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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Bad to the Bone . . ., April 15, 2009
The lineup has changed through the years, but founder Rolf Kasperek has been the creative force at the helm of Running Wild for over two decades. Rock `n' Rolf's dedication to his music is unquestionable, as he has persevered through the years, continuing to produce solid Eurostyle metal. Running Wild, founded in the late 70's by members from Hamburg Germany, are generally recognized as the originators of `pirate metal'. Besides Kasperek, this version of Running Wild consists of Bernd Aufermann on guitar, Peter Pichel on bass, and Matthias `Metalmachine' Liebetruth on drums. The music features a plethora of power chords, speedy riffs, scorching solos, harmony leads, heavy-duty percussion, and the occasional time change. Rolf and fellow lead guitarist Bernd Aufermann, work together very well, as Aufermann's contrasting playing style, brings a new sound to some of the classic Running Wild material.
This 2002 performance runs about 105 minutes, and includes seventeen songs, spanning the long history of the group. Featured in this performance are five songs from the then recently released The Brotherhood (2002) (Welcome to Hell, Crossfire, The Brotherhood, Unation, Soulstrippers) as well as two from Victory (2000) (When Time Runs Out, Victory) and one from The Rivalry (1998) (Kiss of Death). Gems from earlier years include, Bad to the Bone, Riding the Storm, Lead or Gold, Under Jolly Roger, Blazon Stone, Prisoners of Our Time, Purgatory, and Uaschitschun. Regrettably there is nothing from Masquerade, and only Soulless from Black Hand Inn. With so much material to draw from, and it's not easy to include all eras within one show, but hopefully most fans will be satisfied with the selection of mostly up tempo numbers. The concert is a solid heavy metal assault, that only drags at the edits between encores. Running Wild has come a long way, as this performance is about twice as long as the 1989 Death or Glory Tour Live release.
The venue is Halle Gartlage in Osnabruck, Germany. On their customized stage, the band has plenty of room. Rolf is mostly center stage, dressed in what appear to be pirate style leggings and boots, and occasionally donning different ornate pirate topcoats for the full effect. There are several cameras shooting the show, and the views are mostly unobstructed. The editing is not frenetic, and generally focuses on the guitar work. Video quality is good for the most part, although the lighting on stage isn't the greatest at times. The preferred sound setting will depend on the device used to play the disc. Set at Stereo 2.0, the vocals may sound muted and overpowered by the guitars. Switching to Dolby digital 5.1 is an improvement, but the vocals might be still rather hard to hear in the mix. Please note that this is a DVD audio disc, and will not play on all DVD players, and perhaps some computers as well. One irritating feature is that if you use the menu option to play a particular song, when the song is done, instead of continuing on to the next song, you are kicked back to the menu to select another track. The bonus features include three very short videos of the band backstage and on the road, and a live performance of Bad to the Bone by the band Donots, featuring a guest appearance by Rock `n' Rolf. Not much really, but better than nothing.
If you are a fan of classic metal, hopefully you can find this release at a reasonable price. It may prove to be a great addition to your concert DVD collection. This is a first class production, which does a great job of capturing the power and force of Running Wild rocking hard live. Many of the songs are available at You Tube, if you would like to view some samples.
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