Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Grave Digger
Label: Napalm Records
Release: 2009
Length: 45:38
Rating: 4.5/5
Grave Digger, a band that has been drawing its inspiration since the early eighties from asking questions about death and life, keeps cranking out albums at two-year intervals. It already feels downright robotic, pre-programmed. Especially when the unwelcome label of “recycling” keeps tagging along ever more shamelessly too. You can’t really overlook the repeating verses that stab into your ears, with word combinations we already know pretty well from earlier records. But that’s just part of the famous howl of the furious Chris Boltendahl.
From here on, the review can only go in two directions, but let’s try to stay as grounded as possible. “Ballads of a Hangman” is a typical Grave Digger record. That’s enough for any fan of the band to stop reading this article right here and head straight to the nearest shop without a second thought, or make the five necessary clicks to order it from an online store. The album “Liberty or Death” (2007) was full of epic anthemic choruses, probably the most melodic album of Grave Digger’s career, while “Ballads of a Hangman” is, of all five albums released in the “Schmidt era”, the most convincing shot at the atmosphere of the album “Grave Digger” (2001). Subtract the fact that it doesn’t have the same gloomy, specifically eerie atmosphere as “Grave Digger”, and the hint of heading back toward the mid-nineties and below (“The Reaper” (1993) freaks – attention!!!) becomes all the more fitting.
Yes. This album is as sharp as it gets! The Teutonic-thundering Grave Digger riff reigns, pushed to the max. “Ballads of a Hangman” flips the “Liberty or Death” atmosphere completely on its head, since the first five tracks alone have a decidedly higher dose of bristling sharpness from chopped-off Grave Digger smashers, practically racing each other to see who hits the finish line first. The bombastic rhythm line, cannon-like stomping on the double bass drum pedals, combined with a charging barrage of fills, once again gives the riff outstanding support, and Boltendahl’s trademark growl gets used all the more, underlining the feeling of “cruelty” that the lyrics and the point of the songs are supposedly devoted to. The optimization of the basic Grave Digger elements is therefore all the greater. On top of that, there’s another factor working in its favor: the keyboards, which on the previous album still built an important atmospheric backdrop, are barely audible. And Boltendahl also decided not to include multi-part backing vocal harmonies in the arrangements this time. Those would, of course, only soften the sharpness of the riff.
Only the sixth track, Lonely the Innocence Dies, shifts the air currents of the album’s atmosphere and offers (the first and only) hard-hitting ballad, where the duet between Benedictum singer Veronica Freeman and good old uncle “Reaper” stands out. There’s room for some interesting hints here. Boltendahl is actually very convincing singing in a clean voice too, with recognizable character, and he really wouldn’t need a second vocalist next to him if he combined clean vocals with growling. Since there are already quite a few such examples in the Grave Digger catalog, the man evidently decided to throw himself a party in the studio and try something different (for Grave Digger). Veronica’s vocal does its job nicely, probably because its slightly cracked, hollow, guttural tone, which comes with her otherwise expressive melodic voice, subconsciously makes up for the lack of atmosphere that Boltendahl’s famous growl normally creates. But it wouldn’t work without the fact that this is an excellent mid-tempo track with a perfect mix of dynamic ebb and flow between a dramatic pre-chorus and anthemic mourning in the chorus. Thanks to the smart integration of Veronica, this song is one of the album’s highlights. Then Into the War attacks, which in its sheer nakedness recalls the energy of the album “The Reaper” (1993) directly. That old-school Grave Digger directness and aggression doesn’t let up until the end of the album. Isn’t that beautiful? The closing track Pray is the only moment that, with its mid-tempo rhythm and poisonously melodic chorus (a typically simple but incredibly catchy line that feels great), brings the mood of the “Liberty or Death” album to mind on first listen, but the aggressive “nakedness”, the maximally exposed riff and Boltendahl’s vocal don’t let up for a second either.
Yes. It’s fair to say that in their “Schmidt era” Grave Digger have this time most convincingly flirted with their roots, which go back to the early eighties. The claim “all the way back to the Reaper album” is not exaggerated in the slightest, so fans of classic Grave Digger, pay attention! This is your five minutes of fun. We all know that this is where Grave Digger are always strongest. Add to that that the album’s production once again carries a much crushing-er sound than the previous album, thanks also to the addition of a second guitarist, Thilo Hermann (ex Risk, ex Running Wild), which has turned Grave Digger into a sextet, plus the excellent work of the ever-reliable Manni Schmidt, who again delivered some seriously insightful solos as well as striking riffs with that characteristic Grave Digger tattoo, and all of the band’s energy hits that much more directly in its aggression. So no letting up for the legends of German metal! Not in the slightest!
And as always! The limited edition for the European market contains a bonus track. This time they took on the Thin Lizzy classic Jailbreak. Uniquely “Digger-style”. Double bass drum stomped to the max, tuned to a pitch ideal for Boltendahl’s way of singing and, of course, scorching with riffs as always! A successful moment of extra fun in the studio.
Lineup
Chris Boltendahl – vocals
Manni Schmidt – guitar
Thilo Hermann – guitar
Hans Peter Katzenburg – keyboards
Jens Becker – bass
Stefan Arnold – drums
GUEST MUSICIAN:
Veronica Freeman – vocals (on track no. 6)
Production
Grave Digger & Resetti Brothers
Track List
1. The Gallows Pole (intro)
2. Ballad of a Hangman
3. Hell of Disillusion
4. Sorrow of the Dead
5. Grave of the Addicted
6. Lonely the Innocence Dies
7. Into the War
8. The Shadow of Your Soul
9. Funeral for a Fallen Angel
10. Stormrider
11. Pray
12. Jailbreak (bonus)
