Running Wild

Turbo’s Tribunal – Mills of Tribunal Review

By Grin Reaper on January 30, 2026 in Reviews, Heavy Metal, 13 comments

“Melodic heavy metal outfit Turbo’s Tribunal heralds the arrival of Mills of Tribunal, hoping to light a fire that warms the dark recesses of our cynical hearts. Hailing from Denmark, Turbo’s Tribunal is the invention of mastermind and sole contributor Andreas Thunbo. Having toiled on demos, EPs, and splits over the last couple of decades, Mills of Tribunal presents Thunbo’s first full-length endeavor. Citing legendary acts like Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, and Running Wild as creative touchstones, can Turbo’s Tribunal live up to the lofty expectations.” Turbo-tastic?

Barbarian – Reek of God Review

By Mark Z. on January 23, 2026 in Reviews, Black Metal, Heavy Metal, Speed Metal, Thrash Metal, 12 comments

“Sometime in the 2010s, I started disliking music with too many flourishes and began seeking out stuff that was more stripped-down, unpolished, and primitive. At this time, Barbarian were the perfect find. Depending on the album, this Italian trio has referred to themselves as “Regressive Metal,” “Absolute Metal,” or, in the case of their sixth album, Reek of God, “Retrogarde Metal” (typo and all). Led by vocalist and guitarist “Borys Crossburn,” their sound is essentially early Celtic Frost if they were fronted by a guitar-wielding grizzly bear who had a bizarre penchant for the occasional Running Wild-style melody.” Smells like God in here!

Revenge – Night Danger Review

By Creeping Ivy on October 25, 2025 in Reviews, Heavy Metal, Speed Metal, 17 comments

“Like all subgenres, speed metal exists at the nexus of other genres: namely, classic heavy metal and thrash. Whether a band leans towards a classic or thrashy version of the sound becomes the primary distinguisher. Night Danger, the latest LP from longstanding Colombian band Revenge, is a speed metal record in the vein of Running Wild and Razor. But Revenge leans in a classic direction, claiming Judas Priest and Helloween as inspirations.” Night danger is the best danger.

Feanor – Hellhammer Review

By Samguineous Maximus on September 23, 2025 in Reviews, Heavy Metal, Power Metal, 35 comments

“Within the sprawling cosmos of heavy metal, there are those who shy away from “cheese.” The self-serious arbiters of credibility who cannot fathom the spectacle of a Jørnlike figure, clad in frills, golden mane cascading, arms outstretched as soliloquies of passion pour forth in gloriously ESL-stained accents. Yet for those of us who have dared sail the seas of cheese, who have cast aside the brittle armor of irony, such bombast is not an embarrassment but a revelation, a childlike ecstasy born from grown men shrieking about dragons or Tolkien over galloping power chords as though their lives depended on it. It is precisely for this rapturous abandon, this embrace of the sublime absurd, that we turn to a band like Feanor.” Cheese is the new kale.

Dragonknight – Legions Review

By Eldritch Elitist on January 22, 2025 in Reviews, Power Metal, 25 comments

“A not-insignificant number of my favorite power metal acts are “noun noun” bands. Power Quest. Twilight Force. Fellow Ship. There’s something about smashing two overwrought people, places, and/or things together that perfectly fits power metal’s prerequisite for excess, and Dragonknight is one of my favorite band names to come out of the genre in recent memory. I’m a little less enthused that their identities are hidden behind their confusingly uniform, copy-paste Slipknot masks, but between their ludicrously opulent logo and Legions’ hilariously literal cover art, Dragonknight is one of the more immediately striking power metal acts to debut on Scarlet Records.” DraGONS own the Knight.

AMG Goes Ranking – DragonForce

By Eldritch Elitist on March 19, 2024 in AMG Rankings, Blog Posts, Power Metal, 74 comments

Before the review of the new Dragonforce platter hits, the power nerds at AMG wanted to nerd out with a ranking of their noddle-fests. We let them for some reason.

Eternity’s End – Embers of War Review

By Holdeneye on November 26, 2021 in Reviews, Heavy Metal, Power Metal, Speed Metal, 36 comments

“A week ago, progressive/technical death metal titans Obscurareleased a well-received album that featured the return of longtime guitarist Christian Münzner. Münzner had left the band in 2014 after developing focal dystonia, an overuse condition that left his fretting hand neurologically compromised. Needing a break from the relentless touring cycle of a band like Obscura, Münzner turned to other projects. Recruiting former Obscura bandmates Linus Klausenitzer and Hannes Grossmann, Münzner formed Eternity’s End with the goal to produce high-quality progressive power metal.” Powerful hobbies.

Running Wild – Blood on Blood Review

By Steel Druhm on October 29, 2021 in Reviews, Heavy Metal, 28 comments

“I’ve said it before. Pirating is a tough racket. No sooner do you find a bountiful treasure than you find yourself forcibly separated from said booty by rival marauders. There’s no dispute that Running Wild invented the whole “pirate metal” schtick way back in 1987 with their Under Jolly Roger opus, and they’ve tenaciously clung to the gimmick riggings ever since, releasing some 13 albums of vaguely buccaneer-themed heavy metal. Their last voyage was 2016s Rapid Foray, which wasn’t their most sea-worthy endeavor, but now they return to the swashing and buckling only to face stiff competition from younger, hungrier acts like Blazon Stone, who’ve pilfered all but the moniker from the original sea dogs.” Blood and gimmicks.

Blazon Stone – Damnation Review

By Steel Druhm on September 15, 2021 in Reviews, Heavy Metal, 53 comments

“There are plenty of well-documented examples of a younger band blatantly ripping off the sound, style, and mystique of an older, more established act. Agalloch brutally stole Ulver’s schtick. Primal Fear looted the Judas Priest playbook lock, stock, barrel, and leather chaps. None of these however were as flagrant as the wholesale thievery perpetrated by Blazon Stone upon the unsuspecting buccaneers in Running Wild. You see, Blazon Stone stole not only Running Wild’s entire sound and pirate concept, but named themselves after one of their records, and the title of their debut album Return to Port Royal directly references Running Wild’s Port Royal platter. In a nutshell, they raided Running Wild’s booty hard enough to cause generational shame and trauma.” Seven seas and five sticky fingers.

Neck Cemetery – Born in a Coffin Review

By Holdeneye on October 9, 2020 in Reviews, Heavy Metal, 67 comments

“Hello, neighbor. Would you like to play a game with me? Yes? How about the “guess the genre” game. You know, the one where you look at an album’s cover to see if you can predict what it will sound like? How about we start with the band name? Neck Cemetery. Yikes. That’s a bad name.” Wreckin’ necks.