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%.