Black Hand Inn
Encyclopedia
Black Hand Inn is the eighth Running Wild
studio album, released March 24, 1994 by Noise Records
. It is a loose concept album
about a resurrected man, against a backdrop of piracy, foreseeing Armageddon.
The albums story starts in The Curse which a man by the name of John Xenir(played by Rolf Kasperek) has been condemned to death for using forbidden powers and is burned at the stake to save his soul. After the fire burns out all that is left is a blackened and charred hand. In the title track John is alive and creates his own inn in a grove with the sign of a black hand on the front door. He shows to his patrons his powers by predicting their futures.A priest happens to see his powers and threatens him and calls him a devil however John unfazed tells the man that long ago his was burned away that the priest is really the evil one.
The album has sold over 200,000 records worldwide.
All songs by Kasparek.
The lyrics of the song "Genesis" are based on the book "The 12th Planet" by Zecharia Sitchin
.
Running Wild (band)
Running Wild is a German heavy metal band, formed in 1976 in Hamburg. They were part of the German heavy/speed/power metal scene to emerge in the early to mid 1980s. The band has carved its niche in the metal world as the first "pirate metal" band, a theme which took off with the release of Under...
studio album, released March 24, 1994 by Noise Records
Noise Records (Germany)
Noise Records was a German record label founded by German music industry personality Karl-Ulrich Walterbach in 1983 as an expansion of his company Modern Music Records. Noise Records specialized in thrash and melodic speed metal. It was sold to the Sanctuary Records Group in 2001 and ceased any...
. It is a loose concept album
Concept album
In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...
about a resurrected man, against a backdrop of piracy, foreseeing Armageddon.
The albums story starts in The Curse which a man by the name of John Xenir(played by Rolf Kasperek) has been condemned to death for using forbidden powers and is burned at the stake to save his soul. After the fire burns out all that is left is a blackened and charred hand. In the title track John is alive and creates his own inn in a grove with the sign of a black hand on the front door. He shows to his patrons his powers by predicting their futures.A priest happens to see his powers and threatens him and calls him a devil however John unfazed tells the man that long ago his was burned away that the priest is really the evil one.
The album has sold over 200,000 records worldwide.
Track listing
- "The Curse" – 3:15
- "Black Hand Inn" – 4:32
- "Mr. Deadhead" – 4:02
- "Soulless" – 4:57
- "The Privateer" – 4:21
- "Fight the Fire of Hate" – 6:38
- "The Phantom of Black Hand Hill" – 6:25
- "Freewind Rider" – 5:15
- "Powder & Iron" – 5:18
- "Dragonmen" – 5:42
- "Genesis (the Making and the Fall of Man)" – 15:18
- "Dancing on a Minefield" – 5:00 (Bonus Track)
- "Poisoned Blood" – 3:44 (Bonus Track)
All songs by Kasparek.
The lyrics of the song "Genesis" are based on the book "The 12th Planet" by Zecharia Sitchin
Zecharia Sitchin
Zecharia Sitchin was an Azerbaijani-born American author of books promoting an explanation for human origins involving ancient astronauts. Sitchin attributes the creation of the ancient Sumerian culture to the Anunnaki, which he states was a race of extra-terrestrials from a planet beyond Neptune...
.
Members
- Rolf Kasparek - vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
and guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with... - Thilo HermannThilo HermannThilo Hermann is heavy metal guitarist and songwriter, who recently worked with Grave Digger.-History:...
- guitars - Thomas Smuszynski - bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Jörg MichaelJörg MichaelJörg Michael is a German drummer. He is well-known for his time in the Finnish power metal band Stratovarius and several other bands....
- drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....