Although their earlier releases contained Satanic themes and imagery, from the third album on, the band's primary subject matter centered around pirates, sailing and other historical events. In 1987, the band released the album Under Jolly Roger, which was a switch to pirate-based and historical themes, creating and influencing the later named pirate metal subgenre of heavy metal in the 2000s in the process. While the historical lyrics were very superficial at first, the lyrics for later albums were intensively researched, by frontman Rolf Kasparek in particular.
After this album, from 1988 to 1992 (for the albums Port Royal, Death or Glory, Blazon Stone and Pile of Skulls), Running Wild mainly wrote historically based lyrics. In addition to lyrics about pirates, the band also addressed subjects like the Wars of the Roses, the Battle of Waterloo, or the colonization of the New World by the Conquistadors.
In April 2009, Kasparek announced that Running Wild had split up. Their intended last show was at Wacken Open Air in July that year. It was recorded for CD and DVD release and appeared as The Final Jolly Roger in 2011. The split would prove temporary as they reunited in 2012. Running Wild played live for the Wacken Open Air festival in 2015. As of 2021, the band have released 17 studio albums, with their most recent being Blood on Blood.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Running_Wild_(band)
Studio albums
Gates to Purgatory (1984)
Branded and Exiled (1985)
Under Jolly Roger (1987)
Port Royal (1988)
Death or Glory (1989)
Blazon Stone (1991)
Pile of Skulls (1992)
Black Hand Inn (1994)
Masquerade (1995)
The Rivalry (1998)
Victory (2000)
The Brotherhood (2002)
Rogues en Vogue (2005)
Shadowmaker (2012)
Resilient (2013)
Rapid Foray (2016)
Blood on Blood (2021)
Live albums
Ready for Boarding (1988)
Death or Glory Tour – Live (1989)
Live (2002)
The Final Jolly Roger (2011)
Compilation albums
The First Years of Piracy (1991)
The Story of Jolly Roger (1998)
The Legendary Tales (2002)
20 Years in History (2003)
Best of Adrian (2006)
Black Demons on Stage (2010)
Greatest Hits (2011)
Riding the Storm: Very Best of the Noise Years 1983-1995 (2016)
Singles and EPs
"Victim of States Power" (1984)
"Bad to the Bone" (1989)
"Wild Animal" (1990)
"Little Big Horn" (1991)
"Lead or Gold" (1992)
"The Privateer" (1994)
"The Rivalry" (1998)
"Revolution" (2000)
"Crossing the Blades" (2019)
Purgatory
Running Wild Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A screaming black bat passes by
A cold drought strangles your throat
You try to move but you're leashed in chains
End's coming and the power of darkness
The Devil has come to require your soul
No, you have no right to refuse it
Curtains are moving and a shadow appears
Your blood is still frozen, you're nearly killed by fears
A dark shadow creeps to your deathbed
It's too late to regret your sins
He says to you, "Well, surrender
I want your soul for hell"
You, you have no right to refuse it
You have to say goodbye and to go now
Oh sorry, you'd never done anything wrong
But nobody cares if you are gone
You were full of prejudices
Badness and real sin
You were against sexual liberty
Long hair and the indolent youth
I don't want your fucking morals and God
'Cause I'm the deuce now
Go and burn in purgatory
Go and burn in hell
Go and burn all your sins away
Go and burn in hell
The song Purgatory by Running Wild paints a terrifying image of a person being dragged to hell. The opening lines of the song create a haunting atmosphere with the full moon shining high, and a bat flying past while the singer is feeling a cold drought strangling their throat. The imagery of the scene creates a sense of helplessness and despair. The song reflects upon the traditional Christian belief of purgatory, a place where the soul is purified through punishment and then sent to heaven. The song talks about how the end is coming and how the power of darkness has come to require the singer's soul, and they have no right to refuse it.
The haunting lyrics become more severe as a dark shadow creeps in, and the singer is nearly killed by their fears. The devil appears and asks the singer to surrender their soul to hell. The lyrics depict how the singer has led a life filled with prejudices, badness, and real sin, and now they have to burn in purgatory or hell to pay for their sins. The song is a warning to the listeners to live a life of empathy, kindness, and love, or else they'll have to pay the price.
Line by Line Meaning
The full moon's shining high in the sky
The bright full moon is conspicuous in the sky
A screaming black bat passes by
An eerie black bat makes a screeching sound while flying by
A cold drought strangles your throat
You feel a sensation of a chilly dryness choking your throat
You try to move but you're leashed in chains
Despite attempting to move, you remain constrained by chains
End's coming and the power of darkness
The end of your life is approaching and darkness has taken over
The Devil has come to require your soul
Lucifer has arrived to demand your soul
No, you have no right to refuse it
You are obligated to relinquish your soul without the right to reject the Devil's claim
You have to say goodbye and to go now
You must bid farewell and depart immediately
Curtains are moving and a shadow appears
The curtains are shifting and revealing a silhouette
Your blood is still frozen, you're nearly killed by fears
Your blood is still, and you are almost paralyzed by terror
A dark shadow creeps to your deathbed
A dark figure moves gradually towards your deathbed
It's too late to regret your sins
You do not have any more time to repent for your wrongs
He says to you, "Well, surrender
The Devil demands your submission
I want your soul for hell"
The Devil desires to take possession of your soul for his domain of hell
You, you have no right to refuse it
You are not entitled to deny the Devil's request for your soul
You have to say goodbye and to go now
Your only option is to bid farewell and depart immediately
Oh sorry, you'd never done anything wrong
You express remorse despite not intentionally causing harm
But nobody cares if you're gone
No one will miss you
You were full of prejudices
You were intolerant of other beliefs and opinions
Badness and real sin
You committed immoral acts and true offenses
You were against sexual liberty
You were opposed to the freedom of sexual expression
Long hair and the indolent youth
You did not accept long hair and the lazy habits of young people
I don't want your fucking morals and God
The Devil does not desire your morality and belief in God
'Cause I'm the deuce now
Because he is the deuce (a nickname for the Devil) now
Go and burn in purgatory
Go and face punishment in purgatory
Go and burn in hell
Go and suffer eternal torment in hell
Go and burn all your sins away
Endure the pain of burning to eradicate the guilt of your sins
Go and burn in hell
Go and suffer eternal torment in hell
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Written by: ROLF KASPAREK
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@muhammadnoorbinrohani39
Rolf Kasparek is the best Lead Vocalist & Lead Guitarist in the world.
@donaldduck169
Long live RK.....
@user-zv8jp8fb5z
Одна из свмых лучших рок групп. А Рольф просто молодец. Пираты, вперед.
@18Brendonn
Incrível como essa banda foi foda.Essa musica sintetiza todo o espirito heavy metal e ainda mostra como é fundamental a presença de um baterista e de um baixista REAIS.Ainda espero ver o RUNNING WILD como uma banda completa novamente e com esse estilo marcante.
@salvadormachen3213
Hasta se me pone la piel chinita de escuchar esta banda y esta buena rola por siempre que viva esta banda🤘🤘🤘🎸🎸🎼🎼😎🤘🤘
@joekauffman9690
My favourite version of this song!!!
@briansauer6695
Heard of them way back in the 80's and think I saw a video once, but never knew anything about them. Just checking them out tonight and this is an AWESOME tune! Sounds just like the "raw" hard rock/metal of the early 80's that were my formative (and favorite) era of metal!
@roar340
It appears in 3 live records, no studio version but it is awesome! :D
@morochopistero
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@morochopistero
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