Last year, with the return of Rock N Rolf to his namesake RUNNING WILD, fans were happy, until listening to the less than enthusiastic Shadowmaker, which probably should have been a solo record (or possibly the initial GIANT X recording). While not perfect, the ten track Resilient is a thoroughly more consistent album, befitting the band’s nearly four decade legacy and coming so quickly (three of the five discs Kasparek has issued in the last decade appeared since 2012!), the German must have his mojo back. Is this wall-to-wall seafaring tales? No, but apparently you can teach an old sea dog new tricks, without sinking a venerable ship. Virtually inventing the now over-populated “pirate metal” sub-genre, Kasparek wants to break out of the restrictive formula and has succeeded here, although the 10+ minute closer, ‘Bloody Island’, the longest composition in the band’s history, proves (if the spirit moves him), he’s not above revisiting that territory. The opening ‘Soldier Of Fortune’ proudly announces RUNNING WILD are truly back, locking into a familiar rollicking melody. There are a couple of speedsters in the pack, ‘Adventure Highway’ and ‘Fireheart’, but the pick of the litter is ‘Desert Rose’ a mid-tempo number. ‘Resilient’ is built around a simple, repetitive infectious riff and a chorus practically limited to the titular phrase. There’s more than a hint of 80s JUDAS PRIEST in the guitar sound throughout the ten tunes (see ‘Run Riot’). ‘The Drift’ would be right at home on any of the classic albums. Towards the end, ‘Down To The Wire’ is the lone lackluster inclusion. Resilient is a fitting choice for the title. In this case, truth in advertising!