Blazon Stone - Return To Port Royal

Ready for boarding? The mad genius behind Sweden’s Rocka Rollas is back with another band: Blazon Stone. Though the band name is different, the influence of Running Wild still runs rampant. With their first album, Blazon Stone have created the most authentic Running Wild worship in existence. In fact, at this point, it’s better to forget that Rock ‘n Rolf is still going, and to just start listening to Blazon Stone instead. From the second the opening melody in “Intro” hits, you will be reminded of those jolly, pirate-like moments that made the original band sound so great. The bass drum picks up the beat a little bit, and things could not be sounding more perfect. Over the course of the next 8 songs, Blazon Stone fully immerses the listener in a world of pirates and speed metal!

Everything about these songs shows how well the band has studied Running Wild. The riffing has plenty of tremolo-picked melodies that, while similar in sound to what you’d expect, never rip-off Rolf. Likewise, the drumming has the same speedy attack. The vocals are perhaps the most differentiating aspect of Blazon Stone; however, they are still appropriate for the music. Some of the choruses (“Return to Port Royal” and “Curse of the Ghost Ship”, among others) make use of haunting, powerful backing vocals. Aside from the great musical performance, what really drives “Return to Port Royal” is the fantastic songwriting. “Stand Your Line” is an old-school rocker that would fit right in with “Renegade” or any other number of Running Wild tunes. The last two tracks gave off a “Lions of the Sea” vibe, while also projecting an epic atmosphere. They may be lengthy songs, but they never wear thin on the listener. If I had to point out a negative point to this record, I suppose it would be the chorus of “Amistad Rebellion”. This is another tracking using plenty of backing vocals, but it feels as though the band was trying to throw too many words in the chorus, and it ends up feeling more muddled than enjoyable. This use of wordy choruses is actually prevalent on other songs, but is executed much better on those tracks. With that said, the rest of “Amistad Rebellion” is as enjoyable as the other 7 full songs.

It’s difficult to say a lot about Blazon Stone, primarily because they’ve done such a great job of paying tribute to Running Wild. The quality of “Return to Port Royal” is as strong as records like “Pile of Skulls” and “Masquerade”, and I consider this record to be more of an extension of Running Wild than actual worship. This album is a prime example of heavy metal done correctly, and if you can’t enjoy “Return to Port Royal”, heavy metal may not be for you.

Highlights

"Stand Your Line"

"Curse of The Ghost Ship"

"Blackbeard"

Final Rating

4.5/5 or 90%. 

Written by Scott 

Rocka Rollas - Conquer

It’s 2012 and after a short “break-up” Running Wild have returned with their new EP “Conquer”. The earlier release of “Shadowmaker” was just a cruel joke; Rolf really reformed the band under the new name Rocka Rollas and decided to bring us his pirate-infused speed metal once again! Well, that’s what all Running Wild fans hoped at least. The good news is that Rocka Rollas is actually a legitimate new band that has truly captured the essence of Running Wild. Amazingly, all of this music was composed and played (except for the vocals) by just one guy. Musically, their first full-length, “The War of Steel Has Begun” was quite a different affair. It was still an over-the-top speed metal attack, but it was more of a tribute to heavy metal with tracks like “More Metal Than Steel” and “Heavy Metal Kings”. With “Conquer”, Rocka Rollas has turned their attention bringing back the glory of records like “Blazon Stone” and “Black Hand Inn”.

The opening song, “Bloodbath” is the most pirate-sounding track of the last couple of decades. Seriously, those melodies sound like they were ripped straight from Running Wild (and it isn’t because they are, it’s just that their style was so distinctive that no other band captured it until now). On the title track, the band slows down a bit in favour of a galloping approach. After a few minutes, there are a series of fantastic harmonized lead that eventually morph into guitar solos. This is actually one of the more original moments of the EP, as the band use some melodies that I can’t recall hearing on any Running Wild albums. The third track really picks up the pace again, but it actually reminds me of something from the “Death or Glory” record, where the pirate-sounds were prevalent, but not as clear as they were later on. I guess that is appropriate for a song called “Riding The Metal Storm”. The chorus of this track is actually a lot more upbeat than anything else on the album, but the intensity resumes after each chorus. “Steelwheeler”, the instrumental, is a high-speed shredding affair that is the perfect close to this release.

While it is the guitars that work quite hard to make this record sound like an authentic Running Wild album, the vocalist is actually quite similar to Rolf as well. He is certainly very German sounding and is probably the most appropriate singer for this type of album. It’s difficult for me to comprehend how Rocka Rollas can create this sound so effectively, but they’re the first band I’ve discovered. What’s more, this EP is only a teaser for the full-length, “Metal Strikes Back”, which will be released next year (also on Stormspell Records). “Conquer” is a must-buy for all fans of Running Wild, as well as for all fans of killer speed metal!

Be sure to check out and like Rocka Rollas on Facebook!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rocka-Rollas/147501418672006?fref=ts

Highlights

"Bloodbath"

"Conquer"

Final Rating

4.5/5 or 90%. 

Written by Scott