Pile of Skulls
| Pile of Skulls | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Running Wild | ||||
| Released | November 5, 1992 | |||
| Recorded | 1992 | |||
| Genre | Heavy metal, power metal | |||
| Label | Noise | |||
| Producer | Rolf Kasparek | |||
| Running Wild chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
Pile of Skulls is the seventh studio album by Running Wild, released in 1992. It is their last album with guitarist Axel Morgan. It is the first album almost completely dominated by songwriting from band leader Rolf Kasparek but remains a fan favourite. The album has sold over 350,000 copies worldwide.
The song "Jennings' Revenge" tells about the exploits of pirate Henry Jennings.
The lyrics of "Treasure Island" are based on the book of the same title by 19th century author Robert Louis Stevenson.
Critical reception
Pile of Skulls was met with mostly positive reviews from critics. Steve Huey of All Music Guide called it one of Running Wild's strongest efforts. While calling it too ambitious, he thought Pile of Skulls combined the group's trademark pirate subject matter with a unifying concept about corruption and abuse of power throughout history.
In a 2013 interview, Rolf Kasparek spoke about the song "Bloody Island" from the 2013 album Resilient and explained that the demo version of the song would've been a great fit on the album.
Track listing
- "Chamber of Lies" – 2:21
- "Whirlwind" – 4:51
- "Sinister Eyes" – 5:05
- "Black Wings of Death" – 5:17
- "Fistful of Dynamite" – 4:05
- "Roaring Thunder" – 5:56
- "Pile of Skulls" – 4:39
- "Lead or Gold" – 5:06
- "White Buffalo" – 5:16
- "Jennings' Revenge" – 4:17
- "Treasure Island" – 11:14
- "Beggars' Night" (Rerecording from Under Jolly Roger) (Bonus) – 4:57
- "Hanged, Drawn and Quartered" (Bonus) – 4:39
- "Win or Be Drowned" (Bonus)– 4:17
- "Uaschitschun '92" (Rerecording from Port Royal) (Bonus) – 5:03
(1)-(6), (8)-(12), (15) : music & lyrics by Rolf Kasparek
(7) : music: Axel Morgan, lyrics: Axel Morgan/Rolf Kasparek
(13) : music: Axel Morgan, lyrics: Axel Morgan
(14) : music: Rolf Kasparek, lyrics: Rolf Kasparek/Thomas Smuszynski
Personnel
- Rolf Kasparek - vocals, guitar
- Axel Morgan - guitar
- Thomas Smuszynski - bass
- Stefan Schwarzmann - drums