Port Royal is the fourth album by German heavy metal band Running Wild. It expanded on the pirate theme introduced in their album Under Jolly Roger (1987) and established them as "pirate metal" in the metal community. The album takes its name from the location of Calico Jack's death.
| Port Royal | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
-Port_Royal.jpg) | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 26 September 1988 | |||
| Recorded | June 1988 | |||
| Studio | Sky Trak Studio, Berlin, Germany | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 44:15 | |||
| Label | Noise | |||
| Producer | Running Wild, Karl-Ulrich Walterbach | |||
| Running Wild chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal | 8/10[2] |
| Rock Hard | 7.5/10[3] |
In 2017, Loudwire ranked Port Royal as the 23rd-best power metal album of all time.[4]
Songs edit
"Uaschitschun" tells about the pollution of nature through a Native American's perspective. "Uaschitschun" is a word that the Native Americans used for white males; the nearest translation is "ghost".[citation needed] The ending words were originally spoken by filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin in 1972 and were probably inspired by a famous speech made by Chief Seattle to the whites when they came to buy the lands of Seattle.[5]
A music video was made for "Conquistadores" which had some air play on MTV's Headbangers Ball. It is also the first to use a 5-string bass in a metal context.[citation needed]
"Warchild" is not the same song that appeared in the band's early demos.
"Calico Jack" is about an English pirate of the 18th century. He designed the skull-and-bones pirate flag that was later named the Jolly Roger, which gave the title to the previous album.
Track listing edit
All tracks are written by Rolf Kasparek, except where noted
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Intro" | 0:50 | |
| 2. | "Port Royal" | 4:12 | |
| 3. | "Raging Fire" | Kasparek, Schwarzmann, Moti | 3:28 |
| 4. | "Into the Arena" | Moti | 3:59 |
| 5. | "Uaschitschun" | 4:53 | |
| 6. | "Final Gates" (instrumental) | Becker | 3:00 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7. | "Conquistadores" | 4:50 | |
| 8. | "Blown to Kingdom Come" | Moti | 3:19 |
| 9. | "Warchild" | Kasparek, Schwarzmann | 3:01 |
| 10. | "Mutiny" | Kasparek, Schwarzmann | 4:28 |
| 11. | "Calico Jack" | Kasparek, Moti, Schwarzmann | 8:15 |
| Total length: | 44:15 | ||
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Uaschitschun" (1992 alternate version) | 5:04 |
| 2. | "Port Royal" (2003 re-recorded version) | 4:13 |
| 3. | "Conquistadors" (2003 re-recorded version) | 4:48 |
| Total length: | 58:20 | |
Notes edit
- The 1st press CD release has no barcode. There were two variants of the backcover, one with yellow and one with white Noise logo. SID codes refer to the French press which has the white Noise logo
- The Japanese CD release contains the 1987 album Under Jolly Roger
Personnel edit
- Rolf Kasparek – vocals, guitars
- Majk Moti – guitars
- Jens Becker – bass
- Stefan Schwarzmann – drums
- Production
- Karl-Ulrich Walterbach – executive producer
- Tom Steeler – engineering, mixing
- Sebastian Krüger – artwork
- Becker Derouet – artwork
Charts edit
| Chart (1988) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts)[6] | 36 |
References edit
- ^ Ravelin, Antti J. "Running Wild – Port Royale review". AllMusic. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
- ^ Popoff, Martin (1 November 2005). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 2: The Eighties. Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 297. ISBN 978-1-894959-31-5.
- ^ Kupfer, Thomas (1988). "Running Wild 'Port Royal'". Rock Hard (29). Archived from the original on 26 December 2015. Retrieved 25 December 2012.
- ^ Divita, Joe (5 July 2017). "Top 25 Power Metal Albums of All Time". Loudwire. Townsquare Media. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
- ^ "Alanis Obomsawin – Wikiquote". en.wikiquote.org.
- ^ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.