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Spiner202
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PostPosted: Mon Sep 06, 2021 10:09 am 
 

It looks like the only thread we've had on this album has been from Ced in the promo forum, but it deserves a spot over here too!

This is the first Blazon Stone album that features a full band lineup!



1.Damnation (intro)
2.Endless Fire Of Hate
3.Raiders Of Jolly Roger 04:40
4.Chainless Spirit
5.Black Sails On The Horizon
6.Wandering Souls
7.Hell On Earth
8.Bohemian Renegade
9.1671 (instrumental)
10.Highland Outlaw

Pre-orders here!

I've had a promo for a couple of weeks, so I had time to get my review out. I'm really enjoying the album - probably even more now that I finished reviewing it :lol:

It's largely more of the same. Even despite a new vocalist, this basically sounds identical to their previous work, which is definitely a good thing. I do think War of the Roses/Down in the Dark is probably their peak, so this album is more in line with Hymns of Triumph and Death in terms of quality, but it doesn't feel stale at all.

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Benedict Donald
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PostPosted: Mon Sep 06, 2021 1:09 pm 
 

The apprentice has certainly surpassed the master ...

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CannibalCorpse
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PostPosted: Mon Sep 06, 2021 1:19 pm 
 

Benedict Donald wrote:
The apprentice has certainly surpassed the master ...


While this is obviously true, I never get the same excitement out of anything Blazon Stone made when compared to Running Wild's 1988 - 1998 material. Not even close.
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Spiner202
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PostPosted: Mon Sep 06, 2021 1:25 pm 
 

Benedict Donald wrote:
The apprentice has certainly surpassed the master ...

Hot take but I think this happened very quickly. I like Running Wild a lot, but would way rather listen to Blazon Stone.

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Kalaratri
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Joined: Wed Aug 05, 2020 3:22 pm
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PostPosted: Mon Sep 06, 2021 2:39 pm 
 

Yeah, Blazon Stone have been better than Running Wild for a long time and this new album will be no different. This song is miles better than the single RW released from Blood on Blood and I imagine it'll be better than the vast majority of the rest of the songs from that album.

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The_Apex_of_Collapse
Metalhead

Joined: Wed Jul 22, 2009 11:29 pm
Posts: 1684
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Mon Sep 06, 2021 9:34 pm 
 

Gotta get that shirt/disc asap. Love everything Ced touches so this is a no brainer.
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LycanthropeMoon
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PostPosted: Mon Sep 06, 2021 10:59 pm 
 

No point in even listening to the next Running Wild album when this one's on the way.

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Crossbones
Metal newbie

Joined: Fri Aug 14, 2020 7:21 pm
Posts: 148
Location: United Kingdom
PostPosted: Mon Sep 06, 2021 11:50 pm 
 

Looking forward to this. Ced hasn't put out a bad album and Rolf could and should take notes from him.

That album art looks like a reference to Blackadder the Third, too.

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MawBTS
Metalhead

Joined: Sat Aug 30, 2014 2:16 am
Posts: 1046
PostPosted: Tue Sep 07, 2021 12:20 am 
 

I don't know.

I feel like I always do when a new Blazon Stone comes out: Ced perfectly copies every part of RW except its soul. It's so charmless and artificial. Even latter-day RW LPs like Victory are better than this.

Obviously this will be better than the new RW album - that's just because Rolf is 60 years old and finished. In another fifty years it'll be the original band's glory years people remember, not the copycats.

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IrrationalBigBoy
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Joined: Sun Sep 29, 2019 1:01 am
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PostPosted: Tue Sep 07, 2021 2:44 am 
 

MawBTS wrote:
I feel like I always do when a new Blazon Stone comes out: Ced perfectly copies every part of RW except its soul. It's so charmless and artificial. Even latter-day RW LPs like Victory are better than this.

Obviously this will be better than the new RW album - that's just because Rolf is 60 years old and finished. In another fifty years it'll be the original band's glory years people remember, not the copycats.


I feel completely the same way. I will admit my assessment of any Blazon Stone release can't really come from an unbiased place given how sentimentally important Running Wild is to me personally (especially as my first real metal band), but that being said, as impressed as I am at the musicianship, the most I tend to get out of it is a renewed appreciation for what made RW's classic material so special. Like you said, there's just all of the form but none of the soul. As underwhelming as most of Rolf's post-Victory cock rock stuff has been, it still feels more spirited than this. It's a shame, because I feel like there's a lot of untapped potential in the idea of utilizing the classic RW tropes but simultaneously taking them in a new direction.
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Spiner202
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PostPosted: Tue Sep 07, 2021 9:52 am 
 

If you guys haven't heard it, I would strongly recommend Blazon Stone's live album: Live in the Dark. It makes all of those songs come to life even more than they already do on the studio albums. It might help resolve that idea that Blazon Stone is a bit soulless. I would probably say it's my favourite record of theirs, which is unusual as there aren't many live albums I enjoy this much.

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idunnosomename
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Joined: Sun Dec 25, 2016 9:47 pm
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Location: England
PostPosted: Tue Sep 07, 2021 12:38 pm 
 

I like Down in the Dark a lot. Genuinely good album that stands on its own.

It's an odd thing because he really started BS after the "Final Jolly Roger" didn't he? In that brief period before Toxic Taste and Giant X tanked and we got the most feeble "comeback" ever.

Must be a bit awkward with Rolf still. I like both though.

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Crossbones
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Joined: Fri Aug 14, 2020 7:21 pm
Posts: 148
Location: United Kingdom
PostPosted: Tue Sep 07, 2021 5:39 pm 
 

Quote:
In that brief period before Toxic Taste and Giant X tanked and we got the most feeble "comeback" ever.


My god, I forgot about Toxic Taste. To my surprise, their one and only album is on Spotify and it's the sort of by-the-numbers awful buttrock that Rolf sadly fell in love with about twenty years ago. Imagine quickly canning Running Wild so you can become a red-headed space punk and rush out a plethora of songs that sound like rejected material from Eat The Heat.

I love Running Wild, I do. Their 'Golden Age' from 1987 - 1998 is such a strong run of albums from any subgenre of metal, but at some point people that should have been saying 'no' to Rolf didn't, hence Shadowmaker and many other missteps.

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doomicus
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PostPosted: Tue Sep 07, 2021 7:10 pm 
 

I'm a huge fan of classic Running Wild, but have never taken the plunge with Blazon Stone. Always have written them off as a superficial worship and tribute act. Judging by the positive reception here, though, they have quality worth investigating. What is their best album?
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idunnosomename
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Joined: Sun Dec 25, 2016 9:47 pm
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PostPosted: Tue Sep 07, 2021 7:30 pm 
 

I quite like a lot of the Giant X album (I mean it's essentially what is now Running Wild because of Peter Jordan doing the guitars). it's fun cheese for the most part. Toxic Taste was fucking terrible though.

doomicus wrote:
I'm a huge fan of classic Running Wild, but have never taken the plunge with Blazon Stone. Always have written them off as a superficial worship and tribute act. Judging by the positive reception here, though, they have quality worth investigating. What is their best album?


I remember thinking the same about Blazon Stone when they first came out with Return to Port Royal. just silly ripping off a band who play in B minor etc. but it's a really interesting project actually, imitating someone's songwriting template to make completely original songs. Ced has other projects of course too, so he doesn't need to coast off this, and probably doesn't profit much off it.

As I say, I love Down in the Dark. Hanged, Drawn and Quartered (not a cover of the RW B-side) and Merciless Pirate King are just brilliant speed metal songs. Return to Port Royal has also been re-recorded and is available on streaming services. Stand Your Line is a banger. And as said above, Live in the Dark is a great introduction to them as a proper band, and not just coasting off pretending to be RW.

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Spiner202
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PostPosted: Tue Sep 07, 2021 7:40 pm 
 

doomicus wrote:
I'm a huge fan of classic Running Wild, but have never taken the plunge with Blazon Stone. Always have written them off as a superficial worship and tribute act. Judging by the positive reception here, though, they have quality worth investigating. What is their best album?


I'll re-echo Live in the Dark as the best album. For as much as I love everything they've done, there's definitely some filler on every single album. Down in the Dark, War of the Roses, and Return To Port Royal are the most consistently great studio records (though I'd nod towards the re-recording of Return to Port Royal over the original).

If you want a sample of their best tracks: Stand Your Line (live or re-recorded), The Tale of Vasa (re-recorded version), Fire the Cannons, Soldier Blue, War of the Roses, Into Victory, Down in the Dark, Rock Out!, and Iron Fist of Rock would be my go-to picks.

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Rocka_Rollas
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Joined: Mon Feb 07, 2011 5:08 am
Posts: 1260
PostPosted: Wed Sep 08, 2021 12:17 am 
 

I appreciate all the positivity around this project, and whoever dislikes it; that's fine, I get your point.
While I write my own riffs and melodies, the STYLE and theme is Rolfs invention :)


idunnosomename wrote:
It's an odd thing because he really started BS after the "Final Jolly Roger" didn't he? In that brief period before Toxic Taste and Giant X tanked and we got the most feeble "comeback" ever.


Actually "Blazon Stone" was concieved way before that, maybe in 2007.
But I didn't release anything until 2013. :)

Crossbones wrote:
That album art looks like a reference to Blackadder the Third, too.


That is correct! :headbang:

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Spiner202
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PostPosted: Wed Sep 08, 2021 7:29 am 
 

Rocka_Rollas wrote:
But I didn't release anything until 2013. :)

Perhaps in name, but the Conquer EP definitely feels like the first Blazon Stone release to me :P

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Rocka_Rollas
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Joined: Mon Feb 07, 2011 5:08 am
Posts: 1260
PostPosted: Wed Sep 08, 2021 9:43 am 
 

That's because I haven't yet decided that Project X should be "generic speed/power metal" and Project Y should be "Running Wild copy".
I stopped the Running Wild influences on Rocka Rollas shortly.

If you heard the re-recording of "Metal Strikes Back" (including Conquer EP) I re-written all parts that sounded like Running Wild to be completely different. :-P



BTW I was on phone with Rock N Rolf today. Interview for Sweden Rock Magazine. :-D
The main editor asked about the new album and I asked some stuff I have been curious about throughout the years.

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The_Apex_of_Collapse
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Joined: Wed Jul 22, 2009 11:29 pm
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Location: Canada
PostPosted: Wed Sep 08, 2021 10:04 am 
 

Oh wow, can you share anything from the call?
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Rocka_Rollas
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PostPosted: Wed Sep 08, 2021 10:10 am 
 

It will be published in the September issue of Sweden Rock Magazine :)

I wont reveal anything in advance. That wouldn't be cool.

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The_Apex_of_Collapse
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Joined: Wed Jul 22, 2009 11:29 pm
Posts: 1684
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Wed Sep 08, 2021 11:03 am 
 

Rocka_Rollas wrote:
It will be published in the September issue of Sweden Rock Magazine :)

I wont reveal anything in advance. That wouldn't be cool.



Ah, fair enough. But hey, Congratulations on the new album! Going to pick it up asap.
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idunnosomename
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Joined: Sun Dec 25, 2016 9:47 pm
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PostPosted: Wed Sep 08, 2021 6:52 pm 
 

Ha, forgot you posted on here: that's amazing you got an interview with Rolf, and also that the new cover is a reference to Blackadder. I thought it looked like regency Baldrick but I was like, surely not...

Anyway I absolutely love Down in the Dark. Looking forward to hearing the new one. Would love to see you live someday.

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doomicus
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Joined: Wed May 14, 2008 5:58 am
Posts: 1261
Location: United States
PostPosted: Wed Sep 08, 2021 7:46 pm 
 

Thank you for the recommendations, folks. I ended up streaming and listening to Return to Port Royal: Definitive Edition, Down in the Dark, and Live in the Dark on the way too and and from work today. Consider me a convert! the songwriting is pretty great, and that for me is elevating the project. Addictive stuff.
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Rocka_Rollas
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PostPosted: Wed Sep 15, 2021 8:06 am 
 

It's out :thumbsup:

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Twisted_Psychology
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Joined: Sat May 16, 2009 8:22 pm
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PostPosted: Wed Sep 15, 2021 11:19 am 
 

Got my first listen in and I'm digging it. I think Down In The Dark is my album of choice but this one has some great hooks.
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Acrobat
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PostPosted: Wed Sep 15, 2021 1:42 pm 
 

Was 'Live in the Dark' recorded at Headbangers' Open Air? I was at that gig; but I was too busy drinking beer to actually watch much of the gig, hah.
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Rocka_Rollas
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Joined: Mon Feb 07, 2011 5:08 am
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PostPosted: Wed Sep 15, 2021 1:54 pm 
 

Acrobat wrote:
Was 'Live in the Dark' recorded at Headbangers' Open Air? I was at that gig; but I was too busy drinking beer to actually watch much of the gig, hah.

It was recorded at three places :)

Drums are from first gig at Sandviken Sweden
Vocals are mostly from Headbangers Open Air (sometimes parts from the other recorded gigs)
Guitars+bass are mostly from our last gig in Gävle Sweden (sometimes parts from the other recorded gigs)

The last two songs "Rock Out!" and "Fire The Cannons" was ONLY performed on the last gig, so all parts on those songs are from that particular gig.
(check below)


We also performed "Return To Port Royal" on the final gig, but the performance was too bad to include on the album. Maybe another day we can make that song justice, but without proper rehearsal, no wonder we couldn't make everything "perfect" :-D

This is all stated in the booklet, everyone knows live albums are fake to some degree anyway, we just chose the best general parts from each gig + some occasional edit rather than actually re-recording parts in the studio afterwards :) (that said: only my + Emils backing vocals are recorded afterwards :) )


My favorite fact about the live album:

the temporary live drummer Daniel Sjögren (main band being Bloodbound, Twilight Force) is that we never actually rehearsed either Rock Out or Fire The Cannons together before the show.
He learned them from listening to the mp3, and "air drumming" them before the gig, so on stage, it was the first time we actually performed them.

What a fucking PRO LEVEL drummer Daniel is. Amazing!


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Ill-Starred Son
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PostPosted: Wed Sep 15, 2021 7:03 pm 
 

I've never heard of these guys and while there are only 3 power metal bands I like (Running Wild, Blind Guardian and Demon's and Wizards) I LOVE Running Wild and these guys sound so much like them that I'm gonna have to buy or download this.

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Crossbones
Metal newbie

Joined: Fri Aug 14, 2020 7:21 pm
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Location: United Kingdom
PostPosted: Wed Sep 15, 2021 9:22 pm 
 

This is an amazing album, Ced. I'm loving how prominent the gang shouts are on this one - gives it all a very piratey feel. You can tell it's a whole band working together, too, and it sounds all the better for it. I'd say my top picks are 'Raiders of Jolly Roger', 'Bohemian Renegade' and 'Highland Outlaw'. Great stuff!

By the way, is 'Bohemian Renegade' about anybody in particular?

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Rocka_Rollas
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Joined: Mon Feb 07, 2011 5:08 am
Posts: 1260
PostPosted: Wed Sep 15, 2021 11:42 pm 
 

Crossbones wrote:
This is an amazing album, Ced. I'm loving how prominent the gang shouts are on this one - gives it all a very piratey feel. You can tell it's a whole band working together, too, and it sounds all the better for it. I'd say my top picks are 'Raiders of Jolly Roger', 'Bohemian Renegade' and 'Highland Outlaw'. Great stuff!

By the way, is 'Bohemian Renegade' about anybody in particular?


Thanks a lot!

Well, there's two songs that are based on historical persons:

"Highland Outlaw" - obviously, about Rob Roy.
"Chainless Spirit" - This one's about Timothy Treadwell, known from The Grizzly Man documentary (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0427312/)


"Bohemian Renegade" could be seen as a metaphorical anthem for all the current metal/rock/punk musicians out there who dedicate their lives for the passion, even if it makes them social outcasts :)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bohemianism
"Bohemianism is the practice of an unconventional lifestyle, often in the company of like-minded people and with few permanent ties. It involves musical, artistic, literary, or spiritual pursuits. In this context, bohemians may be wanderers, adventurers, or vagabonds."

So it has nothing to do with the Bohemians in the medieval days.


The only two songs with "generic pirate theme" is actually "Raiders Of Jolly Roger" and "Black Sails On The Horizon".

Except those two, I actually spent extra time to make the lyrics extra good this time. It's sad that Blazon Stone gets this reputation of just making "stupid pirate lyrics" because sure, I do at times, but especially this album has more to offer :)

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idunnosomename
Metalhead

Joined: Sun Dec 25, 2016 9:47 pm
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Location: England
PostPosted: Sun Sep 19, 2021 5:06 pm 
 

new album is really strong stuff. revisiting Hymns of Triumph and Death off the back of it which I never really got into.

amazed how you sound like RW without ever ripping off one of their riffs or melodies directly. unlike that Orden Ogan song they got Majk Moti on which is straight-up a parody of Riding the Storm. (although there is a doo-dada-doo solo lick on the new album!)

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Rocka_Rollas
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Joined: Mon Feb 07, 2011 5:08 am
Posts: 1260
PostPosted: Mon Sep 20, 2021 1:21 am 
 

Yeah, I might have been too close in the "early days" of Blazon Stone (chorus of "Fire The Cannons" / "Powder & Iron" was embarresingly similar) but as time goes on, with experience, I am more aware how to write stuff that are fairly "unique" :)

Many people don't even notice this, saying it's souless or uncreative or whatever, but I do put real effort into this. :) it's part of the challenge and fun of this project!

This is not at all me being defensive like "you haters don't understand my genious!!!", but rather I'm just happy that somebody (idunnosomename) actually notice this, because that's how I see it myself :)

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worlock
Metal newbie

Joined: Sat Apr 24, 2021 11:07 am
Posts: 83
PostPosted: Wed Sep 22, 2021 2:08 am 
 

Solid album definitely. Raiders of Jolly Roger, Black Sails on the Horizon and Wandering Spirits are the top picks for me so far.

I doubt old man Rolf will be able to top this with Blood on Blood :lol:

Helps a lot that I've been into Matias Palm's output for a long time. Most of his projects have Running Wild influences to them, more or less. The two Heavy Metal Perse full lengths are just solid melodic heavy metal and Merging Flare's Revolt Regime was pretty great release, though more on the power metal side.

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Rocka_Rollas
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Joined: Mon Feb 07, 2011 5:08 am
Posts: 1260
PostPosted: Wed Sep 22, 2021 2:44 pm 
 

Wandering Souls ;) (another song is Chainless Spirit... So I can see the confusion :D hahahaha)

Yes his other bands are very solid from what I have heard, but also fairly new finds for myself, I have to dive into them deeper soon!

The song that really made me wanna hire him was Alliance In Defience by Merging Flare. Awesome performance!!!!

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OzzyApu
Metal freak

Joined: Fri Oct 13, 2006 12:11 am
Posts: 10821
Location: Seattle
PostPosted: Wed Sep 22, 2021 5:01 pm 
 

Ced just wanna say that I love what you've done for years. There was no passing of the RW torch - it was basically yours the moment you wanted it.
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worlock
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Joined: Sat Apr 24, 2021 11:07 am
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PostPosted: Thu Sep 23, 2021 1:29 am 
 

Rocka_Rollas wrote:
Wandering Souls ;) (another song is Chainless Spirit... So I can see the confusion :D hahahaha)


Heh, good brainfart. I was actually listening to Chainless Spirit while writing the post, I think, so probably came from there.

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idunnosomename
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Location: England
PostPosted: Thu Sep 23, 2021 5:15 pm 
 

I'm still keen to hear the new Running Wild, Resilient was good, Rapid Foray was even better. Still Rolf's weak link is production, and from Diamonds and Pearls don't think it's going to markedly improve. Never sure why Giant X's album was so much better produced than anything since The Rivalry. I often wonder if Rolf got an advance for that album that he didn't recoup because it sounds way way better than any of the succeeding RW albums he did with Peter Jordan.

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