Victim of States Power

Whether they are singing about the occult or pirates, these German metallers have been kicking asses with their music since the outset. Even when the band shifted their direction during the second half of the 80s, they always remained loyal to their basics, and with a fair reason, gained a privileged place in the German power metal scene. Their debut EP "Victims of State Power" represented the first step on their long road. Formed in 1976 under the Granite Hearts name, Running Wild grew up during the years in which the NWOBHM was beginning a short path in the metal scene, Accept started a very successful career, Judas Priest hypnotized us all with their killing riffs and Venom created black metal. One way or another, all these bands contributed to this final product, which ended up being a very raw musical offer but with astonishing songwriting ideas barely exploited at that time, for instance, incorporating melodic Priest-stylized guitar solos and passages in speed metal numbers.

In that fashion, this EP kicks in with the very menacing title number and its intro riff, which is reminiscent of those used by Priest to give a nice open to at least a couple of their songs, namely "Freewheel Burning" and "Rapid Fire". Then, things are led to the frantic speed metal number which mixes the thrashy style from Venom with the aforementioned songs, "Fast as a Shark" and all that good stuff. The NWOBHM-inspired closing number "Satan" is not as fast as the opening; it contrasts the outrageous speed of the title-track, but still, it is an amazing speed metal juggernaut with a good thrash break featured throughout the same.

Sandwiched in between these numbers, the forceful Maiden meets Diamond Head and Judas Priest number "Walpurgis Night" results to be the main attraction of this EP. It is a bestial number with remarkable NWOBHM influences, and then, it closes with a very astonishing riff that leads to the main question here: were they thinking on switching things to piracy? Who knows, but whether this is the case or not becomes irrelevant. The closing riff is one of the most memorable moments the band has ever delivered. This EP is definitely a jewel which is too difficult to find, but for the benefit of the band's fanatics, the opening track is featured as the opening track of the band's debut album while the other two songs are featured as bonus tracks in reissues of the debut release, though certain recording issues appeared in these bonus tracks.

Special thanks to Gerald "Preacher" Warnecke for his contributions.

You can also read this review in https://antichristmagazine.com/classic-review-running-wild-victim-of-states-power-noise-records/

Early Running Wild isn’t exactly my cup of tea. Branded And Exiled I’m all for, but I prefer the golden age beginning with Port Royal; the band truly shined during this era. What we’re offered with this EP teases us; it acts as a demo for the debut album that would be release shortly (at the time). “Victim Of States Power” would appear as the first track again on the debut, but the following two tracks weren’t added until the CD edition later on.

“Satan” doesn’t sound diabolical like Bathory’s haunting tracks being recorded and released around the same time, but very raw, polluted heavy metal with a “take no prisoners” attitude. Rolf and the gang didn’t take shit from anyone, proudly proclaiming how awesome evil and heavy metal were. As juvenile as that sounds (compared to the super awesome pirate / regal theme after that), the song is bludgeoning and daunting. The guitar tone for all three just smudges forward one grubby riff after another. The bass is the buttercup – so muddy and plodding like dirt on a cupcake. It’s disgusting, but tasty and heartless – punkish, speedy heavy metal with not much emphasis on catchiness.

“Victim Of States Power” is a pretty dull song – dull riff, dull drumming, and dull energy aside from Rolf’s vocals. His lines are classic, especially during the chorus. The satanic themes are heavily prevalent, but it’s the edgy attitude that characterizes this particular release (and subsequent album) more to me. The production of all these tracks match the ones found on the debut album, but the atmosphere in “Satan” and “Walpurgis Night” cloud about more than the other songs on the main album (“Soldiers Of Hell” still takes the cake, though).

“Walpurgis Night,” which is what this EP should be officially called, is the track that showcases the band’s Di’Anno-like catchiness and melody. Rolf’s vocals are less grunty and the riff is very reminiscent of early Maiden; proud, fun, and escorted by a twisted solo with a ton of harmony. Yeah, this track would fit right with Iron Maiden – sounds like a totally different side to Running Wild. Too bad the song cuts off way too early; I’m talking very abruptly without any indication of an outro.

Take it for what it is – all these tracks make it onto the debut, so no need to hunt this one release down. Hell, it’s hard enough trying to find a decently-priced copy of the debut album, as the band still hasn’t given that (or most of their albums) widespread distribution. God damnit…

PS: I swear W.A.S.P. heard the ending riff on “Satan” and used it for their song “I’m Alive” on Inside The Electric Circus.

"...six sixty six is his number, he takes the crown of earth, his sign is the circle of the beast, destroying only the worst..."

As a caboose to their exceptional Gates to Purgatory lp, these brothers German hire "Victim of States Power", one of the debut's hairier tracks, as an overseer to a new pair of fairly lively, yet formulaic occult-browed songs following a mindset beaten into form by the debut.

Like all of their songs grooved to vinyl prior to this, once a song's momentum takes off it's pretty much etched in stone, meaning if you're looking for a rollercoaster ride of tempos during a tune, you may as well expect to find a canoe in a phone booth. Okay, maybe the momentum on this ep isn't such a straight shot as far as the dashing "Satan" goes. Its initial British gust of repetitive and agile fretboard aerobatics is a nice reversal compared to the other songs here that barely shift gears, as if to say 'yeah, we can do that too'. That's fine, because with "Satan" the band finally throw some caution to the wind and change up the tempo with a nifty adventuresome shift at midway and then a change that's less dynamic at the end, but hey, at least there is some change.

In the meantime,"Walpurgis Night" is kinda common in its mild catchiness and is probably a little too heartening for the overall tainted ideals the band orders forth, meanwhile the vocally staunch Rolf throws an uncommon ear-splitter into the atmosphere for good measure. Basically it's a song that could've gotten shoved into the shadows on a full-lengther, but has nowhere to hide here, derailing things a tad.

Unlike hotcakes, the ep didn't sell all that well and conversely accounts for its collectibility, which is somewhere on par with the picture disc versions of Gates to Purgatory and Branded and Exiled, the latter of which would face the iron in about a year.