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Review: Running Wild - The Rivalry
Running Wild
www.running-wild.de
The Rivalry

Label: Gun Records
Year released: 1998
Duration: 68:53
Tracks: 13
Genre: Heavy Metal

Rating:
4.5/5


Review online: November 2, 2007
Reviewed by: Sargon the Terrible
Readers' Rating
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Rated 4.19/5 (83.85%) (78 Votes)
Review

Pretty much no Running Wild album after Black Hand Inn gets any respect at all, and so a lot of people just avoid any albums after that one. The Rivalry is one that gets unfairly tarred as somehow inferior, when it's really one of their best albums. This is their tenth outing in the studio, and while there are no surprises at all for the longtime fan, this in no way sucks at all.

Some of the best riffs this band has ever put out are on here, and actually, I find The Rivalry overall superior to albums like Pile Of Skulls or Death Or Glory. True, there is no masterpiece on here like "Treasure Island", but that is one of the band's best songs ever, so falling short of that is no failure. What this album does have is killers like the title track, "Firebreather", "Ballad Of William Kidd" and "The Poison". There are no weak songs on here (though "Man on the Moon" has a slightly too-happy sound to it) and the album is one of Running Wild's most consistent works. The lyrical themes stray a bit from piracy, but don't descend into the kind of crappy political commentary that marred Pile Of Skulls or Masquerade. The riffs, however, are pure gold, laying hard on those folk/reel-derived structures RW have always relied on for their 'Pirate' sound.

Everybody has a favorite Running Wild album, and lots of people will tell you "every album after X sucks ass", but they are mostly full of shit, and I advise you to investigate each one on your own, as mileage may vary quite a bit. For my money, though, this is one of their best albums, and deserves place of honor. Recommended.

More about Running Wild...
Review: Black Hand Inn (reviewed by Sargon the Terrible)
Review: Blood on Blood (reviewed by MetalMike)
Review: Blood on Blood (reviewed by Sargon the Terrible)
Review: Death Or Glory (reviewed by Zarzak)
Review: Pile of Skulls (reviewed by Sargon the Terrible)
Review: Port Royal (reviewed by Sargon the Terrible)
Review: Rapid Foray (reviewed by Bruno Medeiros)
Review: Rapid Foray (reviewed by MetalMike)
Review: Under Jolly Roger (reviewed by Nahsil)
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