GRAVE DIGGER
"Bone Collector" (Roar;
2025)
Reviewed by R. Scott Bolton
With all the shit going on in 2025 already, it's great to have something positive come along, something that kicks your ass and pushes you through all the bullshit. And that's Grave Digger's new album, "Bone Collector."
Chock full of crunchy riffs, fiery leads, driving rhythms and hearty vocals, the band's 22nd(!) album and its eleven tracks are the perfect blend of classic metal (Testament, Exodus) and the more modern metal sounds like that of Night Demon. It grabs you by the hair from the first track and beats your head against the wall for its complete 45-minute runtime.
My favorite tracks were the locomotive sound of "The Devil's Serenade," the simmering fire of "Mirror of Hate" and the breakneck speed of "Made of Madness." The album closes with its slowest, quietest song, "Whispers of the Damned," which is the perfect way to end the album.
Grave Digger's been around for a long time for a reason and that reason is plain enough: They still got it.
For more information, check out www.grave-digger.de.
"Liberty
or Death" (Locomotive; 2007)
Reviewed by R. Scott Bolton
The members of Grave Digger have been at it for a long time ("Liberty or Death" is their 13th album) and their experience and expertise shines throughout this CD. "Liberty or Death" is a powerful, noble album in the classic mode of Accept, Helloween, Metal Church and many others ... most importantly Grave Digger, of course!
The theme of liberty and the fight to maintain it is the theme throughout "Liberty or Death" (as if the title and cover image didn't tell you that already). It's a perfect concept for the band's epic style of heavy metal.
Grave Digger focus on atmosphere here more than speed and there are those that may think this mostly mid-tempo album isn't fast enough often enough to really the deliver the goods. I would disagree. With its well-paced and perfectly executed solos and grandiose songwriting, "Liberty or Death" falls somewhere between power metal and classic metal and the end result is riveting throughout.
Grave Digger: Chris Boltendahl - vocals; Manni Schmidt - guitar; Jens Becker - bass; Stefan Arnold - drums; H.P. Katzenburg - Keyboards.
For more information, check out www.grave-digger.de.
"Rheingold"
(Nuclear Blast; 2003)
Reviewed by Mike SOS
German metal veterans Grave Digger are back with another lesson in power metal on this ten track offering entitled "Rheingold." Reinvigorated and a bit darker than on previous recordings, Grave Digger and its Teutonic metal style continues to rock stadiums worldwide, thanks to killer riffs like the one which opens "Liar" and the majestic smatterings throughout the album.
Basing this disc on Wagner's "The Ring of the Nibelungs" and armed with as much metallic power as is legally allowed, Grave Digger's "Rheingold" is a genuine crowd pleaser for any Priest and/or Maiden fan.
For more information, check out www.grave-digger.de.
Rating Guide:
A classic. This record will kick your ass.
Killer. Not a classic but it will rock your world.
So-so. You've heard better.
Pretty bad. Might make a nice coaster.
Self explanatory. Just the sight of the cover makes you wanna hurl.
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Copyright © 2025 by R. Scott Bolton. All rights reserved.
