Blood On Blood - CD

Running Wild: Blood On Blood DIGI version on CD in digipack edition. This particular edition was published in Germany in publishing company Steamhammer on 29. October 2021.

There are many good reasons why Rock'n Rolf Kasparek is so happy with Blood On Blood. He says, "We all know the difficulties the whole culture industry faced during the lockout. On the other hand, it gave me and many other artists extra time, because almost all releases had to be postponed. I used this time to fine-tune every detail of my new songs. The result is an album that is probably the best of Running Wild's career for me. Because each of the ten songs sounds exactly as I had it in my head when I wrote it. I've never been so happy with the outcome of a Running Wild record before." So while we don't know any details at this time, fans of the German metal legend can already look forward to Blood On Blood being released on Steamhammer/SPV. Those who can't wait for that date will be redeemed on August 13 with the first single "Diamonds And Pearls" and on September 24, 2021 with the second single "The Shellback". Could there be better news for all Running Wild followers? Probably the following, which also reveals some of the above details: Rolf rightly calls Blood On Blood the most diverse work of his career to date. This applies not only to the compositional aspect, but also to the production. "Each song has its own distinctive sound," explains the Running Wild captain. "While I played all the rhythm guitars as usual on my 1976 Gibson Explorer, I played the other parts on a Gibson Flying V, a Fender Stratocaster and even - in the undistorted parts - a Fender American Standard Telecaster." The best example is "One Night, One Day," a track that gains amazing depth through clean guitar work. Rolf speaks of a track that is guaranteed to stir up a buzz with its anthemic direction and unusual arrangement, "This track was a bit of an experiment for me, something I had never dared to do before, because 'One Night, One Day' doesn't have the typical intro verse chorus structure, but builds seamlessly throughout." Similarly remarkable is the groove-laden "The Iron Times (1618 - 1648)", a worthy album closer, and at eleven minutes, also the longest track on the record and one of the most challenging lyrics about the Thirty Years War. Speaking of lyrics, "Wings Of Fire" and "Say Your Prayers" are about prophecies, but not - as is usual elsewhere - about Nostradamus, but about, among other things, the prophecies of John of Jerusalem, the French Knight Templar and co-founder of the Knights Templar, who predicted the organ trade as early as the Middle Ages. Equally historically interesting: in "Crossing The Blades", Running Wild thematise the story of the Three Musketeers as it unfolded in the 17th century, whose emblem is now depicted on the cover, again designed by Jens Reinhold (Virgin Steele, Freedom Call, among others). Rolf: "It's a kind of cross between the Musketeers and our mascot Adrian." Despite all the lyrical ambition: Blood On Blood also contains two - what Rolf calls - "party rockers", "Wild & Free" and "Wild, Wild Nights", which are simply meant to be fun, and they accomplish exactly that mission to complete satisfaction. And finally: on the Running Wild-specific "The Shellback", which begins with a Celtic intro, Running Wild return to the atmospheric nautical theme of their 1994 classic Black Hand In and tell the story of what came before in maritime history. Similarly characteristic of the band, which in addition to Rolf, guitarist Peter Jordan and bassist Ole Hempelmann has permanently included drummer Michael Wolpers since 2019 - Wolpers drummed the entire new album - , are the first single (including the lyric video) "Diamonds And Pearls" and the title track, incidentally the first number Rolf wrote for the new album. You don't have to be a prophet - to pick up the prophetic thread again - to already be able to spot the twinkle in the eyes of Running Wild fans. Because there is no doubt that Blood On Blood is Running Wild at its best!

Album spans genres Rock and Heavy Metal. Digipack.