Running Wild is a German heavy metal band formed in Hamburg in 1976. They w… Read Full Bio ↴Running Wild is a German heavy metal band formed in Hamburg in 1976. They were part of the German metal scene to emerge in the early to mid-1980s, and are also considered to be one of the country's so-called "big four" of power metal, along with Grave Digger, Helloween and Rage. Over the course of their career, they have released 17 studio albums, three live albums, five compilation albums, and six singles/EPs.

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)

Welcome To Hell
Running Wild Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I, I bid you welcome
On earth, this maltreated place
Home, home of destruction
Facing insanities' trace

Money, money's the idol
The altar, holy ikon of man

Facing the truth of a place you never should be
Here comes the warning, the warning you get for free

Welcome, welcome, welcome to hell
Demons' terror is waving its spell
Welcome, welcome, welcome to hell
Visions, nightmares are fit to tell, welcome to hell

Soul feeding the gear
Victims of obedient trust
Slaves working their ass off
Reward, to bite the dust

Pre...

Say, say farewell
Flee, rushing headlong fast

Pre & Chorus...

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Running Wild's "Welcome to Hell" paint a picture of a world that is plagued with destruction, insanity and the worship of money as the ultimate idol. The song is an invitation to the listener to witness and experience the reality of living in such a place. The opening line, "I bid you welcome" indicates a willingness to take the listener by the hand and guide them through the horrors of this world.

The lyrics go on to describe a society where the soul is sacrificed to the machinery of industry, where people are obedient slaves, working themselves to exhaustion, only to be rewarded with death. The chorus, "Welcome, welcome, welcome to hell," is a stark reminder that this is the reality of the world we live in. The lyrics suggest that this is not a warning of what could happen, but a warning of what is happening every day, all around us.

Line by Line Meaning

I, I bid you welcome
The singer is greeting and accepting the listener.

On earth, this maltreated place
The singer is referring to earth as a place that is not treated well.

Home, home of destruction
The singer is referring to earth as a place of destruction.

Facing insanities' trace
The artist is acknowledging the presence of insanity in the world.

Money, money's the idol
The artist is saying that people worship money as their god.

The altar, holy ikon of man
The singer is comparing the worship of money to a religious altar or icon.

Facing the truth of a place you never should be
The singer is warning the listener of the harsh reality of the world.

Here comes the warning, the warning you get for free
The artist is anticipating the listener's need for a warning and is providing it for free.

Welcome, welcome, welcome to hell
The artist is sarcastically greeting the listener to a place that is often referred to as 'hell'.

Demons' terror is waving its spell
The artist is referring to the impact of evil on the world.

Visions, nightmares are fit to tell, welcome to hell
The singer is saying that the reality of the world is like a horrible nightmare.

Soul feeding the gear
The artist is saying that people's souls are being used to feed a system or machine.

Victims of obedient trust
The singer is saying that people have become victims of blindly following or obeying others.

Slaves working their ass off
The singer is referring to people who work tirelessly without being given due respect and recognition.

Reward, to bite the dust
The singer is saying that even though people work hard, they often don't receive the proper reward or recognition.

Say, say farewell
The artist is telling the listener to say goodbye to the world as it is.

Flee, rushing headlong fast
The artist is warning the listener to leave the world as quickly as possible.

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: DERYCK WHIBLEY, DERYCK JASON WHIBLEY

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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