The Rivalry

It’s been 20 years since the release of The Rivalry and it’s been about 10 since I’ve had my first exposure to this beast. A true beast of a Running Wild CD not only because of the undeniably heavy, robust and at times high-octane-driven energy on display – gaining additional impact by the massive, pounding guitar sound (their best ever) – but also because of the hook-laden and highly memorable writing that’s almost unparalleled by Running Wild standards (I’d only put Death or Glory and perhaps Black Hand Inn on the same pedestal in this category).

But when a band is this late in their career, the chance of wear and tear showing up becomes a greater one and the appearance of some creative slump has to be expected. So yeah, the album’s length does hurt The Rivalry a little, since the second half is not nearly as strong as the first. Running Wild always loved to show their roots in classic heavy metal/rock from time to time, doing so with great success (“Bad to the Bone” and “Freewind Rider” are eternal hits of the band) but it’s overdone on the latter half of the album without ever reaching the qualities of earlier output in the same vein.

“Fire and Thunder” at least has a good chorus, but “The Poison” and “Man on the Moon” really fall flat on their faces and urge you to push that skip button hard and fast. Like a foreshadowing of what would happen in later years, the increase of recycled riffs and structures (“War and Peace” – even though an enjoyable ride in itself – is built on the same foundations as “Ballad of William Kidd” and therefore feels like a lesser version of that song) as well as a noticeable lack of finesse and detail in the drumming (many times even the better songs are carried by a dead-simple, almost mechanical sounding AC/DC-styled beat with double bass rumbling below) do taint the overall experience to some degree…such lazy wrongdoings and the tendency to repeat certain guitar patterns a little too often (look at the album length…) would not have been necessary at all - cut these fillers out and you’ve got your personal Painkiller, damnit!

Speaking of the resemblance to Judas Priest’s Painkiller - in terms of a seasoned band releasing strong, heavy output well deep into their career - and putting the aforementioned flaws aside, the comparison is not that far off, actually. After the atmospheric, fist-pumping introduction, the album’s title track rips your head off with one of the catchiest and gripping guitar/lead-combinations ever. A furious palm-muted tremolo guitar riff topped with a simple but effective lead melody grabs you by the neck and won’t let go until the song is over - not until track 8 to be precise, since the first half of The Rivalry is certainly one of the strongest offerings this band has concocted in their prime. Be it the epic stomp of “Return of the Dragon” the blazing speed metal of “Firebreather” or the mighty opus that is “Ballad of William Kidd”, there is a lot to (re-)discover here. Especially grandiose is the soloing on basically every track by mastermind Rolf Kasparek himself (general props to the rare breed of front men possessing the ability to sing main vocals plus handling lead guitar duties excellently!) who’s got the feeling for the perfect mix of shredding and highly memorable melodic licks.

All of this is highlighted by a bottom-heavy, crispy yet clear production with only one minor (recurring) fault, that being Rock ’n’ Rolf’s reverb-drenched voice. I don’t know why he chose to do this again (listen to Pile of Skulls for an even worse example of reverb abuse, doing serious damage to an otherwise nicely recorded CD) but at least you get used to it after a while.

Bottom line is – The Rivalry celebrates its 20th birthday this year and it has aged well. In case you enjoyed Running Wild’s earlier output and have not heard this yet, there is NO reason not to get this, as it is a stronger effort than quite a few of its predecessors and most definitely their very last peak, as the band has become a fading shadow of its former self, with Rolf churning out rehashed collections of his worst ideas since the turn of the millennium.

In general - if you like your heavy metal fast-as-a-shark and with a ton of hooks but don't want to worry about commercial flirtations, this one is gonna be right up your alley. You have been living under a rock if you haven't heard this by now anyway!

originally written for http://antichristmagazine.com

Here we have the middle of the three “breaker” albums. Fans cut off Running Wild’s success around this time, with this album being the center of that debate. Some think Masquerade is where things started to fall apart and others believe Victory showed the first severe signs that the band, or specifically Rolf, was beginning to falter. I personally fall in the latter group, making this (to me) the last full, unadulterated Running Wild experience. Sure, Rolf begins padding some of the song lengths and there aren’t as many master tracks, but what exists is fresh and fearsome, with some truly outstanding pieces here and there.

Production can be considered a step down when regarding the full, rich textures of the past, what, five albums? Even then, it fulfills the job of guaranteeing riff supremacy, a bulky rhythm section, and Rolf roaring endlessly. His vocals have become synonymous with manly, gruff German heavy metal; definitely one of my favorites. I love hearing him wail and sing with no wuss-factor and all while maintaining a commanding presence and a healthy dose of catchiness in those infectious choruses. One main complaint you’ll find with this album is that it can get pretty damn long or exhausting with the number of tracks - the longest Running Wild album in both cases, in fact. It beats Black Hand Inn by a few minutes and Victory by one track (not counting bonuses, of course). Whereas that Black Hand Inn had one long-ass song, this one has a few that actually don’t get drowned out that badly (some not at all). Face it, tracks like the epic “Ballad Of William Kidd” and “Return Of The Dragon” are too good to turn off, and the shorter tracks around them are also barrels of fun.

While a change of pace, Rolf hasn’t forgotten his duty to bring majestic, aggressive leads and some grit to the German heavy metal scene. Much like Chris Boltendahl from Grave Digger, Rolf doesn’t squeal or go falsetto on us. No, he protrudes his dusty vocals with all the power in his gut, wailing and howling loudly without undercutting his catchy performances on all the tracks. Some of his best moments here can be heard on “Ballad Of William Kidd,” “Adventure Galley,” “Return Of The Dragon” (corny intro aside), and “War & Peace”; on these in particular Rolf sounds extremely proud of his job. Next to Kasparek is Hermann once more with sweeps and riffs harmonious and plentiful; where Iron Maiden fell, Running Wild rose. The crunchiness in the guitar tone isn’t as powerful this time around, but it’s still a precise distortion. Bass grumbles on the lower end much like the previous albums – a boat rudder merely following the guitars. Where was Jens Becker at this time? In Grave Digger, eh? Well good for them because at this point we could have used him. No disrespect to Smuszynski, though, as his contributions are the finesse of the depth. Drumming isn’t hellish, but one can expect the same consistent, mid-paced battery of booming snares, rumbling double bass, and other allotted sorts.

Running Wild has always had depth in their music, even in the early demo days where raw quite literally meant death and heavy metal. Almost a couple decades later we have The Rivalry, a special release that used the same Running Wild formula for the past few albums while attempting to switch up the tracks a little bit. This wasn’t the fault, but what was to come surely began the downward spiral into, well, utter shit. Was it the horizon beyond the start of the next technological era that got to Rolf’s head? Who knows, but even then that first mishap was still enjoyable. It’s the ones after it that hurt, as they aren’t Running Wild giving it their all - they aren’t Rolf giving it his all.

Think about it. This album shares many similarities to the Judas Priest's finest hour. Both bands released their best albums (yes, I'm calling this the best RW album) well into their career. While not a huge break from their previous music, this and "Painkiller" represent everything awesome about the band. What we have here are songs that are instantly catchy, kick profound amounts of ass and hold up under repeated listens. The only difference between this and "Painkiller" is that the latter is recognized and hailed by much of the community, while this album is unfortunately overlooked.

Running Wild has always been one thing. No, not pirates. They've always been consistent. You put in a RW album, and you get speedy, memorable metal with a fuckload of nice riffs and catchy, shout-along choruses. How does "The Rivalry" differentiate itself from other releases by the band. Well, as previously mentioned, this is where the band gets their shit in top-form. Everything is better than ever and it really shows. Time for a song by song run-through:

- "March of the Final Battle" - a two-minute long introduction track that should get you sufficiently pumped for what's to come.

- "The Rivlary" - the album really kicks off with the probably my favorite track. Fucking speedy with an awesome riff set and a great chorus. The song is a bit on the long side, but I never find it to drag on.

- "Kiss of Death" - this is a fun little song that continues in the speedy-vein of the title track. This song WILL get stuck in your head. Listen for the grunt in the middle of the song: fucking great!

- "Firebreather" - this song isn't quite as absolutely fucking awesome as the last two, but it definitely speeds things up even more without letting up.

-"Return of the Dragon" - this song is quite good. The guitarwork is excellent, but the chorus is a bit silly-sounding, although catchy as always.

- "Ressurection" - this is probably my least favorite song on the album, but in no way is it bad. It's just the lyrics are fucking silly and the stupid bit about heaven and hell sounds like a fucking Bon Jovi lyric. Also the chorus, albeit memorable, is dumb.

- "Ballad of Willliam Kidd" - maybe I was so tough on the last song because of what follows: this gem. The band slows things down and delivers the first epic of the album, with well-written lyrics and guitars that place melody above speed and precision.

- "Agents of Black" - just as the last song, a slower number, finishes, you're instantly kicked in the nuts by pure speed metal. Lethal and relentless, this song shreds through in four minutes, complimented by a speedy chorus a la "Firebreather", but only better this time around.

- "Fire & Thunder" - this song rules. Unlike the last song and most of the album, this one is just mid-paced, but doesn't sacrifice any ownage as a result. I'm almost tired of saying "great chorus" in every description, but this needs to be emphasized. This song is all hooks and for that reason, it ranks high on this album. In other words, one of the best RW songs.

- "The Poison" - back to speed metal. Nice lyrics. Not quite as speedy as "Agents of Black", but the chorus is just catchy. Nice riffs on this song.

- "Adventure Galley" - the speed continues. The thing most standout about this track is the nature of the chorus, which differentiates by being a bit more subdued than anything else on this album, but the change works, and this song is great as a result.

- "Man on the Moon" - another favorite for me, probably my second favorite song. This song just kills and representative of why this band is just so awesome; on paper, the band may not sound like anything special, but RW manages to execute everything with such precision and excellence that you can't just help but love songs like this. The chorus and the "hold on..." part, accompanied by some nice guitar, make this a standout track among other excellent songs.

- "War & Peace" - this song closes the album and does an absolutely competent job. At times, it feels like part 2 of "Ballad of William Kidd", but the strength of the chorus and catchy melody keep this song great after many listens.

In retrospect, maybe a track by track review wasn't the best course of action. By reading it, you may think this album is repetitive. It's not. Sure, the band is consistent, but when you're Running Wild, consistenty pays off when you kick ass. And that's exactly what this album does, even moreso than the rest of the band's quite accomplished discography. Reccomended to all fans of heavy, speedy metal.

Actually (to make a small correction to the review before mine) "The Rivalry" is released BEFORE "Victory" - so this one can be classified as the last good Running Wild album - after that the band sadly slides down into mediocracy very quickly...

Basically what you get on here is, musically, a watered down version of "Black Hand Inn". Every single Running Wild trademark is here (the instrumentl intro for example - the instantly recognisable riffs and voice) but somehow it doesn't quite impress as much as during the "early 90's" phase of the band. Also, the production is a bit thin and dry at time - not bad - but certainly not able to withstand comparission with "Pile Of Skulls", "Black Hand Inn" or the thunderous "Masquerade" (which Imo had one of the most powerfull productions so far on a Rw release).

Most of the songs are quite decent, with a handfull of highlights such as the titeltrack, the speedy "Adventure Galley" and the two "epic" tracks "Fire & Thunder" & "War & Peace". The rest isn't quite as strong, but still good enough to make the album an enjoyable trip for every Running Wild fan...

If you're new to the band - you're probably better off checking out either "Pile Of Skulls" or "Black Hand Inn" out first...