Running Wild
Shadowmaker

You too have fallen into the trap, you too have been sucked into the whirlpool of money and fame. You too, Rolf Kasparek, after deciding to end the career of Running Wild, have returned to the game. Three years ago your words were these: "to all the real fans of Running Wild, after thirty years I feel it is time to lower the flag and sails and face new challenges."

Why, after leaving the scene with dignity and announcing the "end," have you returned to the ship? It's a bit of a question that all those who have followed the old "Rock 'n' Rolf" and listened to the latest "Shadowmaker," the return after announcing the end of the activity of Running Wild (always the creation of Kasparek, almost a "one-man band") are asking.

There are many reasons why it would have been wiser not to listen to "Shadowmaker" and pretend that the Teutonic pirates had concluded their career with "Masquerade" (the last one of note). Unfortunately, however, reality contradicts these hopes and not even all the goodwill in the world towards the band and Rolf can erase the absolute mediocrity of this latest chapter.

That the "pirate" had never written "complex" metal is well-known, but in the last studio work, all the flaws in the writing that had already displeased in the last CDs ("The Brotherhood" and "Rogues en Vogue" above all) come to light. Yet, despite the most negative predictions, I never would have expected Kasparek's flair to reach the lame levels achieved in "Shadowmaker." In this latest full-length, there is absolutely nothing of what made albums like "Under Jolly Roger" and "Port Royal" examples of piratical heavy metal: the riffs and vocal lines are the same as twenty years ago, as are the guitar solos and the choruses (where they are noticeable). "Shadowmaker" is, starting from the cover, a feckless work, absolutely devoid of ideas, lacking in punch, and devoid of even a hint of decent songwriting. Only the opening tracks "Piece of the Action" and "Riding on the Tide" are barely acceptable, while the rest is a jumble of hard rock and heavy metal without head or tail, reaching its two lowest points in the songs "Me & the Boys" and the final "Dracula": the former is a piece that wishes to seem anthemic but proves "childish" and is elaborated on a terrible text, while the final song is the current incarnation of Running Wild: a track so flat and scant that even the chorus (always a strong point of Rolf) cannot emerge and seems a continuation of the verse.

In the end, after reading about Kasparek's change of heart, I had hoped that the pirate would return with at least a decent work. Instead, Rock 'n' Rolf this time has flopped big, producing a work that casts heavy shadows even on what was done well in the past.

1. "Piece Of The Action" (4:36)
2. "Riding On The Tide" (4:25)
3. "I Am Who I Am" (4:52)
4. "Black Shadow" (5:19)
5. "Locomotive" (4:40)
6. "Me & The Boys" (5:03)
7. "Shadowmaker" (4:38)
8. "Sailing Fire" (4:23)
9. "Into The Black" (4:51)
10. "Dracula" (7:25)