The German pirates of Running Wild have been looting and pillaging the heavy metal world for twenty years. Although the band seems to be slowly slipping into oblivion that certainly can’t be attributed to lack of conviction. In their twenty years of existence they might have started to repeat themselves but they have nevertheless managed to survive and, most importantly, they have stayed true to their believes. Truth be told , their last release The Brotherhood was a decent enough album. Now the pirates are back with a double live CD recorded on March 30th in Halle Gartlage, Osnabrück.

Right from the very first second you know that this is going to be one of those true old school heavy metal live albums with a true heavy metal sound and cheap pyrotechnics. Running Wild opens with the instrumental track "March Of The Final Battle" from the album Victory before thundering into the heavy "Welcome To Hell" from their most recent offering. The sound is indeed heavy and the guitars just rip and shred while singer Rock `n` Rolf seems to have an excellent day. Running Wild sounds like a well-oiled machine and the twenty years of experience certainly have rubbed off on them.

As the title indicates Running Wild plays a good amount of songs from their new album The Brotherhood ("Crossfire", "Unation", "The Brotherhood", "Soulstrippers" and the aforementioned "Welcome To Hell"). Fortunately the fans that have stayed loyal to the band these past twenty years aren’t forgotten either as Running Wild effortlessly pounds through classics like "Under Joly Roger", "Riding The Storm" and "Blazon Stone". The CD features a good balance between old and new material and most albums, however not all, are represented by at least one song.

The Brotherhood Live 2002 is indeed a typical old school heavy metal live album that certainly won`t disappoint the true fans of Running Wild. My only two problems with this release are the lackluster audience and Rock `n` Rolf’s monologues. Call me crazy but I can’t understand why he has to speak a mixture of German and English on an album that is meant to be sold allover the globe (and not just Germany). Is it selfishness, a simple misjudgement or an admission that the vast majority of Running Wild fans indeed hail from Germany?