UMUR "Death Metal" is a 4way-split release featuring German artists Running Wild, Helloween, Dark Avenger, and Swiss group Hellhammer. The split was released in October 1984 through Noise Records. None of the band´s have had their breakthrough at this point, and all material on the split are demo recordings. Each artist are featured with two tracks.

"Death Metal" opens with the two tracks by Running Wild, which are culled from their 1984 "Demo 4". They are fairly well played but not particularly interesting heavy metal/speed metal tracks. Hellhammer is up next, and their two tracks are culled from the March 1984 recording sessions which ended up becoming the "Apocalyptic Raids" EP. The two tracks featured on this split, are however leftover tracks from the recording sessions, which originally didn´t make it unto "Apocalyptic Raids". Stylistically Hellhammer played a primitive and raw blackened speed metal style, which subsequently influenced a lot of extreme metal artists. They are arguably the most raw and extreme band on the split.

The Dark Avenger tracks are epic heavy/speed metal tracks, which are well performed, well written, and relatively well produced. As far as I know the two tracks are exclusive to this release. Dark Avenger only released a 1985 demo in addition to the material featured here and then folded. The two Helloween tracks are culled from their June 1984 "Death Metal Demo". Helloween play a more powerful, sharp, and hard edged version of the speed metal style Dark Avenger introduced on the tracks before these ones. The Helloween tracks are also well produced.

Although Hellhammer stick out a bit with their more savage sounding music style "Death Metal" is a pretty good quality split release, featuring some decent quality demo material (in some cases pretty good quality) and some of these bands would of course go on to future greatness. It´s only Dark Avenger who has more or less disappeared from metal history other than their contributions to this split. A 3 star (60%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Under Jolly Roger" is the 3rd full-length studio album by German speed/power metal act Running Wild. The album was released through Noise International in May 1987. It´s the successor to "Branded and Exiled" from 1985 and features the same four-piece lineup who recorded the predecessor. Running Wild enjoyed a lot of success with the album, and it´s among their best selling releases, shifting around 250.000 copies.

Stylistically "Under Jolly Roger" is a transition album sandwiched between the band´s first two occult themed speed/heavy metal albums, and their later pirate themed power/heavy metal releases. "Under Jolly Roger" features a little from both worlds, but there is a noticeable change in musical direction (and especially in band image) compared to the first two albums. The music often features a more epic atmosphere and an uplifting spirit, and the occult darkness of the first releases is more or less gone here.

"Under Jolly Roger" is still a pretty gritty release though, so those who think all Euro power/heavy metal releases are polished and neo-classical influenced vanilla metal couldn´t be more wrong. Some of the grit is a result of the raw sound production but the basis on the music is still also a relatively raw speed/heavy metal influenced style. Rock 'n' Rolf probably isn´t what most listeners would think of as a classic power metal vocalist either, as his voice is rough and his delivery is only semi-melodic.

The album features strong musicianship and relatively intriguing songwriting, but to my ears "Under Jolly Roger" does suffer a bit as a result of the undecided musical direction. Some transition albums work pretty well and help bridge otherwise major transitions in an artist´s sound, and while "Under Jolly Roger" ultimately successfully does that too, it doesn´t work as well as a consistent release and listening experience. A 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is deserved.

SilentScream213 Naysayers might have been claiming Metal was dead by 1994, but Running Wild were running strong and delivering cut after cut of rough, nautical Power Metal. Black Hand Inn was just another notch in their belts in consistently quality releases. This one is much faster than the previous Pile of Skulls, reclaiming more of their original Speed Metal influence and keeping with their developed brand of Heavy/Power Metal.

The songs are what you’d expect, a nice middle ground between aggressive German Heavy Metal and melodic Euro Power Metal. Most songs are speedy and soaring, but they’ve got room for slower fist pumpers as well. I prefer when they go full speed ahead, but that’s not to say the slower songs aren’t quality Heavy Metal.

The album is probably their longest yet, ending on a 15-minute epic. The length seems daunting, but every time I put it on, it flies by pretty quickly; a testament to the consistent quality throughout.

UMUR "Branded and Exiled" is the 2nd full-length studio album by German speed/power metal act Running Wild. The album was recorded in August 1985 and released later that same year through Noise International. It´s the successor to "Gates to Purgatory" from 1984 and features one lineup change since the predecessor as guitarist Preacher (real name: Gerald Warnecke) has been replaced by Majk Moti. The former´s stage name was actually pretty suiting as he left to study theology and later became an evangelical priest. The remaining part of the four-piece lineup are intact: Rock 'n' Rolf (real name: Rolf Kasparek) on vocals and guitars, Stephan Boriss on bass, and Hasche (real name: Wolfgang Hagemann) on drums.

Stylistically the music on the 8 track, 35:49 minutes long album continues the raw and hard pounding speed/heavy metal style of "Gates to Purgatory (1984)", but it´s overall a little less savage and speed metal infused than the predecessor. Featuring song titles like "God of Iron", "Marching to Die", and "Chains and Leather", it´s pretty easy to imagine the lyrical content, and you´d be exactly right if you thought the songs evolved around subjects like evil, Tolkien fantasy tales, praise of heavy metal culture, and fighting the establisment. So this is pretty much the epitome of heavy metal from those days.

Running Wild are a well playing act, and you´ll find plenty of powerful guitar riffs, blazing solos, and hard pounding rhythm section, on the album, as well as Rock 'n' Rolf´s raw vocals in front (and the occasional high pitched scream). The album features a powerful and well sounding production too, so upon conclusion "Branded and Exiled" is a quality sophomore studio album by Running Wild. The only thing which is a slight negative about this album, is the lack of an original sound. There´s little here which says to the listener that you´re listening to a Running Wild album. At this point they did what they did well, but they lacked an original sound. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

SilentScream213 Running Wild are one of the earliest Power Metal bands around, starting as Speed/Heavy Metal but moving closer to true Power Metal by the end of the 80’s. With each release, they sailed further from mediocracy to uniquely speedy melodic pirate metal with delicious riffs and gruff but talented vocals. Death or Glory is the peak of their 80’s material and often cited as their magnum opus.

The opening track “Riding the Storm” is indeed possibly the finest Power Metal song that had been laid to record by 1989. The guitar leads weave melodic, infectious riffs around a constantly pummeling rhythm section that keeps the song at full energy the whole ride through. The vocal performance is just awesome. Never a dull moment in the epic rocking of over 6 minutes. The title track “Death or Glory” captures this in a similar vein. Though much shorter, the atmosphere is just as epic and powerful, and that chorus stands against the best. Two prime examples of what a perfect Power Metal song should be.

Unfortunately, while the rest of album is great, there’s nothing else that can really hold its own against the aforementioned tracks. It mostly just blends together as strong but unmemorable material. It’s also a bit of a problem when the album starts on its highest note and ends on its lowest (the slower “March On” leaves a bit to be desired and sounds like an arena rocker). Truly, Running Wild wrote some of the best Power Metal songs of all time, but Death or Glory as an album doesn’t quite match such standards.