Gates To Purgatory

it was nice to see lemon records (uk) do a reissue of this long lost classic from 1984, victim of states of power was the first running wild song i heard in the autumn of 1984 as i bought the 12 single inch viynl at a great hm specialty metal shop back then, i loved the song as well as the b side so when the album arrived a month later as a german import i grabbed it the moment i saw it, by all standards this was the pre 1987 pirate image running wild when i personally felt running wild was going in more of an extreme judas priest style with this record and its 1985 follow up BRANDED AND EXILED ( wich is still my favorite) 27 years later, i loved running wild from the beggining with this record, of coarse in 1984 during that huge wave of german metal coming over here to the states with the likes of destruction, sodom, warrant, axe victims, helloween,celtic frost/hellhammer and a host of others, great metal on both the noise label and the mosuleum label from belgium, running wild was my favorite of them all and it kind of remained that way until around 2001/2002, anyway this album is feirce driven force metal with speed to it but the judas priest elements are all in there, some songs can get slow at times but they still keep this album way above water, i had not listened to this record since the early 90s about 20 years ago so it was great spinning this again and remembering the glory days of metal, running wild where slated for a us tour in 1986 in support of branded and exiled with celtic frost and voi vod but sadley running wild jumped off the tour after only a few west coast gigs so by the time the tour reached new york running wild was long gone, this is one band i really wish i had seen back in the 80s but it also seemed as if whatever happened in 1986 rockin rolph didnt seem to want to bother with the us market again, as history would have it in 1987 they released the under jolly rodger album ( wich is a classic) and went on with a whole pirate image and kind of got robbed of a bit of fame like nwobhm bands like raven and saxon did, once again i repeat when i got branded and exiled in the autumn of 1985 i was just blown away totally, i really hope lemon records or another label gives that the treatment the debut album got here, on this first album to you get the bonus track from the great death metal compilation lp from 1984 as well, i kept buying all the running wild albums as they came out for the rest of the 80s and all through the 90s but after there 2001 release i could see rockin rolph was getting a bit stail and i gave up then, if you are new to running wild i highley reccomend BRANDED AND EXILED, UNDER JOLLY RODGER, READY FOR BOARDING, PILE OF SKULLS and just about everything they did up to 2001, it is really nice to have a fresh remastered copy of this as i still have the original lps from the 80s and the cds from the 90s but the remastering is so much better on here, sadley my fourty something year old eyes cant read the liner notes but they appear to be taken straight from the original lp so i can read them there, for the price this is an amazing peice of metal history, play loud and enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Very nice

One of the best album from the German Heavy Metal. The package comes in great conditions, without problems. Thanks

Gift

"Black Demon" was my introduction to the German metal band Running Wild and I was immediately hooked. As dark as the title implies, it has catchy hooks and is very memorable. It is one of four exceptional songs on this album. The other three are "Adrian S.O.S.", "Genghis Khan", and "Prisoner of Our Time" but there is nothing weak on this record. Fortunately, Gates To Purgatory is available as an mp3 album on Amazon because it is very hard to find and very expensive when available even in vinyl form as is most of Running Wild's back catalogue. Gates To Purgatory is Running Wild's debut album first released in 1984. They had a Satanic theme to their music on their first two albums demonstrated by the pentagram and beast head in their early logo. They lost the pentagram and adopted a pirate motif for their 1987 release Under Jolly Roger which they kept for the remainder of their career. The lyrics on Gates To Purgatory are filled with imagery of evil going to war and freeing the sinners from oppression. It is not just an evil over good theme, but also includes some anarchist elements. Many of the enemies Lucifer fights are societal corruptions. Adrian, son of Satan, is the "savior to the weak" and burns racists to the bone. The "Victim of States Power" are those who are enslaved by the "cruel warpigs," "lying popes and politicians." The "Soldiers of Hell" kill the "avaricious tyrant." The "Prisoners of Our Time" "lost the money, lost the job" and are living life the way they choose not the way others choose for them. Musically, the best track is "Prisoner of Our Time." The chorus is addicting. Those who prefer Running Wild's pirate music will probably like this song as the chorus is the style of pirates gathered at a table waving around bottles of rum. It also includes the band's name in the lyrics. "Genghis Khan" (like the Iron Maiden song of the same name) is highlighted by its superb instrumentation. The driving riffs and excellent guitar work resembles Maiden as well. Strangely, Rolf Kasparek pronounces the name "Khan" like "can." "Victim of States Power" is a hard-pounding, speed metal attack as is "Adrian S.O.S". On the latter, I like the drums during the line "to bring oppression down" and Kasparek's barrage of vocals--he doesn't have much time to breath. "Soldiers of Hell" is a catchy track. "Diabolic Force" has long, repetitive-sounding verses with high-pitched (though, fortunately, not loud) screams. It reminds me of Judas Priest, maybe "Rapid Fire" from British Steel. It is one of my least favorite songs on this album but it does sport a killer guitar solo. "Preacher" is a slow, plodding number and rather boring, though nothing on this album is bad enough to have to skip. Of the bonus songs, "Walpurgis Night" is surprisingly very catchy considering the lyrical content. The night of April 30-May 1 is known as "Walpurgis Night" in northern Europe and is celebrated with bonfires. In German folklore, witches celebrate the arrival of spring on this night. Witches are the theme of this Running Wild track; however, their aims are not the anticipation of spring, but the sacrifice of men at the stake. Unfortunately, the track ends abruptly due to damage to the master tape. It fades at the 4:37 mark during a guitar solo. "Satan" is nothing special so, if the abrupt ending to "Walpurgis Nights" cautions one against buying the version with the bonus tracks, it may not be worth it. Bonus tracks aside, Gates To Purgatory is highly recommended for any fan of 1980s power, speed and/or Satanic heavy metal.

i had this on vinyl in 1985 and i lost it in a house fire in 95,thought i would never hear it again.now i whish i could find branded and exiled.running wild forever!

This is great Venom-like early Black Metal. Indeed, it's so like Venom the only thing that distinguishes it to my ear is the superior production. It's a great listen and excellent debut.

I still have the vinyl for this album, purchased when I was a teenager. Listened to it a lot, and decided to purchase the digital songs recently. It sounds like simple, raw metal, very different from what they've come to do later, with more guitar melodies and pirate themed songs. If I had heard this album today it probably wouldn't catch my interest, but it brings back good moments from back in the day, so it's all good. :)

good music

Excelente, llego en tiempo y forma; bien empaquetado; se escucha de primera

Best album of Running wild

Super disque de metal, avec le suivant, branded And exiled, Rolf’n’roll Kasparek et sa bande crée des ambiances sombres et diaboliques, au Groove puissant omniprésent. Les solos sont splendides, les compositions solides, rien ne manque, avant que Running Wild ne vire pirate. Incontournable.

Voor mij één van hun beste albums.