Grave Digger The Clans Will Rise Again
by Mark Allen
Staff Writer
Like a never-say-die zombie that hasn’t yet received the final coup de grace bullet to the brain, this German juggernaut just keeps rising up over and over again, hungry not for human flesh, but for human ears, so they can fill them with their fiery brand of riff-driven heavy metal. Over a quarter-century has passed since Grave Digger’s now-considered-classic debut, Heavy Metal Breakdown, wowed the diehard head-banging demographic, but they still possess the necessary chops to make an impact; make no mistake, when it comes to cranking out Teutonic tough guy metal, Grave Digger has definitely still got the goods.
The Clans Will Rise Again is being marketed as a pseudo-sequel to 1996’s Tunes of War, considered by many fans and critics to be one of the band’s best; unlike Tunes of War, however, which spun the tale of Scottish history, Clans is not technically a concept album, or at least the band isn’t calling it one. That said, the lyrical content single-mindedly focuses on Scotland, specifically its magic and mysticism, and while Grave Digger themselves may not want to refer to it as a concept album, you are forgiven if at times it feels like a concept album is exactly what you’re listening to.
By now, any Grave Digger fan, even casual ones, should know what to expect from the band musically. These guys are power metal pros; you don’t last 27 years in the heavy metal game without possessing the chops. Chris Boltendahl’s gruff vocals continue to sound like he gargles a bottle of whiskey every night, then smashes the bottle and gargles with the broken shards too, but those vocals work within the context of the genre; songs about epic battles and slurping the blood of your enemies need to be snarled by a singer who’s got some grit in his larynx, not flawlessly crooned by some angel-faced pretty boy. The guitars chug out a battalion of power-riffs, supported by the bellowing bass while the drums pound like the hammer of the gods.
In keeping with the Scottish lyrical theme, bagpipes pop up here and there, and if they seem like an odd fit with the roaring metal being churned out, they are a fit nonetheless; after all, a bagpipe presence is pretty much mandatory when singing about Scotland. Still, it does seem a wee bit strange to be banging your head and pumping your fist while bagpipes swirl amidst metal guitars, so thankfully, they’re used sparingly. While bagpipes might work within the narrow confines of this particular album, there is absolutely no reason for anyone to rush out and create a new subgenre called kilt-metal.
The choruses can rightfully be called anthems; where the verses end and the choruses begin is never a mystery on this album. And Grave Digger roars out those anthems with gang/chant backing vocals that are a vital asset to their sound. For example, “Valley of Tears” prowls with relentlessly brooding rhythms on the verses, then surges into a soaring chorus at which time the big backup vocals kick in right on cue and deliver a pulsating uppercut, selling the somewhat clichéd revenge-ridden lyrics as something more than they really are by sheer force of volume; without the gang vocals, this song—and most of the other songs as well—simply would not work nearly as well.
It would be a grave mistake for any power metal pundit to pass this one up. No, the band doesn’t tread any new turf, but at this point, why should they? They have a distinct sound, a specific style, and it is done very well on this outing. Boltendahl, the sole remaining original member, has joked (or was he really joking?) about the band calling it quits before 2014. Hey, as long as future albums sound as good as this one, heavy metal fans should be happy to see Grave Digger rise again and again.
Genre: Heavy/power metal
Band:
Chris Boltendahl (vocals)
Axel Ritt (guitars)
Stefan Arnold (drums)
Jens Becker (bass)
Hans Peter Katzenburg (keyboards)
Track Listing
1. Days of Revenge
2. Paid in Blood
3. Hammer of the Scots
4. Highland Farewell
5. The Clans Will Rise Again
6. Rebels
7. Valley of Tears
8. Execution
9. Whom the Gods Love Die Young
10. Spider
11. The Piper McLeod
12. Coming Home
13. When Rain Turns to Blood
Napalm Records
Hardrock Haven rating: 7.2