Review by Daniel for Running Wild - Gates to Purgatory (1984)

The initial era of German heavy metal was dominated by two bands in Scorpions & Accept & we'd have to wait 'til the mid-80's before we'd see the introduction of another major contender. The artist I'm referring to is of course Running Wild & they’d go on to play an important role in the late 80’s & early 90’s metal scene. But for the purposes of this review, we’ll just be focusing our attentions on their debut studio album, 1984's “Gates To Purgatory”.

Running Wild first formed in Hamburg back in 1976 so they’d been around for a while by this stage & I think you can hear that maturity in the execution here. The band seem to know their sound quite well & don’t try to over-extend themselves on their first effort. Instead this four-piece outfit tend to keep things fairly simple & focus on the song-writing. The production has that authentic 80’s underground metal sound & I think it really works for Running Wild here.

Musically you can expect a fairly short album with just the eight songs included; three of which fall comfortably into the speed metal category with the other five being more in line with the classic heavy metal sound. As with most of the European metal scene at the time, the NWOBHM was certainly the major influence on Running Wild & I’d probably describe them as a mixture of Judas Priest & Venom with bits of Iron Maiden here & there. The Venom influence is really obvious in the speed metal tracks but also in the lyrics & image with “Gates To Purgatory” sporting mainly Satanic themes & imagery. It’s interesting because this is certainly not in line with the band’s later works which were amongst the first to tackle predominantly pirate-related themes. There’s a lot of Judas Priest in the riff assault on offer here while the dual guitar attack also reeks of Judas Priest's Tipton/Downing combo. The inclusion of guitar harmonies often leaves me thinking of Iron Maiden though. As does the obviously Maiden-esque “Genghis Khan” with its hilariously mispronounced chorus. This isn’t the only time you’ll hear that sort of thing on the album either. “Preacher” sees Running Wild taking a temporary side road through Black Sabbath territory while “Black Demon” seems to indicate that Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine might well have been a fan as it sports a pretty similar sound to some of Megadeth’s early-to-mid 90’s albums.

Front man Rock ‘n’ Rolf doesn’t sport the trademark high-pitched European heavy metal approach. He takes a much more gruff direction & I’d suggest that Venom’s Cronos & Tank’s Algy Ward might have been his two main influences. It’s interesting that I can hear a fair bit of the early European thrash metal bands like Sodom & Coroner in some of Rolf’s delivery & I’d be willing to bet that those bands were all over “Gates To Purgatory”. Particularly Sodom as you can hear it in the thrashier riffs here too.

But the big problem with Running Wild’s debut is in the song-writing I’m afraid. It’s just not a consistent enough album. I only like four of the eight songs with the B-side being pretty weak & seeing the album out in sluggish fashion. Many might disagree with me on this topic but I find the hooks to be too obvious & simple at times. I mean take a listen to the closing number “Prisoner Of Our Time” which is clearly the most popular track on the album. To my ears it just sounds pretty flat with very little energy & a chorus that’s trying way too hard. "Gates To Purgatory" is all a bit too accessible for a band with this sort of potential & I subsequently find it to be a disappointing listen even though it promised so much early on.