Running Wild--Port Royal

Running Wild--Port Royal (1988) Rating--7.5

Very fast and rocking Euro-metal, in the vein of ultra-fast Maiden, Accept, and Priest. The band will later evolve into a Rage-like juggernaut... but that's a few albums down the road.
The musical talent is definitely here on this release, but while the songwriting is fairly intricate not a whole lot of it is magnificantly memorable. Again, that will be remedied in the future. Vocal-wise, Rock n' Rolf seems to fluctuate between the gruffness of a Blaze Bailey and the range of Blind Guardian's lead man.
The riffs are abundant, showing up in force on "Into the Arena," "Uaschitschun," "Blown to Kingdom Come," and "Mutiny".
Great lead work and double-bass offerings appear in both "Conquistadores" and "Warchild," and "Calico Jack" is an epic free-for-all pirating adventure---much along the lines of Helloween's 'Halloween' in style and phrasing.
Good metal now, and absolutely great five years later.
TRACK LIST: Intro/Port Royal/Raging Fire/Into the Arena/Uaschitschun/Final Gates/Conquistadores/Blown to Kingdom Come/ Warchild/Mutiny/Calico Jack

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