Die-hard fans of traditional Metal can find no faults within the realms of the legendary RUNNING WILD; and pirate-mastermind Rolf N' Roll's 16^th full length release is no exception. "Rapid Foray," from Steamhammer records, is stacked with delicious hooks, stupidly fast-paced riffs, sweet melodies, and Rolf Kasparek's signature voice haunting and commanding us listeners through a wild and blazing old-school odyssey. The one thing that might make the random listener baffled or worn out would be this: RUNNING WILD, through their long standing and impressive catalogue, do seem to be slightly repetitive, to say the least. Rolf N Roll has his classic formula which undoubtedly works, but if experimentation and boundaries pushing music is what you seek, seek elsewhere.

While far from the glorious days of wonderful albums like "Death Or Glory" and Blazon Stone," "Rapid Foray" still maintains a sense of newly energized spirit, and a magical touch of inspiration that made possible the atmosphere pushing RUNNING WILD to write such cool riffs, addictive harmonies, and an overall sense of grandiose stadium rock like anthems.  Instant hits like "Black Skies, Red Flag", "Stick To Your Guns", "Rapid Foray" and even the enchanting instrumental "The Depth Of The Sea - Nautilus", all have a strong and immediate "hit" value. The last track, running eleven minutes long, "Last Of The Mohicans", has awesome harmonies running through, and even has a cool Indian-like chanting and "Awwwing!" in a slow buildup towards some more pounding riffs and an ear shattering solo. Other than that, the production is solid and I'd say that the record itself has somewhat of a fire breathing sound, loud and heavy.

While this release is simply put not for everyone, especially for those keen on envelope pushing experiments or instrumentation, every healthy head-banger with a sense of appreciation of traditional Metal and 70's Rock should find "Rapid Foray" more than enjoyable. It's goddamn RUNNING WILD, baby, and it's heavy as fuck.