RUNNING WILD — Gates to Purgatory (review)

RUNNING WILD — Gates to Purgatory album cover Album · 1984 · Speed Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
666sharon666
Gates to Purgatory is the first Running Wild album from 1984. While Running Wild will always be better known for their pirate themes that stuff didn't actually start until a few albums into their career, so on Gates to Purgatory we find what is essentially a very different band. That not only applies to their lyrical themes, but also their sound.

Running Wild's sound later took a turn towards power metal (and then even later towards a more straight traditional heavy metal sound) but their early works operate more within the traditional/speed metal area. The lyrics deal with more typical heavy metal themes such as Satan. It's a rather short record of approx 34 minutes and eight songs, though later editions add bonus tracks from the prior Victim of States Power EP, which also features Gates to Purgatory's lead song, which is an excellent speed metal track that sets the bar high for the album to follow. This isn't classic Running Wild in the sense that it's from the time period that they're most known for, but it is a really good debut album with several highlights that deserve recognition amongst the band's very best songs, not least the album's closing track and my personal favourite from the album, Prisoner of Our Time. 4 Stars.
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666sharon666 wrote:
more than 2 years ago
Agreed!
adg211288 wrote:
more than 2 years ago
Their best non-power metal IMO.

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