can’t even begin to guess at!

One thing is for sure: it’s gonna be a busy month, especially for you poor mods (sorry guys!) --- expect a minimum of FOUR updates EVERY DAY, possibly even five. There is a LOT to get through. As ever, feel free to comment, disagree, laugh at, agree with, correct or otherwise interact with me during this annual celebration of all things Metal. It’s your participation and feedback that makes this worthwhile, and keeps me doing it year after year. So let me know if you like/don’t like something, and I’m always open to suggestions (that’s actually anatomically impossible, Batty!) and ideas.

And now, finally, with no further ado, let me throw the gates wide and invite you in!

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Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Trollheart

Well, why not kick Metal Month III off the same way began Metal Month II, by checking out one of the new releases of this year, in the section I like to call

(Note: the alliteration ends this year: for Metal Month IV I'll obviously be dropping the second half of this section's title, so it will become simply “Freshly Forged”.)

2015, like every other year, has been a bumper one for new metal releases. While I can't review every album reviewed this year (or at least, up to now) I do intend to, as usual, have a look at a hopefully varied selection. In a change to last year's format though, I'm streamlining it a little more. This year, and every subsequent year, I'll be going through the year chronologically, taking two albums from each month, up to obviously only October.

So, our first selection from January comes from these guys:

Secret Garden --- Angra --- 2015 (Edel)

Introduction: This one just barely makes it really, having been released in January, though Japan saw it first, in December of 2014. I featured Angra last year under the Brazilian portion of The International Language of Metal, but I have not heard many of their albums, so whether this is a big departure from their last one or not I don't know. I know Angra had a rebirth of sorts with 2001's appropriately-titled Rebirth, but what has happened since then is unknown to me. I can tell you that longtime vocalist Edu Falaschi is gone, replaced by the brilliantly-named Fabio Lione, so this is his debut for the Brazilian power metal band.

Track-by-track

Newborn me: Sort of a cinematic, orchestral intro then a big powerful burst of sound, hard guitars and sort of electronic sounds. Like the new singer, good powerful voice with that operatic quality you usually get in power metal. Some lovely Classical or Spanish guitar there later on before the electric kicks back in.

Black hearted soul: Starts off with a chanting choir and then fires off on a fast guitar run. Good vocal gymnastics from Lione.

Final light: More progressive metal than power, very dramatic, slower than the previous tracks but with a lot of punch and energy. Really nice guitar solo.

Storm of emotions: First ballad, nice acoustic guitar and it's good to hear that our Fabio can dial it back when required and still sound really good. Kind of Bon Joviesque in the chorus I feel. Really like this.

Synchronicity II: Yeah you read that right, the Police track. I don't know it that well so I can't say how well Angra cover it, however I do find it odd that this is listed as a bonus track, but is halfway through the album. Weird. Anyway, if you know the song you know what to expect. For me it's a decent rocker but a little below par.

Violet sky: It's a powerful, dramatic song. I just don't really feel too interested or invested in it and it's over before I can really evaluate it.

Secret Garden: The title track features Epica's Simone Simons on vocals, and it's very progressive/goth metal, with heavy strings presence on the keys and a slow, sort of swaying rhythm. Reminds me of Kamelot or her own band. Some lovely piano.

Upper levels: Odd kind of electronic almost funky feel to this, mostly due to the basswork of Felipe Andreoli, but it gets going nicely on a hammering guitar from Rafe Bittencourt. Oddly, Lione sounds like Dio on this track in places. Again, Angra straddle the bridge between progressive and power metal, and this is far closer to the former, with almost way too much funk/jazz for my liking. Ugh. Almost reminiscent of the overindulgences that brought progressive rock crashing down under the weight of its own collective ego in the late seventies.

Crushing room: Another guest vocalist as ex-Warlock frontwoman Doro Pesch steps in front of the mike, and she has certainly a strong voice, very different to Simons. A powerful song, again quite dramatic and more in the prog metal vein. More lonely piano helps to create a sense of bleakness and despair that fits in with the title of the song.

Perfect symmetry: This, on the other hand, is pure power metal, rocketing along on squealing keys and snarling guitars. Very good and dramatic orchestral instrumental section.

Silent call: This is gorgeous. Lovely ballad to end the album.

Conclusion: Not so much a power metal album as one that crosses over from that to prog metal and back, and also pulls in some electronic and even funk influences on the way. An interesting album, but I wouldn't be in too much of a hurry to check it out again.

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Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Trollheart

This year I'm doing something a little different. Last time I picked random countries to explore from a Metal point of view. After thinking about it for a while, this year I want to choose countries that are united by the one common denominator. Some may say this is in poor taste but I assure you it's not: nevertheless, the theme linking these four countries is war and conflict. Each of them has been, or is currently being, torn apart by a vicious war that makes it hard to believe there is anywhere for music, never mind Metal, to survive, and yet, across these four similar yet very different lands, the united and unsilenceable voice of Heavy Metal rings out, defying the tyrants, the suicide bombers, the missiles and rockets, and proving that, friend or enemy, religion or politics or indeed even language itself is no barrier to those who just want to rock out and have a fuckin' good time!

The countries this year, then, are Iran, Syria, Bosnia and Hertzogovenia, and Israel/Palestine. I choose the last two as one entity for obvious reasons: they occupy the same country, one struggling for a homeland while the other is determined to keep them forever subservient and second-class, and surely there could be no more defined dividing line than that? Despite, or perhaps even because of that, bands from each country survive and flourish, and two from opposite sides have even joined forces, of which more later. Then of course there's Iran, whose rulers want nothing more than to wipe Israel off the map, and who are a constant threat to world security, to say nothing of a tight and hardline theocracy. When your very music is all but outlawed in your home country, how do you survive? And yet, Metal is waving its flag and punching its fist in Iran just as it is everywhere.

We're all aware of the awful conflict that tore Yugoslavia apart in the eighties and resulted in no less than seven new countries being born, one of which has continued to suffer and remained, for a long time, the “poster child” for ethnic cleansing and genocide. While many of these other newborn countries --- Slovenia, Montenegro, Croatia --- have managed to reinvent themselves and become at least bit-players on the world stage (or at least the European one), Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosnia for short) still shudders to the memories of its past, and struggles to lay to rest the ghost of the atrocities suffered by its people, and to emerge out of the darkness of the war that tore it apart in the 1980s.

And what can you say about Syria? One of the most powerful members of the Arab League, it has stubbornly resisted the wave of change and reform that swept across the Middle East in the wake of what became known as “The Arab Spring”, and under its dictatorial ruler, Assad, has practiced more horrors and war crimes on its citizens than pretty much any country I can think of. Despite the UK Prime Minister's contention, several years ago now, that “Assad will fall, he must fall”, he is still in power and the civil war in Syria rages on, intervention by the West prevented due to its powerful position among the Arab nations, and support of one of the remaining Superpowers.

But we are not here to debate politics, or lament the loss of life and the human cost of these wars, terrible though they may be. I'm not a poltical analyst; I just write about music, and it's that which we are exploring here this year, specifically of course the various Heavy Metal bands who have managed to ply their trade and survive against such a backdrop of despair, chaos and hopelessness. The pickings in general are fairly slim, so I will be taking a look at about four or maybe five bands from each territory, trying to get the best overall flavour as to what is available, so expect anything from Doom to Death and from Prog to Thrash Metal, as I try to sample what's on the menu.


I suppose it should come as no surprise, given their dour and bleak history, but the overwhelming majority of Metal bands in Bosnia seem to be into Black Metal. That's of course not good news for me, who is no fan of the blackstuff, but it does mean that I can hardly avoid it and will certainly end up dancing with Satan in Sarajevo before this week is through. Before that though, I thought I'd try something a little closer to my own preferences, something that hopefully will not send me screaming to the toilet in terror or banging on the gates of the church to be let in. Maybe.

It's hardly an original name, but one of the problems I came across last year, and which is resurfacing of course this year, is that so many of these bands are unsigned, or of they are, their material is next to impossible to locate. So when I find a band that a) has at least one album and b) I can find that album one way or another, they get the nod. Interestingly, I thought this band would be very hard to separate from the thousands or more instances of the word “apocalypse” on YouTube and Google --- after all, you put in the words “Apocalypse Bosnia” and you get a very upsetting video, let me assure you --- but luckily for me some kind soul has uploaded their entire sole album, track by track, to the Big Y, so I can review it. Who are the band? Glad you asked.

Igra --- Apocalypse --- 2003 (One Records)

Let's be brutally honest here --- okay, okay! Br00tally honest! Happy? --- I'm unlikely to be able to discover very much about any of these bands, with the exception maybe of the ones from Israel. I just don't see a wealth of information coming across on them on the web, and so the details about each are probably going to be quite sparse. What I can tell you is that Apocalypse (how dull: they didn't even replace the “c” with a “k”...) have been together since 1999, released their demo in 2001 with two tracks, both of which are a single word title, one of which has no vowels (DWV will love that one!) and then put out this, to date their only album, in 2003. They're listed as “active” but you would have to wonder after twelve years if they're likely to release a followup at this stage?

They're a five-piece, with two guitarists and a keyboard player, and are described on my Metal Bible website, Metal-Archives.com (look, it's just easier than typing Encyclopaedia Metallum all the time, all right? And it is the actual name of the site) as “Thrash Metal”, so may be the closest I get to Metal I can actually dig, not that that will stop me. Bosnia is also one of those countries that holds the letters z, v and j in higher estimation than most European ones, as well as adding a few fun accents, umlauts and whatever you're having yourself, just to make it more interesting, so there's going to be a lot of copy-and-pasting here. Just bear with me.

The album of course is all sung in their native language (though whether that's Bosnian, Slavic or what I don't know: it certainly ain't English though!) with titles full of the abovementioned “extras” and more k's, j's and z's than you can shake a stick at. If you had a stick. And wanted to shake it. It only has seven tracks, one of which is an instrumental, and all fall under the six-minute mark, most coming in around three or four. We kick off with “Između života i smrti “, and no, I have no idea what any of this means, but it's a good powerful opening on keys --- almost more progressive than Thrash I would say, at least this track, with a grinding, crunching guitar that runs for nearly a minute before the vocals come in. Dobroslav Slijepčević , who also plays one of the sets of two keyboards, is a decent singer, but nothing special I feel. Good on the keys too, though with Snježana Gnjatić partnering him on the keys it's hard to say who is the better player.

It's powerful and anthemic, but not as fast as I had expected, decent opening though. Good the way it slows down for a dramatic instrumental ending, then we're into “1389 (Heaven or Hell)”, which appears to be in English, as is the title, opening on another big synth solo with a Dickinson-like “Whoa-oh-oh-oh!” in the chorus. Good trundling percussion drives the tune along, courtesy of Stojan Lasica. Good melody in the song but it is very derivative of Maiden. “Svijet iluzije” has more than a touch of Dio in it, more Maiden and a sort of chanted vocal which works well. The guitar solo however does not; sounds like it's all out of tune. Ugh. A bit harder and grindier for “Vječna tajna “, more guitar-driven and a little faster, but it slows down about halfway and the Dio influence is back.

At least the guitarists seem to have it together this time, though the solo is a little Dragonforce for me. Hmm. There's one more English song to go, and it comes in the form of “Crucifixion”, often a favourite subject with Metal bands. It certainly swaggers along nicely with a long instrumental intro, probably the best track on the album, at least this far. The penultimate track then is the only instrumental, and goes by the title of “Sumrak vizantije”, a throaty, bassy synth opening proceedings and takign the piece nearly halfway through, with the sound of cellos or violins (presumably synthesised) joining in before the guitars come fading in and the tune takes off. From a slow, rather balladic piece it becomes a fast hard rocker but never loses its charm throughout. Another standout, and shows what these guys can do when they really try. We close then on the title track, and it's a fast, keyboard-driven rocker which really closes the album well.

TRACKLISTING

1. Između života i smrti
2. 1389 (Heaven or Hell)
3. Svijet iluzije
4. Vječna tajna
5. Crucifixion
6. Sumrak Vizantije
7. Igra

It's certainly not a bad album, but I can see why they're only known (if at all) in their native Bosnia. Given that they have only released, as I mentioned, one album in over fifteen years, the fact that they sound so like every other Metal band from Newcastle to New York is not likely to help their case. They've surely listened to too much Iron Maiden, Saxon and Dio, with other bands like Stratovarius and maybe Angra thrown into the mix, and have not so much based their sound upon those bands but basically copied it, right down to the sudden guitar endings and the choruses.

They're a good band, but to be able to stand out they need some identity of their own, and based on this, their only album, Apocalypse are doomed to remain in the shadows of other, greater bands while opportunity, fame and fortune pass them by.

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Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Trollheart

Come with me on a journey back to the days when dinosaurs roamed the Earth, when there was no such thing as High Definition TV, when you were lucky if you had a telephone at home (mobile? What's that?) and CDs were yet a dream of the future.

A time when men were real men, women were real women, and small blue furry things from Alpha Centauri were real small blue furry things from Alpha Centauri.

A time when then only way you could hear an album was to buy, or maybe borrow it.

A time before itunes, YouTube and Facebook.

A time when Trollheart was young. Yes, there was such a time.

And in that misted, forgotten, ancient time, I began my affair with Heavy Metal.

Here are some of the albums that got me there.

Everyone has their favourite Black Sabbath album, and while many go for the early Ozzy period --- and with good reason: there are some total classics in there, from the debut to Paranoid, Vol 4 and Master of Reality --- and while I'm not saying this is definitively my own favourite, it is the one on which I first heard Ronnie James Dio (though I think prior to that I had heard his contributions to Rainbow on their compilation double album; it would be a little while yet before I bought Rising and realised what a true star he was) and realised there could be “another” Black Sabbath. I had been used to the dark, doomy, gothic feel of tracks like “Iron man”, “Paranoid”, “War pigs” and of course “Black Sabbath”, and even had We Sold Our Soul for Rock and Roll, which naturally, as it was compiled in 1975, contained only Ozzy releases. I was therefore totally blown away by the progressive direction Sabbath took on this, one of only three albums they ever recorded with the diminutive frontman who would go on to give us albums like Holy Diver and Killing the Dragon, and the different vocal style. It must in that case be very much counted as a very integral part of


Heaven and Hell --- Black Sabbath --- 1980 (Vertigo)

When I read about this album, it's in a way a minor miracle it was even made. Ozzy had just been fired from the band after leading them for ten years and eight albums, not all of them stellar but the larger percentage certainly were. Bill Ward was going through personal problems including losing both his parents while also battling his growing alcoholism, while Geezer Butler was in the midst of a divorce. Ward would in fact quit the band mid-tour, though he would return, and Butler only appears on the album because he came back to redo the bass parts that had been originally laid down by another bassist. With Martin Birch, who would later go on to become the legendary producer of Iron Maiden, taking control though things settled down, and Tony Iommi, who was basically holding things together prior to the arrival of Dio and even thinking about starting a new band, working closely with Ronnie, the band dynamic slowly returned and the album began to take shape.

It's a much shorter album, only eight tracks in total, and none of the longer epics that characterised some of the earlier albums are in evidence, with the title track being the longest at just under seven minutes, but there is almost no filler and just about every track is gold. It kicks off with “Neon knights”, which demonstrates much of what Ronnie would later form into his own albums, particularly “Stand up and shout” from Holy Diver and “We rock” from The Last in Line. His voice is immediately a focal point for the “new” Sabbath, and the lyrics contain more fantasy-themed and to a degree, lighter, fare, with much of Dio's material centred in the worlds of medieval lore and mythology. Iommi is again on fire, at his very best in some of the solos, and it's a great way to start the album, though by no means the best track.

There's a lot in this song that, reading between the lines, can be seen to, or supposed to be reassurance to the fans who, even before the real age of the internet and mass media, must have known about the departure of Ozzy and the problems the band were going through, and wondered if, after ten years, this could be it? When he sings the line ”Nothing's in the past, it always seems to come again” it certainly sounds like he's saying don't worry, it's not quite business as usual, but we're keeping this ship afloat, as again when he confirms ”Captain's at the helm”. And when he roars ”Cry out to legions of the brave” and ”Ride out, protectors of the realm” you can almost feel his pride and determination to ensure that Sabbath continue, grow and even prosper in the wake of the perhaps shock of Ozzy's leaving.

It's time to slow things down already though, and an acoustic guitar from Iommi opens the ballad “Children of the sea” with a clear, perfect vocal from Dio, who sounds like a minstrel singing in some leafy glade back in the thirteenth century. Suddenly, snarling electric guitar joins thumping percussion as Ward batters his kit, and Butler's big thick bass adds its voice and the song acquires teeth, and if there's a definition of a metal power ballad, this is probably it. The true power of Dio's voice is evident here; you can't quite envisage Ozzy singing this song. There's perhaps a note of self-depracating humour here, a realisation that ”We sailed across the air before we learned to fly/ We thought that it could never end” and there's a nice sort of vocal chorus thing going on too. Iommi's solo comes just at the right time, and ends before it outstays its welcome, taking us back to the acoustic that opened the song as it reprises for the big finish.

There's a nod to the Ozzy era then in “Lady evil”, as Dio sings of a witch in the finest Sabbath tradition, but the music is not dark and doomy, rather uptempo rock and blues. If the album has a weak track --- and I'm not saying it has, not at all --- then I would pick this one. There's just something a little, I don't know, formulaic about it and it doesn't impress me. Which is not to say that it's not a good song, but it's just the rest of the tracks are so great that they make this very good song seem distinctly below par. Even the solo seems a little forced, almost as if Iommi is playing what he thinks he should play, and not what he wants to play. But if this is a weak track, it's the only one, as we run headlong into the easy standout of the album, which also happens to be the title track.

Surely there can't be a metalhead anywhere who doesn't know this song? It's gone on to become one of Sabbath's standards, easily recognisable by its slow, progressive intro running mostly on Geezer Butler's smoky bass, and it conjures up all sorts of images of dark halls and things waiting around corners, or as Pink Floyd would later put it, “hollow laughter in marble halls”. It's a slow, almost threatening, marching beat with a growled vocal from Dio, and flashes of guitar brilliance from Tony Iommi sparking around the edges of the tune like tongues of lightning. It's one of Dio's more philosophical lyrics, with lines like ”The ending is just the beginning/ The closer you get to the meaning/ The sooner you'll know that you're dreaming” and ”The Devil is never a maker/The less that you give you're a taker.” Some very, again, Floyd-like backing vocals with a superb guitar solo before we reach the midpoint and the song undergoes a total transformation, becoming a rocking colossus as it picks up speed on the back of a slowly descending guitar chord.

Flying along, we are treated to an even better Iommi solo before Dio comes in with the last verse, his vocal speed matching the tempo of the song and then leaves Iommi to it as he loses himself in a third solo, each one better than the last. It finally all comes down to earth on another descending chord and into a suitably acoustic ending that fades away.

From there on, Sabbath can do no wrong, as “Wishing well” punches everything up a notch, trundling along with something of “Neon knights” in it, allowing Iommi again to have his head, with at times Lizzyesque fervour, while Ward cracks on with a will, and Butler lays down the basslines with what certainly appears to be pride, despite his personal worries at the time. Another standout comes with “Die young”, which was released as a single. Starting with an atmospheric, spacey synth, it gives way to a rising guitar line from Iommi before it breaks into a mad rush on Ward's thumping drums and Iommi's biting guitars. Dio acquits himself really well here in the vocal, taking complete command of the song as it hurtles along, perhaps echoing an axiom that has been the mission statement of so many teenage rebels: ”Live for today, tomorrow never comes! Die young!”

In the middle, the song slows right down on soft guitar and bass, with sighing keyboard behind it and a gentle vocal from Dio, before it all pumps back up on hard riffs from Tony, a swirling keys passage and punching drums, setting it all back up for the finale, as the band charge to the finish line on Iommi's smouldering frets, the whole thing fading out on another superb solo and bringing in a striding guitar line for “Walk away”, in which I personally hear “Mystery” from Dio's second solo album, which would not be released for another four years. There's a great sense of pumping joy in this song, led as it is by Iommi's growling guitar lines, including a solo that Carlos Santana would be proud of. A big rousing grinder for the final track then, with “Lonely is the word” riding on a powerful ringing riff while Ronnie squeezes every ounce of passion he can out of the song. An almost classical guitar interlude then in the second minute before Iommi kicks it up and smoke starts to pour from the frets as he works his magic. Reminds me of one of my heroes, Rory Gallagher, here. Perhaps interesting that this, the first Sabbath album with him at the helm, opens and closes as most if not all of his Dio albums would, with a fast rocker for the first track and a slower, more dark grinding track for the closer. Coincidence?

TRACKLISTING AND RATINGS

1. Neon knights
2. Children of the sea
3. Lady evil
4. Heaven and Hell
5. Wishing well
6. Die young
7. Walk away
8. Lonely is the word

It probably wouldn't be fair to say that Ronnie James Dio reinvented Black Sabbath on this album --- Tony Iommi did after all write most of the music and even tried out one of the tracks with Ozzy prior to his departure, so it's not like Ronnie came onboard with all these great new songs --- but what cannot be denied is that he injected a new energy, a new purpose and a new sense of direction into a band who, following the disappointing Technical Ecstasy and Never Say Die! had been in something of a rut, contemplating their options and considering whether or not the band would even survive. Heaven and Hell didn't quite raise Sabbath's profile --- everyone knew them from the time their debut burst like a wonderful dark cloud over music in 1970 --- but it did update the band's sound, giving them something more of a progressive feel, an edge they would retain throughout most of the rest of their career, and which would help bring in new fans, new converts to their cause, while at the same time avoiding alienating the faithful.

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The Batlord

So, we're talking 70s-80s? Ireland didn't have phones back then? God, you're a ****ty country.

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Pretty much no. When we had to make a call we had to go down to the local public box at the corner. I think we got our first phone in around maybe 1978? There were phones, but not every house had one. Hell, it was the late eighties before video recorders came on the scene! And even then they were mega-expensive...

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While this new article may seem a little similar to the "What's that all about?" feature, yet to air, it is in fact quite different. This will be a one-off series looking into one particular aspect of Metal that is perhaps sneered at by some, liked by others, loved by a few and perhaps even there are metalheads out there who are unaware even of the existence of this type of music. So under the banner of

we're going to have a look at the oft-ridiculed Metal that flies its own flag and doesn't give a curse what anyone else thinks.

We metalheads sometimes take our subgenres too seriously --- such-and-such is not a metal subgenre, such-and-such is not this subgenre, it's that one, etc --- and even last year I knew when I ran “What's that all about?” that Viking Metal was not strictly speaking a subgenre of metal, but it was fun to explore. This, on the other hand, I know not to be any sort of subgenre, but by Blackbeard's ghost, it's going to be fun to write about!

Though neither are strictly speaking subgenres of metal, bands who play Viking Metal (as written about by me last year) tend to generally take their subject quite seriously, and why not? It is after all usually their past and their heritage they're singing about, and that demands to be treated with respect and not sent up. Pirate Metal, on the other hand, by its very nature cannot be taken seriously. How can it? It's all about looting, pillaging, sailing the high seas and thumbing your nose at the law; serious subjects when they actually occurred, and piracy was likely to get a man hanged if he were caught, but now the stuff of swashbuckling Hollywood movies and cartoons. The whole idea of piracy --- the irreverent, macho, live for today attitude --- demands to be played with tongue inserted firmly in cheek, and so this is how Pirate Metal bands approach the subject matter. You might as well expect the likes of Tankard to write deep, meaningful lyrics about getting pissed --- it simply does not happen, and we love Tankard and their ilk for this very reason, the fact that they neither take themselves seriously nor expect their fans to.

Not that I'm suggesting in any way that these are joke bands, or that they don't apply themselves with the utmost fervour and dedication to their music. They're metal bands, of course they do. In the same way as some of those we have yet to meet in the “When Worlds Collide” section, coming up later, though poking gentle fun at certain subjects, are competent musicians and professionals, play well and write (or parody) well, so the likes of The Dread Crew of Oddwood, Swashbuckle, Running Wild and Alestorm make sure their songs are well-written, well researched and played, but above all, great fun. That is, so far as I can see, given the somewhat paucity of the information available, the main aim of any Pirate Metal band: to have a good time, and ensure that their fans and those who listen to their music do likewise.

This article, though it will be seriously looking at the phenomenon of Pirate Metal, will have much humour in it, so expect many cliches and pirate phrases. And if ye don't like that, then ye're a scurvy dog and we'll keelhaul ye and send ye to the bottom o' Davy Jones' Locker! So hoist the tops'l, weigh anchor, fix yer eyepatch and check yer cutlass is at yer side, as we're about to sail forth across the majestic sea in search of plunder, booty and fame. And beer. Lots of beer.

Har har, me hearties! Tis t' glory we sail! With a yo ho ho, and perhaps I might venture to add, a bottle of rum into the bargain?

The earliest version of Pirate Metal known to exist is from a band called Running Wild from Germany. Having released two albums with more-or-less black metal influences, at least lyrically, they changed their direction with 1987's Under Jolly Roger, veering more in the way of pirate-themed songs. Although this was not initially planned, as Rolf Kasparek explains in this 1996 interview with Martin Frust:

”That was just a coincidence and not planned at all. When we we're working on Under Jolly Roger some years ago, we were looking for a title song and I thought "Under Jolly Roger" is a really good title. So we had the cover and our stage clothes designed around that. I read a lot of books about the subject and found everything very interesting. It fit together very well and we enhanced the subject with Port Royal. Within a short time it had become our trademark and it's remained with us to this day.” (WebCite query result)

Whether by accident or design then (depending on how much you can believe Kasparek) it can be said that Running Wild created the whole idea of Pirate Metal, and so it is with them we should begin. Though there are relatively few bands involved in the scene, some of them have a reasonably large discography, so it stands to reason I won't be reviewing every album, but like other articles I have written in the past will just select a few albums which I think or hope will best represent their body of work. There is of course no doubt about where we should and will start though.

Under Jolly Roger --- Running Wild --- 1987 (Noise)

After their Satanic/black metal approach to their first two albums had not seemed to work, or had been pushing them in the wrong direction, Rolf Kasparek decided that having written the title track, the idea was so strong and at the time so new that really, this should be their new image and he wrote the rest of the album around that track, resulting in the first Pirate Metal album. Oddly though, he seems a little confused with the motives of pirates on this first song. He tries to make them out as noble avengers, ”Venerable scoundrels, no blood on our hands/ Our engagements are tough, but only for defence” which apart from being a terrible rhyme is totally inaccurate, as is ”Coming through the waves to free all the captives” --- what captives? Slaves? Men who had been press-ganged into serving on ships? Why? And how would they even know about such ships and who was aboard? Pirates didn't care about such things; they were not the liberators of the high seas. They sailed and fought for gain, for gold and silver and spices, anything they could rob and sell, and they certainly did have blood on their hands, as few if any of the crews of the ships they attacked wouldbe allowed to live and would fight to survive.

Perhaps, these being his first, faltering steps into a brand new style of metal, at least lyrically, Kasparek was feeling his way, testing out the water, to use a very appropriate metaphor, to see if the fans responded to such material. But it's odd: Viking metal bands didn't try to pretend their heroes were just farmers pillaging to survive, or taking land that had been originally theirs, because neither is true. Everyone knows what the Norsemen were; history has made that plain. And in the same way, we know enough about pirates --- both historically and through the less well balanced and informed lens of Hollywood --- to know they were rough, tough men who asked no quarter and certainly gave none, men who lived by their wits and their strength, and who seldom if ever backed down from a fight. They were also unlikely to leave too many survivors once they boarded a ship. So this kind of “pussification” of pirates is both inaccurate and quite annoying. It's kind of like he's saying “We're pirates, but we're not bad pirates. We only do this because we have to”, which is also completely wrong. With a few exceptions, the vast majority of pirates chose that career, and most of them were good enough sailors and captains that, had they wished to, they could have served in any navy or onboard any merchant vessel. They just didn't want to; they preferred the life of a buccaneer.

Be all that as it may, the music is pretty damn sweet. With the sounds of surf, the creak of boards, shouts of “Ship ahoy!” and then cannon firing, we're launched into the world of Pirate Metal with the title track. The vocal of Rolf Kasparek (who I'll just refer to as Rolf from now on) is a good dark throaty gruff kind of snarl, low enough to make you think of pirate captains but still very understandable. The chorus is really anthemic, and I love the way cannon keep firing off through the song. “Under Jolly Roger”, then, introduces the whole concept of pirates (for those who somehow have never heard of them) and it's pretty much a mission statement, with a powerful ending that really befits such a song, and indeed the birth of a whole new way of looking at heavy metal lyrics. To be fair, “Beggar's night” doesn't really fit into the band's new persona, and is not that much related to the pirate theme, unless you take it that the beggars who ”stand up to break our chains” include men who are, or would go on to be, pirates. Really though I don't see it as part of the pirate thing. Good song though.

“Diamonds of the black chest” could qualify on its title alone, and the search for this elusive treasure, but turns out to be a parable about chasing an unattainable goal when, after finally tracking down and opening the legendary chest, he opens it but ”No diamonds but he sees his own face/ A possessed wreck with an empty gaze”. In the same way, “War in the gutter” really harks back to “Beggar's night”, concentrating on the poor and disenfranchised rising up and taking power. Again, it, like the three tracks before it, is a good metal track and rockets along nicely with some fine solos, but there's nothing even vaguely piratey about it. “Raise your fist” --- a cliche if ever I heard one --- steals lines from Lizzy's “The boys are back in town” for the opening words, but comes across as an exhortation to kids to rebel and stand up to authority. In some ways, it's a little worrying as it could be read (though I'm sure it's not intended as such) as a call to those unhinged kids who go to school one day with automatic weapons and another massacre is perpetrated. I'm a little worried at the refrain: ”Come on kids unite and let us feel the flames of rage/ Together we are strong so let's tear up this golden cage/ We shall overcome repression and their straining strings /The shackles have to fall and we will be metallian kings/ Raise your fist!” Um, yeah....

At least “Land of ice” has ships mentioned in its lyric, but it turns out to be a rather ham-fisted morality tale about nuclear weapons which I must admit I don't understand, at least the references to experiments in 1987 and 1999. Has a nice, crushing, ominous feel to it, very slow and almost doomy, with wind and thunder effects and for me betrays a kind of Dio influence. “Raw hide” is a by-the-numbers metal motorbike song, and the album ends on “Merciless game”, a quasi-political song that has exactly zero pirates in it.

TRACKLISTING AND RATINGS

1. Under Jolly Roger
2. Beggar's night
3. Diamonds of the black chest
4. War in the gutter
5. Raise your fist
6. Land of ice
7. Raw ride
8. Merciless game

Okay, in retrospect that probably wasn't the best album to take as our first example of Pirate Metal, as 95% of it has nothing to do with pirates. However, it is I believe still important to have featured, as it shows how, on the next album, Running Wild dropped almost all other lyrical themes and concentrated on the pirate thing. Didn't they? No? Um, well ... It's also, as already mentioned, the very first example of Pirate Metal, and even if the opening and title track is all that concerns the subject, it's still important.

So by the following year Running Wild had grasped the nettle firmly and run with the idea of a pirate themed album, appropriately called Port Royal, after the infamous pirate city of the seventeenth century, former capital of Jamaica. Originally authorised by the Queen to harry the Spanish fleets, these men were called privateers, presumably to distinguish them from “common” pirates, and the most famous of their number was of course Sir Francis Drake. With loose morals and even looser laws, Port Royal was where the privateer fleets berthed, where they had their homes and where, after losing the royal seal of approval when they became too rich and powerful and could have been seen to have threatened the Crown, they reverted to lawless ways and their own code, leading to the legend of the pirates we know today.

Even at this point, the band have not yet thrown their full weight behind the idea of pirates, despite the title and the album cover, and really only three of these tracks can confidently claim to be “pirate songs” (well, four if you include the intro, a fifty-second track that simply tells you you're in Port Royal!) while Running Wild look back to their not-yet-totally-abandoned past, with songs railing against God and religion, and a few about rebellions and revolts a la “Beggar's night” and “War in the gutter”. You can't really blame them: the first of their contemporaries would only form in 2002, a whole fourteen years later, and their real comrades in arms, Alestorm, would only get together two years after that, so for almost a decade and a half Running Wild were flying the Jolly Roger alone, trying to bring the idea of Pirate Metal to the masses, in a time when other bands were concentrating on writing power metal lyrics, or black metal, or getting into thrashier, faster stuff. Generally speaking, in terms of bands, nobody else was interested in jumping aboard ship.

So, still possibly unsure as to whether this new direction was the right one or not (though surely encouraged by record sales, which showed an increase of 200,000 on the previous album, topping out at 1.8 million units --- they must have realised they were doing something right, as both of these albums separately sold more than their first two combined. But it was still a slow process), they released their fourth album, second "Pirate Metal" one, but even so, as I say we have a lot of non-pirate songs on this album.

Port Royal --- Running Wild --- 1988 (Noise)

As I mentioned already, the opening track is fifty seconds long and consists of nothing more than footsteps walking presumably along a pier and then into an alehouse, from which raucous laughter and sea shanties emit, the unnamed stranger walks up to the bar, obviously lost, and asks “Where am I?” to which a hearty laugh responds telling him he is in Port Royal! We then hammer into the title track, which speaks of the famous port, with a great anthemic chorus. It's driven on fast guitar in very much a power metal vein, and it would have been nice had this introduced a whole album of pirate songs, but “Raging fire”, though you could really stretch it and call it one, is really more a song of revenge and revolt, then they're back to talking about the hypocisy of religion in “Into the arena”.

If anyone thinks I'm glossing over any tracks that aren't relevant to the subject, you're right: I'm not writing this to review albums by these bands, but to look at their contribution to the pseudo-subgenre, so if a track or ten tracks have nothing to do with Pirate Metal, I'm just mentioning them in passing. This should be not taken to mean the songs are not good --- most of them are, very very good indeed --- simply that they don't fall within the criteria under which I'm writing this. I will however draw your attention to “Uaschitschun”, which is based on the disenfranchisement of the Native American, and a very powerful song. Driven by a guitar riff that somehow sounds like a Native American dance or chant, it ends with the famous and moving speech by Chief Seattle to the men who came to try to purchase his lands: “Only when the last tree has been felled, the last fish caught and the last river poisoned will we know that man cannot eat money.”

“Final gates” is a short instrumental, and while “Conquistadores” brings us a little closer to the world of the pirate, it is of course about Cortez and the Spanish explorers who succeeded in wiping out the entire Aztec race in their greed for gold. Although “Blown to kingdom come” sounds like it should be a pirate song, I can't find any references to such in the lyric, and it seems to refer more to knights and warriors, and be a kind of anti-war song of sorts. As indeed is “Warchild”. This kind of stance against war sort of grates with their professed love of pirates; I mean, after all, there's certainly conflict, even war of sorts in the life of a pirate. So far, I am finding Running Wild to be something of a contadiction, but they sure can rock!

“Mutiny” gets us back on the high seas, and tells the story of sailors who have been pushed too far --- ”The water barrels going bad/ Daily a sailor dies...” and the death of one of their shipmates that pushes them over the edge and forces them to take command of the ship on which they serve. It's not a pirate song, but it's about halfway there, and you can imagine that the mutineers, if they get away with it, may indeed go on to become bucanneers and corsairs, but there's nothing ambiguous about “Calico Jack”. The closing track introduces us to the eponymous pirate, and it's their longest song yet, at over eight minutes. With a sort of Maiden feel to parts of it, it opens on an acoustic guitar that then gives way to a powerful electric and takes off into pure power metal territory, rocking and rollicking along. Calico Jack doesn't get away with it though, and we hear the judge tell him that he has been found guilty of piracy and sentence him to be hanged, however the pirate's mocking laughter echoes as he is taken away, swearing he will see the judge again.

Seems he was a real figure, which doesn't really surprise me, as Rolf is known for diligently researching for his songs, and Calico Jack appears to have been the pirate who designed and first flew the skull and crossbones flag, the Jolly Roger. However I was surprised to see that Rolf had him sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered, which as far as I know was a punishment reserved for traitors to the Crown, and I don't think piracy (which would have been looked upon as mere thievery but on a grander scale) would have fit that description, so it's more than likely that he was just hanged. I also note that his character features in the new TV drama Black Sails.

TRACKLISTING AND RATINGS

1. Intro
2. Port Royal
3. Raging fire
4. Into the arena
5. Uaschitschun
6. Final gates
7. Conquistadores
8. Blown to kingdom come
9. Warchild
10. Mutiny
11. Calico Jack

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Trollheart

An excellent closing track and perhaps, with the opener and closer, Running Wild were announcing their intention of bringing the pirate theme more to the fore on future albums. This I would still not, despite the title, artwork and the few pirate tracks on it, consider a true Pirate Metal album, though at the time it was the only one out there. But later, with bands like Alestorm and Swashbuckle coming through, the whole idea of keeping the theme running through the entire album would be embraced and as a result some really excellent Pirate Metal albums would come to be.

As for Running Wild, I note their next album, Death or Glory, while supposedly one of their most popular, still seems to have many non-pirate songs on it --- “Bad to the bone”, “Battle of Waterloo”, “Evilution”, while tracks such as “Billy the kid”, “Over the rainbow”, “Little Bighorn”, “Rolling wheels” turn up on the next one, Blazon Stone. So we move on to what we can see is a full pirate album from them, or at least a concept album with very much pirate themes surrounding it.


Black Hand Inn --- Running Wild --- 1994 (Noise)
So, as we say here, what's the story? Well, the story basically is about a man, John Xenir, who uses black magic and is burned at the stake. But it would appear he is not dead, as he now runs an inn (the title one of course) which uses the only part of him that remained after he had been burned --- his blackened hand --- as its sigil. The opening track, “The curse”, is almost all spoken word, as John receives his sentence from the Inquisitor, then at first gentle, then more punchy guitar kicks in as the track ends in instrumental and into the title track. I must say, it certainly conjures up a real feeling of excitement, of something building. “Black Hand Inn” tells of the setting up of the tavern and of the man, rumoured to be a magician, who runs it. It's a great classic power metal song, and pulls in Running Wild's traditional anger against religion when a priest denounces John for trafficking with demons, but John proves that it is the priest who is evil.

The pace keeps up for “Mr. Deadhead”, which seems to be a sort of shot at man's greed and basic evil, and “Soulless” continues this theme, the song slightly slower with a kind of boogie feel to it, sharper, in-your-face guitar giving it almost a 70s hard rock idea, then the pirate theme comes home with a bang as “The privateer” rattles along on power metal rails, Xenir now seen as a cross between a seer and a pirate. He also appears to have become some sort of fighter for justice, which kind of dampens the pirate angle a little. There's an invitation to “Fight the fire of hate” with another powerful rocker, some sweet solos and an anthemic chorus that just sticks in your head, and then there's a nice sort of medieval guitar to open “The phantom of Black Hand Hill”.

It soon bursts into a big power metal thunderer though, and you could almost believe you were listening to early eighties Maiden here; the guitars are just fucking immense! Fantastic solo there near the end. “Freewind rider” puts me very much in mind of Denim and Leather/Wheel of Steel-era Saxon, though the rider is on a horse, not a motorcycle. The melody of the chorus sounds familiar, though I can't place it at the moment. But now we're back to pirates with “Powder and iron”, and does it rattle along! Everything then slows down on what sounds like synth, or else flute, pan pipes or something like that as we move into the realms of high fantasy with “Dragonmen”, and it only slowed for a few moments; it's now bursting forth with renewed energy. I must admit though, the change in lyrical matter is confusing me. If you're going to write a concept album, even a loose one, try to keep to the storyline. What has this to do with John Xenir?

Be that as it may, the very history of man is told in “Genesis (The Making and the Fall of Man)”, surely the longest song Running Wild have attempted, at just over fifteen minutes long. It opens with a narrated introduction which seems to refer to aliens from a far planet finding Earth and utilising the gold therein to rejuvenate their atmosphere (don't ask me: I didn't write it!) --- I think Rolf is using the ancient Babylonian or Sumerian gods here. He certainly mentions Enki and Eridu and others. But then it bleeds into Old Testament narrative as we hear about the Great Flood, Sodom and Gomorrah and the great battle of Armageddon, though Rolf gets it somewhat wrong here, quoting the “seventh month of 1999” as being Judgement Day. Um, still here, Rolf... talk to the Mayans, they know how you feel.

I suppose the overarching theme can be linked to say that these events are what John Xenir sees in his visions, but I feel the concept is so loose as to be almost falling apart. None of which takes from the excellence of the album, of course, which will be enjoyed by any power metal fan, but as a Pirate Metal album, again, it sort of disappoints me.

TRACKLISTING AND RATINGS

1. The Curse
2. Black Hand Inn
3. Mr. Deadhead
4. Soulless
5. The privateer
6. Fight the fire of hate
7. The phantom of Black Hand Inn
8. Freewind rider
9. Powder and iron
10. Dragonmen
11. Genesis (The making and fall of Man)

The problem I'm encountering with Running Wild so far (and I accept that I have not listened to all their albums, but a quick check through lyrics has told me whether or not a certain album fulfills the criteria for Pirate Metal) is twofold: one, their music veers between (very good) pirate songs and then other related material, and two, they're too serious for me. I mean, half the time they're advocating Man give up his evil ways and stop destroying each other and the planet --- which I have no problem with; it's good advice at any time, especially in 2015 --- the other half they're painstakingly describing the exploits of historical pirates. But to paraphrase Mister Burns, where's the fun?

Admittedly, my only personal experience with Pirate Metal up to this has been Alestorm, and I loved them because they were irreverent, hilarious and didn't give a fuck. They're not concerned whether Captain Jack Morgan lived in 1759 or 1790, or even if he lived at all (well, that's not totally true, as we'll see when we get to them), but more with having a good time and making the sort of music you can enjoy and laugh with. For me, Running Wild, though they are the progenitors of this music, missed a trick here, and that was just to have fun with the subject, and through that, to ensure their fans did too. I've enjoyed the music, the lyrics are on the whole pretty good, but there hasn't been one instance here where I've felt the urge to smile, whereas by the time I had got through the one Alestorm album I did listen to I had had to change my underwear three times!

Maybe this attitude changed as time went on, although I kind of doubt it. But we'll move right up to the twenty-first century as we check out the last offering from them that I'm going to look at before we move on.


The Brotherhood --- Running Wild --- 2002 (Gun)

Sort of continuing the sense of disappointment vis a vis Pirate Metal, this album opens on another non-pirate track, as “Welcome to Hell” warns once again of the evils of man, with a nice trundling rhythm, biting guitars and hammering drums, “Soulstrippers” has some message about TV violence I think, and while I really thought the title track would be one, it's not: some sort of political rant against warmongers. It's a pity, as so far the album has been pretty stellar, but just as a power metal one, not a Pirate Metal one. I've yet to hear one song even vaguely referencing corsairs. “Crossfire” sounds like it might have some potential, right? Wrong. It's another stand-up-and-fight song, and while there's nothing wrong with them, I am beginning to weary a little of them. How many more ways can these guys overuse this tired subject?

At least the next one is an instrumental, and a long one at over six minutes, with “Detonator” apparently about someone who rather enjoys bombs and dynamite. This is finally followed by a song which has to be about pirates, since it's called, wait for it, “Pirate song”! Sure enough, it is, as we joyously return to the rogues of the high seas, and it's been worth waiting for, a rollicking, rolling rocker of a song with a great sense of bravado and courage, and for once just simply exulting in the pirate lifestyle, but it doesn't last of course as “Unation” (what?) and “Dr Horror” both return to other themes. Good power rockers, but I can get that on any power metal album really. The album then ends on another epic, ten minutes long this time, and focussing on T.E. Lawrence, the man who became known as “Lawrence of Arabia”. “The ghost” kicks off with a suitably Arabian riff, then jumps into a galloping power metal romp, and while the lyric is not the best it's a pretty climactic closer to the album.

TRACKLISTING AND RATINGS

1. Welcome to Hell
2. Soulstrippers
3. The Brotherhood
4. Crossfire
5. Siberian winter
6. Detonator
7. Pirate song
8. Unation
9. Dr. Horror
10. The Ghost

While I would not be so crass as to begrudge Running Wild their place as the fathers of Pirate Metal (it would be impossible to do so; they were, after all, the first and only ones doing this for about fifteen years), their tendency to stray away from the subject on every album I've listened to from them, and even when they do concentrate on pirates, the general air of almost stuffy historianism that pervades their songs takes an awful lot of what I saw as the fun in Pirate Metal out of it. While it's good that they're so determined to make sure their songs reflect proper historical facts and dates, I would not be so concerned about this as I would about making the music a wild ride, and given the name of their band that's what I would have expected.

But maybe it's because they're German, not exactly known for their sense of humour, or maybe it's because they ploughed this furrow alone for so long, or even that they weren't sure how far they could push the envelope without overstepping and stretching the patience of their fans; whatever the reason, I find Running Wild, as the fathers of Pirate Metal, behaving in exactly the way you would expect parents to: careful, dignified (compared to what followed) and sticking to a core set of values from which they would not budge. There's no question that they invented the pseudo-subgenre, but in later times, others were to take it to extremes that these guys had never even considered, and in so doing, make it far more acceptable and less stodgy than I found the majority of the pirate songs here.

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