Here you will be able to read som history
about Running Wild, enjoy!
Buccaneer Rock'n'Rolf Kasparek
leaves port for the first time with a crew of students.
Granite
Heart change the name into Running Wild and release their first demo.
Lineup:
Rock 'n' Rolf - Vocals, Guitar
Michael Hoffmann - Drums
Uwe Bendig - Guitar
Jörg Schwarz - Bass
Running
Wild´s second demo.
Lineup:
Rock 'n' Rolf - Vocals, Guitar
Preacher - Guitar
Stephan Boriss - Bass
Hasche - Drums
The
demo "Heavy Metal like a hammerblow".
The tracks "Iron Heads" and "Bones to Ashes" put the fear and horror in the NOISE sampler LP "Death Metal". Recorded feb - march 1984 at Caet Studio, Berlin.
Rock 'n' Rolf - Vocals, Guitar
Preacher - Guitar
Stephan Boriss - Bass
Hasche - Drums
Django - Pyrotechnics
NOISE RECORDS finally pays
tribute to what's unique about the Elbe River Buccaneers by
producing their debut album, Gates to Purgatory
(More than 20,000 sold albums) and the 12" Maxi single Walpurgis
Night. The first 8000 copies of the 3 track single are sold out in a few
weeks. The tracks on this single is included on the CD Gates To Purgatory.
Running Wild plays speed metal as well as impelling hardrock of the old
school.
Rock 'n' Rolf - Vocals, Guitar
Preacher - Guitar
Stephan Boriss - Bass
Hasche - Drums
Running Wild brings their second album, the brilliant Branded and Exiled, and goes on tour with SINNER. Majk Moti replaces the guitarist, Preacher, when he decides to finish his studies.
Rock 'n' Rolf - Vocals, Guitar
Preacher - Guitar
Stephan Boriss - Bass
Hasche - Drums
Running Wild perform
as the first independent band to back-up and international major act.
In the summer the Rock'n'Rolf and the rest of the band set sail again,
and have some great tours in the USA. Manfred Eisenblätter, the Metal-Pope
of the German Press-world, invents the legendary expression "Rennenden
Wilds" (Running Wild). Instant cult!
The
legendary Under Jolly Roger is released, both name and idea for this album
relate to the pirates´ flag which used to be called "Jolly Roger",
which is derived from "Old Roger", an old synonym for the devil. This
symbolized the pirates contempt for society, authorities and in particular
the arrogant elergy who had forced them into style through oppression.
The drummer Hasche, and bassist
Stephan Boriss, leave the band in May and get replaced by Jens Becker
on bass and Stefan Schwarzmann on drums. Running Wild on tour in Europe,
who drops in Budapest.
Rock 'n' Rolf - Vocals, Guitar
Majk Moti - Guitar
Stephan Boriss - Bass
Hasche - Drums
The cut and re-mixed '87 Tour material reaches the public as the live album Ready For Boarding. This album include a unreleased song called Purgatory which came to life in 1980. The texts is about religious moralists who fight sexual freedom as "immoral" and consider all lifestyles not identical with theirs to be wrong and sinfull. The song tells the truth, that it will be them insted who will burn in hell because of their hypocrisy.
Lineup:
Rock 'n' Rolf - Vocals, Guitar
Majk Moti - Guitar
Jens Becker - Bass
Stefan Schwarzmann - Drums
The heavy metal magazine, KERRANG, gives Running Wild with the highest rating: a 5K! In London's "Marquee", Running Wild make the walls shake for their enthusiastic English fans. Their fourth studio production, Port Royal, released at the end of the year and more than 50,000 sold copies. The drummer Stefan Schwarzmann leave the band and get replaced by Iain Finlay. On this album the Running Wild style had change to more melodic power metal. The first albums was more doom, but now the sound is more clear. Rolf started to sing in a different way with more harmony, and the guitars is more tight than ever before.
This album beginns, as many of the forth coming albums, with a intro - a spoken piece and then moves into the title track Port Royal.
Uaschitschun is a another great song from this album but a bit slowlier; about how the earth has been raped of its resources and the damage mankind has done to the animals, and when I listen to this song I can see the world in front of me, like a giant tomb...
Lineup:
Rock 'n' Rolf - Vocals, Guitar
Majk Moti - Guitar
Jens Becker - Bass
Iain Finlay - Drums
Two new releases this year! First the album Death
or Glory and later, the 12" Maxi Bad To The Bone. And Europe's taken by
storm again.
Running Wild goes on tour in the autumn, and in
Prague 30 000 fans watch them at the stadium, and a live video is released.
Lineup:
Rock 'n' Rolf - Vocals, Guitar
Majk Moti - Guitar
Jens Becker - Bass
Iain Finlay - Drums
The
mini-LP Wild Animal is released. The Death or Glory Tour, with it 2000
plus fans in every crowd, becomes a winner par excellence. Running Wild
have a new drummer; Jörg Micheal and the drum-roadie, AC, is promoted
to the new drummer on deck. And Axel Morgan replaces the guitarist Majk
Moti.
In the "Open Air Festival" in Neunkirchen, which
included Alice Cooper and Extrabreit, the writer Matthias Breusch puts
it this way; "I've known that if they wanted to, those guys could blow
away EVERYBODY."
Lineup:
Rock 'n' Rolf - Vocals, Guitar
Majk Moti - Guitar
Jens Becker - Bass
Iain Finlay - Drums
The
album Blazon Stone is released and the re-mixed best-of album The First
Yeays of Piracy.
This album was recorded July/August 1991 in Studio
M in Machtsum, and it contains new versions of classic songs from the
band's 'first years'.
Lineup:
Rock 'n' Rolf - Vocals, Guitar
Axel Morgan - Guitar
Jens Becker - Bass
AC - Drums
On
Pile of Skulls Running Wild welcomes a new recruit onboard, Thomas Smuszynski
(bass, ex-U.D.O.). They also welcomed the return of Stefan Schwarzmann
and release the single Lead or Gold . This track is taken from the Pile
Of Skulls and it´s a good example to show the type of music that
is on the album; melodic vocals and plenty of guitar-work. Just what Running
Wild fans wanna hear.
Included on this Japanese single are two extra tracks, that are not on the Pile of Skulls, "Hanged, Drawn and Quartered" and "Win Or Be Drowned".
Lineup:
Rock 'n' Rolf - Vocals, Guitar
Axel Morgan - Guitar
Thomas Smuszynski - Bass
Stefan Schwarzmann - Drums
The staging for the
Pile of Skulls Tour goes to the limit, Jörg Micheal replace Stefan
Schwarzmann behind the drums because of an broken hand.
Jörg Michael have finally joined the band, he did most of the drumming
on the Pile Of Skulls tour and some on the Death Or Glory tour. The first
single, The Privateer, comes out on the 3rd of March, along with the two
non-album tracks: "Dancing on a Minefield" and "Poisoned Blood".
Black Hand Inn is released. And Running Wild have replaced the guitarist Axel Morgan with Thilo Hermann. The story behind this album is like a fairy-tale. It´s about the burning of a sorcerer in the 16th century.
Even today, there's a mystical
aura about this 'Phantom of the Black Hill'. And in Running Wild version
of the story, they tell us more about how religion and politics often
hush up the truth. This is simply the best album they´ve done (my
opinion). No dissapointments on this album at all. Great solos, double
bass drums pounding in the background almost through the whole album.
Lineup:
Rock 'n' Rolf - Vocals, Guitar
Thilo Hermann - Guitar
Thomas Smuszynski - Bass
Jörg Michael - Drums
On the 30th of October the album Masquerade hits the market and the title
track was a great sucess! I think this is the fastest and most aggresive
album ever, after the intro they really hit the gas and give the drummer
alot of work.... The Masquerade theme is about how the goverment, the
military and the church missue the power they´ve got. "...They
rule the world by telling lies, dripping poison in your ear, keeping up
appearances, revelation is their fear.
They control your mind with hate and evil lies.
Religion is the devil in disguise..."
I especially will recomend the song "The lions of
the sea" and as the title says, it´s about piracy again. And this
is really German power metal in the best way possible.
Lineup:
Rock 'n' Rolf - Vocals, Guitar
Thilo Hermann - Guitar
Thomas Smuszynski - Bass
Jörg Michael - Drums
20 years of Piracy!!!
On its Masquerade Tour Running Wild band is celebrating its birthday!
The
album The Rivalry isn´t as fast as the last one, except the tracks
"Firebreather" and "Adventure galley", wich sounds like classic Running
Wild songs and they would certainly not dissapoint the fans!
Under more than 20 years Running Wild never failed, and they still go on strong with their melodic power metal. On this album some of the songs of course is about piracy and breaking the waves on the wild raging sea, among songs about visitors from other planets.
With this album it must be the first time in the Running Wild history that the line-up has been the same for the last three releases, but Jörg Michael (drums) has left the band by now to play with the finnish band Stratovarius.
The rivalry is really a classic
Running Wild album, with melodic songs and guitars, ponding drums in the
background...yes this album have everything.
For all this years they havent done any ballads,
just heavy or/and fast songs.
I especially want to mention the song "Return of
the dragon".
Lineup:
Rock 'n' Rolf - Vocals, Guitar
Thilo Hermann - Guitar
Thomas Smuszynski - Bass
Jörg Michael - Drums
The
album 'Victory' is released. The first album that dont have painting on
the front.
The album also include a cover, Revolution, written by John Lennon and
Paul McCartney.
Lineup:
Rock 'n' Rolf - Vocals, Guitar
Thilo Hermann - Guitar
Thomas Smuszynski - Bass
Angelo Sasso - Drums
I would like to thank Roger for the information on this page, thanks!