Customer Reviews

Under Jolly Roger

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is an album I have owned since 1989. It was my first contact with RW music. I was blown away with its riffs. This album almost has no a bad song. The only thing that is not five stars marked because there is a better album by RW. I strongly recommended to anyone who is into Power Metal course, and let it sails you away!!!

Then I heard their FIRST CD Gates to Purgatory. I love them all. Every one of Running Wild's CD's I own. I love every one of them. WOULD NOT TRADE them for any other CD's. From their first, to their last, they are all jamming and superior to any other band.

Under Jolly Roger (1987) was a turning point for Running Wild. The German metal band's first two albums were dark and very heavy, with some Satanic references, but beginning with this release, the band embarked in a new musical direction, incorporating themes involving pirates, swashbuckling, plundering and the search for hidden treasure, into the heavy metal medium. From here, guitarist Rolf Kasperek, the creative force behind Running Wild, would continue to make pirates, warfare, and military conflict, the subject of his songs for the next two decades.

From a production standpoint, Under Jolly Roger has a more live, raw sound than either Branded and Exiled, or to a lesser extent, Gates to Purgatory, the band's first two albums. The lower frequencies seem to have been turned down in the mix, and there aren't a lot of bass tones, though the drums certainly do punch through. The guitars are up front, strong, harsh, and mostly aggressive, making Under Jolly Roger a powerful and punishing musical experience.

The pirate journey begins with the title track Under Jolly Roger, firmly launching the band on their new musical journey. Following the booming sound of cannon fire, the song launches into the kind of galloping guitars rhythm that would become a familiar sound in the years to come. A great guitar solo highlights the maiden voyage, and a victorious Rolf finishes with the cry `Ready for boarding!'.

Diamonds Of The Black Chest, is a thrashy tale about the quest for treasure. Pounding and aggressive, Raise Your Fist, is all about frustration. While the abrasive Raw Ride has the ideal groove for head banging, and features a cool melodic solo. Beggars Night is a driving brutal song, punctuated by Rolf snarling lyrics, and some crazy mad guitar work. Land of Ice, is perhaps the slowest song that Running Wild has ever done, and it effectively conveys the atmosphere of trudging along in the cold, struggling to deal with the harsh conditions.

Under Jolly Roger is rock solid, with some of the most powerful metal of the day. With a new direction, Rolf Kasperek, and Running Wild would forge ahead boldly, never wavering from this style of metal, getting better with time. Hopefully the CD will become available soon. Highly recommended to fans of 80's Euro-metal.

As a fan of their early work, they have stepped up here and created something very unique. The satanic work before was mediocre at best and quite silly in the vein of early Slayer (lyrically anyways) but very good.

This is a major step forward. Pirate Metal is born!

Great power metal here.

This is a very rare album and worth the price. I own a cassette version but wish I had bought the vinyl. :( Great artwork.

This german band started out as one of the more decent satanic metal bands to come out of Europe in the mid-80s and changed to pirate metal with this album.

This album has better recording quality and the guitar riffs aren't as sloppy but the album just falls flat. The title song is the best song on the album and the rest is not really worth listening to. Great album to play if you're having a metal/pirate costume party but otherwise it sounds pretty silly. The pirate motif makes me think of Disneyland's 'Pirates of the Carribean' and the song would have actually been cool on the soundtrack for one of the movies.

The band was ok with their earlier satanic stuff but their later pirate motifs never seemed to make them a greater success in the mainstream of metal.

This album was of course Running Wild's transition album. They went from being a terrible band about rebellion through Satanic worship to a fun band about pirates and epic storytelling. Unfortunately, Under Jolly Roger is one of their weakest albums overall. Repetitive choruses, poor riffs, weak solos, and bad overall recording quality make this album a real pain to listen to. Really if you're looking for a good start to your Running Wild collection, start with "Pile of Skulls" or "Black Hand Inn". Their sound really didn't become listenable until 1988's "Port Royal", and didn't become truly legendary until "Death or Glory"