Although their earlier releases contained Satanic themes and imagery, from the third album on, the band's primary subject matter centered around pirates, sailing and other historical events.

[2] After Under Jolly Roger, from 1988 to 1992 (for the albums Port Royal, Death or Glory, Blazon Stone and Pile of Skulls), Running Wild mainly wrote historically based lyrics.

In addition to lyrics about pirates, the band also addressed subjects like the Wars of the Roses, the Battle of Waterloo, or the colonization of the New World by the Conquistadors.

The band recorded their first demo in 1981 and featured the songs "Hallow the Hell", "War Child" and "King of the Midnight Fire".

In June 1984, the band started work on their debut album Gates to Purgatory, which was released by Noise Records, featuring satanic lyrics.

Their 1988 follow-up release Port Royal featured a more mature style of songwriting and expanded on the pirate theme explored on their previous album.

Upon the departure of Moti and Finlay, Kasparek recruited guitarist Axel Morgan and drummer Rudiger Dreffein (better known as "AC") to record the band's first album in two years, Blazon Stone, released in 1991.

[citation needed] The album proved to be a slight shift in their overall sound, as the band brought a more speed metal approach to their songs, which would be prevalent throughout their releases during the decade.

[citation needed] Around this time, Kasparek started becoming more interested in conspiracy theories, becoming the basis of the next album, 1994's Black Hand Inn.

With so many line-up changes, Running Wild was considered a solo project due to the fact that guitarist and main songwriter Rolf Kasparek remained the sole constant member of the band.

[7] A biography, titled Death and Glory: The Story of a Heavy Metal Legend, was announced in June 2011 that was tentatively scheduled for release in 2013 or 2014, but no more information was given since then.

[10][11][12] In November 2012, Kasparek and guitarist Peter Jordan formed a side project called Giant X, releasing an album titled I in January 2013.