'Blazon Stone' marks the sixth voyage for 'Rock 'N' Rolf' and despite replacing half of his shipmates since 'Death or Glory,' conceives another superb platter of memorable Metal 'Running Wild' style. The traditional Pirate theme is not quite as prevalent here, which might make this more appealing to some, but rest assured this is still in the classic 'Running Wild' style. 'Rolf's' notorious axe fell before this release, replacing crew members 'Majk Moti' and 'Iain Finlay' in favour of guitarist 'Axel Morgan' and drummer 'AC'.

The album opens unforgettably with the stunning title track 'Blazon Stone', which unfolds with a subdued guitar intro, before building into one of 'Running Wild's' finest anthems, the rhythm work throughout is divine and immediately appealing, while lyrically it's powerful and uplifting, this combines with sublime fret work for one hell of a track! Ensuing strongly is the riff driven 'Lonewolf' a pulsating rocker that while pretty simplistic, features the all important big chorus, which in this case is most effective, as are 'Rolf's' vocals and 'Axel Morgan's' fret work which help add extra punch. Not quite so appealing is 'Slavery', the atmospheric intro is a nice touch and the song precedes as a pretty brisk affair, however the tempo falls for the chorus which in my opinion takes the edge of somewhat, but the rhythm guitaring throughout is just divine. Improvements are quickly made with the 'AC' penned 'Fire & Ice', which does have a slightly different feel to the 'Rolf' written material, but that said it still fits in well and is a very good rhythm fuelled rocker. Slightly more commercial sounding is the epic 'Little Big Horn', a splendidly written track which centres around “Custer's last stand” and despite it's different approach is yet another classic 'RR' song, which features that typical 'Kasparek' big chorus that is so memorable and overall is executed exactingly. The short bass driven instrumental 'Over the Rainbow' ensues in solid, if somewhat unremarkable fashion, but illustrates some fine work from the often overlooked 'Jens Becker'. Firmly back on track is the underrated gem 'White Masque' a sublime pulsating rocker, that ebbs and flows to more choice work from 'AC' and 'Becker', while the penmanship is uncharacteristic but ultimately superb. The fine run continues with the 'Jens Becker' penned 'Rolling Wheels', a high class rocker with a certain 'Saxon' feel, while the punchy 'Bloody Red Rose' is another fist-raising gem, that rides on another rousing rhythm. Brisker still is the pure Speed Metal of the 'Becker' written 'Straight to Hell', highlights here include the rhythm work, that while furious, still maintains the all important melody. Last up is 'Heads or Tails', not quite the finest track to finish with, as at times it sounds a little too much like their earlier song 'Chains & Leather', but that said, still a solid Pirate Metal sing-a-long.

Two bonus tracks are included with the re-mastered version of 'Blazon Stone', both were originally released with the 'Little Big Horn' single. The first is the semi-epic 'Billy the Kid', which opens with an acoustic intro similar to Dixieland, but soon builds into an uplifting rocker not too dissimilar from 'Little Big Horn' itself and is good enough in it's own rights to be mentioned alongside. The second is a cover of 'Thin Lizzy's' 'Genocide', can't really make my mind up about this, it's a decent and fitting cover, but I'm not totally convinced I like the song.

Simply, if you like 'Running Wild' this should be in your collection, as it's another jewel from the worlds finest Pirate Metal band!