'Under Jolly Roger'
(Noise Records - 1987
- reissue in 2017)
MARK:
75/100
Prologue
The German troupe led by Rock 'n' Rolf abandoned the Satanic and occult themes inspired by Stormwitch and Venom of the 2 previous albums and tried a new path, the one of a type of Metal stylistically and lyrically not yet explored and still not defined, Pirate Metal. It's a sort of Heavy/Speed Metal dealing with stories and incidents seeing pirates and buccaneers as protagonists, and also using a special kind of singing that reminds the one of the most stereotyped sea borderers.
It is not a complete and totally conscious process, but this record is the start of a new era, a really transitional full-length. As a matter of fact, only 2 tracks out of 8 cover the proper subjects, but the whole artwork is about them.
After the re-issues of Kreator, Tankard and Celtic Frost, here come the re-issues (like this one we are analyzing now) of the 5 albums that Running Wild recorded for Noise Records.
Package version
The version in my hands is a deluxe edition digipack dropped in 2017 on the 30th anniversary of the first issue. It contains 2 CDs, one colour fold-out booklet in the shape of a treasure map drawn by Kasparek that also appeared on the 1987 album together with a curse to the chest stealer. This edition is completed by liner notes written by Malcolm Dome rich in notes and anecdotes, and by info about the tracks and line-up, but the lyrics are absent.
Visual aspect
The artwork starts with a front cover where we see a galleon sailing across a tempestuous sea and under a stormy sky. It has a sharped-toothed monster's face carved on the stem with evil yellow-shining eyes and a pentagram on its forehead; the front sail boasts a giant Jolly Roger symbol in black and white, then there are big holes in the torn sails, and the vessel is clearly ready for boarding the first ship that may fall a prey to the crew.
The band's logo is placed high and big, all carved with baroque elements and as yellow as gold, whereas the title of the album is in white elegant characters. What is lacking in comparison with the original '87 front cover artwork is a warning of loud effects that could damage your stereo.
The inside of the digipack contains parts of the map, while on the back is a painting showing the 4 musicians in pirate gear and armed while putting ashore on a desert island at dawn or sunset to hide their treasure. The map is reproduced faintly on the painting, while all the songs are listed on the painting, which did not happen on the original vinyl. The band's website and the labels' details also appear below on the back of the digipack.
Part of the map is reproduced clearly on the two sides of the digipack.
If we take the two CDs off their casing we can see some details from
the map enlarged, such as the windrose.
The 2 discs look quite cool not only because they're black, but also
thanks to the broken glass effect. Moreover, every word on them has the
colour of gold.
(1987 original album cover)
Trivia
Running Wild started at high school in 1976 and was called Granite Hearts until 1979. The monicker Running Wild was taken from a song with the same name contained in 1978's Judas Priest's platter "Killing Machine".
The image the band had in 1987 was influenced by Judas Priest but suited to themselves, that is minus the accessories that regular gay bar attendees in Hamburg used to wear back then.
Roman Polanski movie with Walter Matthau "Pirates" released in '86 gave Kasparek a cue of what to put into the title track and led him to ask painter Ertugrel Edirne to create the front and back cover artwork accordingly.
The nickname "Rock 'n' Rolf" was first given to Kasparek by a child who was the younger brother of one of his friends in Running Wild's early days, or possibly even before its formation. The friend was at his own house with another friend, and the two had discussed hard rock and metal bands at length. When Rolf rang the doorbell, the boy opened the door. Rolf told him his name, and the boy, confused by the conversation he had heard from his brother and the brother's friend, said: "Hey, there is Rock 'n' Rolf here!". They all laughed, and Rolf's friends called him that from that point onward.
Kasparek wanted to produce the album himself but Noise Records ordered they recur to Dirk Steffans.
Kasparek had to sell his train set in 1972 to buy a guitar.
Stephan Boriss is credited to have played bass on this album, but he did not actually. Kasparek did. Boriss could have played some parts but he wasn't able to play others, so instead of hiring a session musician, Kasparek learned how to play bass and did them all. Boriss' style and Kasparek's were different and splitting the parts to two players would have been confusing. The reality is then that Kasparek wrote and played the bulk of the material for this third full-length.
This led to a fissure in the band: Boriss and Hasche wanted to go commercial, whereas Kasparek and Motj wanted to keep their music heavy.
Stephan Boriss is today a professional cook.
Despite some negative reviews (one of which from Kerrang! magazine which is explicitly not thanked in the booklet liner notes), fans loved the album which sold 50.000 copies against the 30.000 of the previous one. In total the current sales of "Under Jolly Roger" top 350k. The cult Metal band had become an important name, almost as much as Helloween or Accept, yet still far away from the more melodic and accessible Scorpions.
This deluxe edition doesn't have the sticker that appeared on the 1987 vinyl first pressings front cover artwork stating: "Warning, loud sound effects - no responsabilities for audio equipment damages".
The order of the tracks on this version is different to the one on the original 1987 release.
It's generally suspected that a drum computer was used on both the "Victory" and "The Brotherhood" albums with Angelo Sasso being a fictional name used in an attempt to cover this up. This is denied by Rolf Kasparek who claims that Angelo Sasso is a pseudonym used by a friend of his who didn't want to be credited under his real name. This became sort of a running gag in the German metal scene with other bands crediting their drums to Angelo Sasso (see: Chalice of Blood, Kings of völlige Durchness), which literally means "Angel Stone/Rock" in Italian. Moreover, no drummer or bass player is officially credited in the first two Running Wild releases that were recorded and released after their 2011 reformation (Shadowmaker and Resilient). The hellhound pictured on the early Running Wild releases, and again on "Resilient" and "Blood on Blood" is named Adrian, after the "Adrian S.O.S." track on "Gates to Purgatory".
Lyrical content
All
the lyrics are from Kasparek and Motj. They draw inspiration from TV,
newspapers and books. Only two deal with pirates, while the others are
about:
* wars between teenager gangs.
* night races.
* a riot of poor people against their blue blood oppressors.
* metalhead teenagers who argue with their fathers because they want to
go to a Metal show.
* few humans who survived a nuclear war which made the world an ice
desert.
* a crazy obsessed man with a diamond chest he's found only to discover
it's empty.
* the poor dying in poverty with parents unable to feed their children.
* the Apocalypse horsemen come to bring final justice.
All the titles of the songs are mentioned on the island map.
Engineering and sound quality
Recorded at Soundhouse studio in Hamburg in 2 months, the songs were remastered by Andy Pearce and Matt Wortham. Now the track list has changed and the sound is even more based on guitars and vocals at the expense of the bass guitar parts in the mix, which are always hearable even though they were lowered in order to stress out the anthems.
The 2017 remasters make the sound thicker and more scratching than the 1991 re-recorded versions of some tracks, everything sounds so tight, and the gun effects are powerful and realistic. What more could one ask?
Track-by-track musical analysis
The tracks are inspired by a small amount of Heavy Metal subgenres: Power, Speed and, for very short spans, Thrash Metal.
The deluxe expanded edition album is composed by two CDs each including 8 tracks, and the former begins with the song donating the title to the album: sailing noises, shouts commanding to fill in the cannons and gun shots prepare for the musical assault. Simple and involving, the song uses energetic and angry vocals, frantic drumming before the first guitar solo and the return of the triumphant chorus to sing with your mugs high until the pirates' shouts describe the boarding of a preyed vessel until the track is over. What a band, what an album, what a song!
"War in the Gutter" is Speed Metal sustained by fast kick drumwork all along the composition; we are also stricken by the beauty of a guitar solo, the impact of the backing vocals and lastly by the conclusive scream about 20 seconds before the end.
Started by bike engines revving up so hard that they would make Manowar blush, "Raw Ride" is based on a crushing riff and fat bass lines. Rock 'n' Rolf's harsh vocals are very reverberated and there are also other vocal parts that grow in intensity thanks to an effect in the blink of an eye. There is another catchy and aggressive refrain, later a riff in the breakdown climaxes like there's no tomorrowe and creates the mood for a speeding motorcycle and an axe solo paying homage to Iron Maiden.
Needless to say this number is fit to wake up distracted or lazy live audiences, or as a background while driving a car or lifting weights.
The riff at the beginning of "Beggar's Night" proceeds swift and on a high register accompanied by tight kickdrums and an exhalation just before another riff, pressing and obstinate, sets in. Here the pirate vocals adapt themselves to the verses and refrain and the drums become brakeless on the snare drum and then imitate the advancing of a tank while being supported by two guitar solos of different form, the latter in the vein of Iron Maiden again.
The verse is repeated until a brief Thrash Metal part arrives to anticipate two more guitar solos, this time lively and piercing on Judas Priest's trail. Succesively, it's time for a comeback of the refrain and closing drum rolls before a loud and reverberated exhalation similar to the opening one. Amazing song and one of the heaviest of all the platter.
"Raise Your Fist" shows a sort of upbeat Power Metal which became a standard for the genre (and later a stereotyped pattern) in the years to come until we get to the purely Pirate Metal refrain. All is made one more time this way, with the vocals shamelessly inviting to sing along. The guitar solo is rapid, a bit more skillful than the average for Running Wild, and lengthy, and it seems that every detail is studied minutely.
There's still time to repeat the refrain and the previous verses, and while this happens we perceive this piece is able to fill us with a large amount of positive stimulating vibrations and to make our heads nod and our feet move in time. As if it were not enough, the song is closed by a fast guitar solo that speeds up and is faded out along with the rest. A monster of a song that works perfectly even in 2024.
Sinister sounds and frozen strong winds matched with funeral bass strokes commence "Land of Ice". Next, guitar strokes on the low scale and drum beats bring the composition forward with a slow pace. The vocals arrive and they can be hieratical and piratesque at the same time, whereas the refrain veers to the wicked side also using whispered singing. All of the track relies on a mid-tempo and the axe solo remains on a similar speed. There is a network between a riff and drum parts a bit more elaborate than usual ensued by the verse repetition growing till the refrain enters and on this occasion it is sung loud and in a buccaneeresque way. Some say it's a proto-Viking Metal song but I believe it is more of an Epic/Doom Metal one. It is a particular song with some strange drumming, sometimes even slower than the other instruments and once on the verge of stopping and remaining silent where there should have been a beat.
"Diamonds of the Black Chest" gets down to the brass tacks and utilizes a catchiness that conquers us immediately. A Power Metal ride and a delightful guitar solo embellish the central block of the track, followed by the reappearance of the initial verse and refrain bound to set roots in our brain after the first listen. When the pirate laughs hysterically and opens his chest full of doubloons and other golden coins, we know the song is over.
Evil Speed Metal riffing with a hail of stone-like kick drums, vocals homaging Venom, a refrain dried to the bone and a sharp guitar solo as fast as lightning. The formula is repeated but this time the axe solo is closer to Helloween and Gamma Ray, followed by another more controlled guitar solo that fades out finishing the record.
The second CD contains an unreleased studio track and songs re-recorded in 1991 and 2003. The 1991 compositions originally appeared on "First Years of Piracy".
It starts with the title track devoid of the intro, which is the 1991 re-recorded version. The sound is a bit more modern with the guitar and the drums in the spotlight of the mix. The vocals are almost never piratesque, instead they sound closer to 90s Power Metal, and this version is a little less involving. It seems the magic has gone and the band has lost its soul and its special characteristics in favour of a standard musical delivery.
With the 1991 re-recorded version of "Raw Ride" things go better but also this track is inferior to the original. The bike intro has been cut off and the guitar is less powerful than in the 1987 version. Moreover, Kasparek's voice doesn't have the effects it first had and only one new effect has been used here.
The 1991 re-recorded version of "Raise Your Fist" does not convince most of the time. The reverberated vocals strike the listener and the powerful guitar and rhythmic section, too, but the refrain, which is the core of the song sounds a bit too simplistic: it sounds as if they had taken a church choir to do that and lacks sharpness and impact. Moreover, it is indeed too fast and thus it sounds terribly wrong. The first axe solo is fantastic and the shredded faded out guitar one is definitely a noteworthy conclusion but it is not enough to save a song that has lost its slow refrain vs fast parts nice contrast in favour of an all superfast composition structure.
Another song re-recorded in that year, "Diamonds of the Black Chest", flows away without scratching like its previous incarnation did, but it is a decent version at least.
"Beggar's Night" of 1992 is an alternative version and it sounds just as it should musicwise, while the vocals are mixed lower and are not aggressive at all, and in addition the exhalations of the original version are missing here. Luckily, this does not prevent it from being a very interesting different take. On this occasion, too, the guitar solos are always top-notch quality. This is one of the reasons why it is worth buying this edition.
The rare "Apocalyptic Horsemen" is an unreleased track based on a stubborn riff and the guitar strokes make it closer to Hard Rock, until fast drumwork brings the song towards Power Metal shores. The guitar strokes come back and then a guitar solo in the vein of the more melodic Judas Priest arrives. The verse comes back and the refrain, too and I have to say I really love this composition. I believe it was excluded from the 1987 album because it was quite different to the rest of the material and not because it is a mediocre number.
The title track also appears in a re-recorded version of 2003, but I have to say that besides a louder mix and tiny details there are no big differences. It just seems remastered but not re-recorded.
"Raise Your Fist" in the 2003 re-recorded version sounds more explosive with particular care to stressing out the squealing and palm-muted riffs. The drums are more penetrating, too, yet the most important aspect is that the right speed of the track has been reestablished just like in the original version, and it is the only pace this type of song may work without becoming ridiculous. Lastly, this version contains an amazing guitar solo and it's worth the deluxe edition itself.
Value
The
historical value of the original issue is higher, but if you are a
hardcore fan of the German combo you need to have this version to have
a complete product around the "Under
Jolly Roger" concept and be able to compare it with the
following recordings to see how Kasparek's vision has transformed
itself in time.
Available versions
Besides the original vinyl and CD prints, and the following dozens of versions, this is the most complete version I have ever put my eyes onto and the one I prefer. As to the artwork you absolutely need to own a copy of the original vinyl pressing, so you can enjoy the painting at its fullest.
Conclusion
This album and this edition are far from perfect. Let's start with the cons:
1) With such an artwork and album title I would have found logic to write all the songs with pirate themes. Unfortunately, this divergence of opinions with Kasparek will never be healed, because even later Running Wild's album with most pirate songs contained just 5.
2) This is a deluxe edition and the lyrics are absent. Is it a way to force fans to have the original vinyl or CD pressings, too?
3) The 2003 version of the title track is not really re-recorded but it's the 1987 original proposed again. Fans would have appreciated a real unreleased track (demo or live would have made no difference).
The final mark is an average of the 2 disks that is also influenced by the lack of the lyrics. If I had to value just the original album the mark would be 20 points higher.
As for the pros, please notice that simplicity and catchiness are the key words in the songwriting, together with the experience of listening to a new genre.
Germany gave the world stunning classical music artists like Bach, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Brahms. Telemann, Handel, Strauss, Wagner and Hindemith, so it's natural that it gave birth to great Metal and Rock bands: Sodom, Accept, Kreator, Assassin, Helloween, Gamma Ray, Blind Guardian, Primal Fear, UDO, Craving, Suidakra, Grave Digger, Rage, Destruction, Edguy, Avantasia, Scorpions, Pink Cream 69, Iron Angel, Sieges Even, Mekong Delta, Vandenplas, Atrocity, Brainstorm, Love Like Blood, Sinner, Victory, Totenmond, Morgoth, Craaft, Project Pitchfork, Payne's Gray, Axel Rudi Pell, Cock and Ball Torture, Chronical Diarrhoea, Crematory, Dew-scented, Die Apokalyptischen Reiter, Falkenbach, Fleshcrawl, Freedom Call, Heaven Shall Burn, Holy Moses, Inner Axis, Jack Slater, Kingdom Come, Lacrimas Profundere, Profanity, Pyogenesis, Rammstein, Rough Silk, Sacred Steel, Saltatio Mortis, Stormwitch, Teeth Of Lamb, Leaves Eyes, Uli Jon Roth, Vendetta, Vinterriket, Warpath, Warrant, Protector, Desaster, Living Death, Deathrow, Warlock, Blutengel, Iron Savior, Vulture, S.D.I., Holy Moses, Paradox, Exumer, Bonfire, Victory, Violent Force, Darkness, Angel Dust, Toxic Shock, Ritual Steel, Crematory, Stranger, Black Fate, Absurd!, End Of Green, Necronomicon, Heavensgate, Scanner, Battle Beast, Lucifer's Friend, Mystic Circle, Izegrim, Anti Anti Anti, Stallion, Panzerkrieg 666, Saint's Anger, Darkened Nocturn Slaughtercult, Paragon Belial, Bethlehem, Incubator, Tod aus dem Wald, Tsatthoggua, Jumpin' Jesus, Blood, Zweilicht, Illum Adora, Ketzer, Nocturnal Witch, Sulphur Aeon, Naked Whipper, Sphinx, Nuctemeron, Ellende, Wizard, Tyrant, Gravestone, Defeated Sanity, Dark Millennium, Empyrium, Illuminate, R U Dead? and others playing Synthpop or Krautrock or Electronica.
The bad luck this album encountered was that 1987 was a year when several other important (and often jaw-dropping) records were released all around the globe, too; think of the full-lengths dropped by Bathory, King Diamond, Kreator, Anthrax, Savatage, Racer X, Def Leppard, Guns 'n' Roses, Voivod, Testament, Motley Crue, Manowar, Whitesnake, Dokken, Aerosmith, Motorhead, TNT, Black Sabbath, Grim Reaper, Deep Purple, Pretty Maids, Death, Sepultura, Necrophagia, Macabre, Possessed, Napalm Death, Sarcofago, Messiah, Infernal Majesty, Mayhem, Unseen Terror, Necrodeath, Necrovore, Slaughter, Dream Death, Triumph, Heart, McAuley Schenker Group, Treat, U2, Pink Floyd, INXS, Midnight Oil, Stage Dolls, Bonfire, Reo Speedwagon, Keel, Foreigner, Rush, Yes, The Cure, The Cult, Marillion, Armored Saint, Candlemass, Great White, UDO, Wasp, Y&T, Kiss, Twisted Sister, White Lion, Anthem, Celtic Frost, Impellitteri, Gary Moore, Bow Wow, Metallica and more that overshadowed the German crew.
Now you have the opportunity to discover or rediscover Running Wild when the pirate topic began, before becoming a fixation for many imitators... Many will disagree, but to me here is where Running Wild is at its finest.
Tracklist:
1. Under Jolly Roger
2. War in the Gutter
3. Raw Ride
4. Beggar's Night
5. Raise Your Fist
6. Land of Ice
7. Diamonds of the Black Chest
8. Merciless Game
Bonus tracks:
9. Under Jolly Roger (re-recorded version 1991)
10. Raw Ride (re-recorded version 1991)
11. Raise Your Fist (re-recorded version 1991)
12. Diamonds of the Black Chest (re-recorded version 1991)
13. Beggar's Night (1992 alternative version)
14. Apocalyptic Horsemen
15. Under Jolly Roger (re-recorded version 2003)
16. Raise Your Fist (re-recorded version 2003)
Discography:
-Rock from Hell (demo - 1981)
-Rock from Hell - German Metal Attack (split - 1983)
-Demo 2 (1983)
-Demo 3 (1983)
-Heavy Metal Like A Hammerblow (compilation - 1983)
-Demo 4 (1984)
-Victim of States Power (EP - 1984)
-Death Metal (split - 1984)
-Gates to Purgatory (full-length - 1984)
-Branded and Exiled (full-length - 1985)
-Metal Attack Vol. 1 (split - 1985)
-Under Jolly Roger (full-length - 1987)
-Ready for Boarding (live album - 1988)
-Port Royal (full-length - 1988)
-Death or Glory (full-length - 1989)
-Bad to the Bone (EP - 1989)
-Wild Animal (EP - 1990)
-Death or Glory Tour - live (video - 1990)
-Little Big Horn (EP - 1991)
-Blazon Stone (full-length - 1991)
-Gates to Purgatory / Branded and Exiled (compilation - 1991)
-The First Years of Piracy (full-length - 1991)
-Lead or Gold (single - 1992)
-Pile of Skulls (full-length - 1992)
-The Privateer (single - 1994)
-Black Hand Inn (full-length - 1994)
-Masquerade (full-length - 1995)
-The Rivalry (EP - 1998)
-The Rivalry (full-length - 1998)
-The Story of Jolly Roger (compilation - 1998)
-Revolution (single - 2000)
-Victory (full-length - 2000)
-The Brotherhood (full-length - 2002)
-The Legendary Tales (boxed set - 2002)
-Live (live album - 2002)
-Live (video - 2002)
-20 Years in History (compilation - 2003)
-Rogues en Vogue (full-length - 2005)
-Best of Adrian (compilation - 2006)
-The Final Jolly Roger (live album - 2011)
-The Final Jolly Roger (video - 2011)
-Shadowmaker (full-length - 2012)
-Resilient (full-length - 2013)
-Riding the Storm - The Very Best of the Noise Years (compilation -
2016)
-Rapid Foray (full-length - 2016)
-Inside My Crosshairs / Warmongers (split - 2016)
-Pieces of Eight (boxed set - 2018)
-The Rivalry / Victory (compilation - 2019)
-Crossing the Blades (single - 2019)
-Diamonds and Pearls (single - 2021)
-The Shellback (single - 2021)
-Hear it! Volume 117 (split - 2021)
-New Gems and Live Treasures (EP - 2021)
-Blood in Blood (full-length - 2021)
Line-up on this album:
Rock 'n' Rolf Kasparek - v., g. (ex-Granite Hearts, also in Giant X,
Toxic Taste)
Hasche - d. (ex-Granite Hearts, ex-Grober Unfug, also in The Gate
(live))
Michael 'Majik Moti' Kupper - g. (ex-Random, ex-D'Orca, ex-Gate, ex-Metallian, ex-Wild
Knight) (RIP in 2023)
Stephan Boriss - b.
Contacts:
Hamburg - D
E-mail:
Website homepage:
Official main links:
Facebook
Myspace
DON'T MISS THIS ALBUM'S VIDEO REVIEWS IN ENGLISH AND
ITALIAN:
English video review:
https://youtu.be/NJoiaDK0IIg
Italian video review:
https://youtu.be/R5KIcith2eM
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