Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Grave Digger
Label: Napalm Records
Release: 2015
Running time: 55:23
Rating: 4/5
Grave Digger are long-living veterans of European heavy metal, the Old Continent’s finest. To be even more precise, of the Teutonic metal scene that sprang up in the early eighties. That’s exactly the scene that, on the wings of bands like Running Wild, Helloween, Scanner, Rage and Sinner too, grew into a totally recognizable sub-genre of heavy metal (in the broader sense of the term). The German approach to metal, in other words.
Grave Digger are a band that has been through a string of ups and downs. Their frontman Chris Boltendahl knows that only hard work and perseverance bring real results. Over the years of sticking it out, the band has grown into a cult name, and one of its latest (minor) shake-ups hit a few years ago, when it swapped guitarists. The sound of a popular metal band rises (or falls) on its guitarists, so changes like that can always be a lottery. Luckily, the newcomer, the seasoned guitarist Axel Ritt, especially after the band’s last two excellent studio efforts, has fully grown into the shoes of his predecessors, and so Grave Digger kept their creative fire and, last but not least, with full credibility, their unique musical character, which hasn’t wavered one bit.
So what we have here is an album of old songs, played anew. With the current lineup, with Axel Ritt on guitar, that is. For this move the band decided to walk straight back to its core. Its roots. The early eighties, or rather the first half of the eighties. So it restored some songs from the first three albums ‘Heavy Metal Breakdown’, ‘Witch Hunter’ and ‘War Games’, and it also pulled off a real surprise by putting a revamped Stand Up And Rock on this compilation, a song that comes from the totally failed Digger project and its only released album »Stronger Than Ever« (1987). With this compilation the band also made it clear to its fans that it’s still active as a songwriting force, since it added two brand-new songs, namely My Private Hell Morning and Young And Dangerous, which hint at what the new Grave Digger studio album will look like. Obviously as primordial as it gets. At least judging by the sound and the way the lead guitar phrases are built. Looking straight back to where the band’s first three albums came from. Of course, with the fire of modern touches that new recording technology offers you in the studio. The raw edge and jagged sharpness of the guitar phrases, given crucial contrast by a rolling rhythm section on one side and, on the other, the eternal, instantly recognizable, furious growl of Uncle Reaper, don’t hide from you for a second on this record, not even this time!
There was definitely some »surgery« involved in freshening up the arrangements, which now sound even more mature and defined, while the new outfit, which in no way changes the originals at their core, holds on to that feel of beginner’s naivety that bands usually carry with such passion through the heat of youthful recklessness. Every single song in its new outfit also radiates plenty of fun and great working chemistry, which the band developed in the studio while recording the compilation.
In short: Grave Digger being Grave Digger. What the name says is what you get. It’s no longer news that the band bridges the wait for its new studio album, due out in 2016, perfectly with this release! A smart, effective move from a seasoned band!
Line-up
Chris Boltendahl – vocals, backing vocals
Axel Ritt – guitar, backing vocals
Jens Becker – bass guitar
Stefan Arnold – drums
Production
Chris Boltendahl & Grave Digger
Track list
01. Headbanging Man
02. Fire In Your Eyes
03. Witch Hunter
04. Shoot Her Down
05. Stand Up And Rock
06. Heavy Metal Breakdown
07. Enola Gay – Drop The Bomb
08. Get Away
09. We Wanna Rock You
10. Playing Fools
11. Here I Stand
12. Tyrant
13. Paradise
14. My Private Morning Hell (bonus track)
15. Young And Dangerous (bonus track)
