Masquerade [Extra tracks, Original recording reissued]

Running Wild | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 12, 2003)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Extra tracks, Original recording reissued
• Label: Noise
• ASIN: B00009KU60
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #522,757 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars RW's best, together with Black Hand Inn, December 31, 2009

By 

torquemada "sweating_demon" (beirut, lebanon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Masquerade (Audio CD)

i discovered running wild about 13 years ago with the albums 'black hand inn' and 'masquerade' and what a fitting introduction it was!
those 2 albums remain Running Wild's peak to this day. 'death or glory' 'blazon stone' and 'the rivalry' do come close but never equal the consistency,
viciousness and the hooking replay value of those above mentioned albums.
masquerade, aside from sporting stunning artwork by Andreas Marschall (see old blind guardian albums), starts with a demon summoning where
the ritual makers swear allegiance to the demon: a 'departure' from pirate themes and an exploration of 'light v/s dark' with the 'masquerade/rivalry/brotherhood'
trilogy. the album then effectively starts with a cyclic riff on fade in where guitars are unusually sharp, loud and crisp.
this new found sharpness and deadly guitar sound was first experienced on the '94 'black hand inn' album. it continues here to even greater effect and it's
a shame that Rolf dropped it after 'the brotherhood' album in favor of a more 'groovy' sound.
the title track pounds the brains out of your ears with jorg michaels' punishing drumming while rolf plays guitar like a machine, with deadly picking
and striking precision. the whole band follows suit with superb performance on all instruments and all of them perfectly audible. i dont understand
the other reviewer's issue with production; i hope he's kidding. no matter how loud i crank that cd up, no instrument takes more than its own place.
this cd was released in '95 and can still sound better than many 2009 expensively produced metal releases.
tracks like 'demonized' 'lions of the sea' and 'underworld' make this album IMO one of the most underlooked gems of speed metal, where soul and technique
fuse together in a perfect blend of merciless sonic assault.
i can describe this album in 5 neat words: crisp.heavy(as hell).loud.fast.passionate.
that's what metal is all about.
it's a big shame that Running Wild never played any of it live. if you're not willing to buy the original due to the differently natured reviews, try finding it used and see for yourself.
downloading this album will never do its musical quality justice as the mp3 format will still seriously lack the subtleties of this particular CD recording.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars running wild does not need to disguise its music., February 18, 2005

By 

king beagley "metal maven" (warsaw, in usa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Masquerade (Audio CD)

this disc is amazing. it kicks bootie all the way through and it has two bonus tracks from 1983. you don't need to like certain bands to get into this band, only if you like metal.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This is running wild!, September 8, 2003

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Masquerade (Audio CD)

Hi there !
This is a great album i bought it same time as: "GATES TO PURGATORY!" and both albums ROCK!!! this band is amazing little heavier than accept' i honesty grew upo listening to German heavy metal and those bands never dissapointed me ,
'NEVER" i give this rock n' rolf album 4 because gates is my favorite.-